Why the name change from siam to thailand and why thai land?

[Estrada]

it means land of the free AND land of the thai people. makes perfect sense as it is the land of thai people AND it has remained free from colonialism.

Isn't thai = free? Therefore why would siam be changed to thailand aka freeland? Ok free from colnialism. That's right after all during that period surround countries were colonized so i suppose the country was called free land to show how it's free from wester colonialism am i correct?

Why would you call your land England? Land of the Eng???

It's a joke Frits....

Actually England means Land of the Angles. The Angles being the Germanic peoples who settled in post Roman Anglo-Saxon Britan.

[Estrada]

I wouldn't read too much from a countries name.

Ever been to Greenland?

It was Green when the Vikings discovered it during the last warm period in earth's history. Now it is getting green again thanks to global warming.

[ATF]

so why not angleland or anglo saxon land?

Are you putting us on or just obtuse? Haven't you ever learned or noticed that languages have changed over the centuries. Just like peoples and cultures, they change, evolve, adapt, are influenced by other cultures & languages, etc. Thus shoppe turns to shop ... we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway ... etc., etc.

England is Angleterre in French which translated means Angleland.

BTW Thailand is NOT called Thailand it's called Muang Thai. Thailand is the English translation.

[aTomsLife]

Thailand has never been colonized but it has been occupied by the Japanese, British and Americans.

Isn't that apples and oranges, though?

no

Care to spell out your opinion then? Because I'm pretty sure they're two different things. One can potentially lead to the other, but that doesn't make it the same thing.

[aTomsLife]

Whenever a poser like this comes up I ask my good lady. So I just asked her what does the Thai word "thai" mean...I got the usual answer...Mi-loo. I asked her what is the Thai word for "free" or "freedom"...she rattled off something that was a million miles from the word "thai". I come across this a lot. I could ask 20 Thai people what a certain word means and get 20 different answers. I also sometimes ask Thai people what a word I hear regularly in use means...and a lot of the time i get "Mi-loo" again. Kinda puzzles me how people use a word a lot of the time and don't actually know what it means. One I have been trying to find a meaning for is "Na"....as in "Na-Krap". I have never met a Thai person who can tell me what the "Na" means even though is used a million times a day by many people?

in that context, it doesnt have a meaning. its used to make the words flow properly

No, it's not used to make the words "flow properly."

It's used to soften statements and show deference.

[willyumiii]

My question:

Why did they choose " Thailand"?

"thai" is passa Thai. It means " free".

But, "land" is an English word. It means land ( duh) or " eee-din" (sp?) in passa Thai.

Why was is not called Thai eee-din?

"

[ATF]

My question:

Why did they choose " Thailand"?

"thai" is passa Thai. It means " free".

But, "land" is an English word. It means land ( duh) or " eee-din" (sp?) in passa Thai.

Why was is not called Thai eee-din?

"

Please refer to post #93.

It's not eee-din it's tee-din.

I should have said Prathet Thai. Muang Thai is the everyday word.

[willyumiii]

Perhaps it's due to my knowledge of english and how english farangs think but you know a farang wouldn't call his country free land. There is another country that does espouse values such as freedom like America yet they don't call their country free land which sounds rather corny to be honest

Corny??

Let's talk about corny and how"english farangs" think.

America was named after an Italian explorer who had nothing to do with discovering America". He did correct Columbus's assumption that the Indies were part of Asia. But really had little to do with the exploration of North or South America.

Amerigo Vespucci (Italian pronunciation: [ameˈriːɡo vesˈputtʃi]; March 9, 1454 – February 22, 1512) was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer who first demonstrated that Brazil and the West Indies did not represent Asia's eastern outskirts as initially conjectured from Columbus' voyages, but instead constituted an entirely separate landmass hitherto unknown to Afro-Eurasians. Colloquially referred to as the New World, this second super continent came to be termed "America", deriving its namefrom Americus, the Latin version of Vespucci's first name.^[1][2]

^{And why was it named after his first name?}

^{It could of easily been named "The United States of Vespucci"!}

^{Burt Parks could have been singing:}

^{"There she is, Miss Vespucci land"!}

^{Before we talk about Thailand being corny, let's look in our own backyards....o.k.?}

[ATF]

Perhaps it's due to my knowledge of english and how english farangs think but you know a farang wouldn't call his country free land. There is another country that does espouse values such as freedom like America yet they don't call their country free land which sounds rather corny to be honest

Corny??

Let's talk about corny and how"english farangs" think.

America was named after an Italian explorer who had nothing to do with discovering America". He did correct Columbus's assumption that the Indies were part of Asia. But really had little to do with the exploration of North or South America.

Amerigo Vespucci (Italian pronunciation: [ameˈriːɡo vesˈputtʃi]; March 9, 1454 – February 22, 1512) was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer who first demonstrated that Brazil and the West Indies did not represent Asia's eastern outskirts as initially conjectured from Columbus' voyages, but instead constituted an entirely separate landmass hitherto unknown to Afro-Eurasians. Colloquially referred to as the New World, this second super continent came to be termed "America", deriving its namefrom Americus, the Latin version of Vespucci's first name.^[1][2]

^{And why was it named after his first name?}

^{It could of easily been named "The United States of Vespucci"!}

^{Burt Parks could have been singing:}

^{"There she is, Miss Vespucci land"!}

^{Before we talk about Thailand being corny, let's look in our own backyards....o.k.?}

I don't see anything corny about Prathet or Muang Thai.

[Datebayo]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

[ultimate weapon]

Whenever a poser like this comes up I ask my good lady. So I just asked her what does the Thai word "thai" mean...I got the usual answer...Mi-loo. I asked her what is the Thai word for "free" or "freedom"...she rattled off something that was a million miles from the word "thai". I come across this a lot. I could ask 20 Thai people what a certain word means and get 20 different answers. I also sometimes ask Thai people what a word I hear regularly in use means...and a lot of the time i get "Mi-loo" again. Kinda puzzles me how people use a word a lot of the time and don't actually know what it means. One I have been trying to find a meaning for is "Na"....as in "Na-Krap". I have never met a Thai person who can tell me what the "Na" means even though is used a million times a day by many people?

It's mei lu not mi loo you thunk.

There is no only-one, official way to spell Thai words in English. I've seen variousThai words transliterated in various ways in Thai-English dictionaries ... including "my-loo" and "mai-lu" and other spellings which I'm too lazy right now to look up in my ten or more T-E dictionaries.

It's not the spelling it's how it's pronounced. It's not "mee" "lu" get it? You even got the prounciation wrong.

[crusty]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

The name change from Siam to Thailaut was an attempt to cover up their political chicanery after Siam actually declared war on the allies but was not on record as the Thai ambassador in America refused to present the declaration. After the war the Thais had the cheek to try and march in the allied victory parade but were refused by the allied commander Lord Louis Mountbatten.

[ultimate weapon]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

The name change from Siam to Thailaut was an attempt to cover up their political chicanery after Siam actually declared war on the allies but was not on record as the Thai ambassador in America refused to present the declaration. After the war the Thais had the cheek to try and march in the allied victory parade but were refused by the allied commander Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Interesting so the thai ambassador saved the country i suppose. What's his name? Suppose he actually presented it. Why did he refuse? I mean he's just the office boy compared to the leaders.

[micmichd]

Of course Thailand means "Land of the Free", and by this is meant "Freedom from colonisation", probably also "Freedom from definition by Farangs"

[AYJAYDEE]

Whenever a poser like this comes up I ask my good lady. So I just asked her what does the Thai word "thai" mean...I got the usual answer...Mi-loo. I asked her what is the Thai word for "free" or "freedom"...she rattled off something that was a million miles from the word "thai". I come across this a lot. I could ask 20 Thai people what a certain word means and get 20 different answers. I also sometimes ask Thai people what a word I hear regularly in use means...and a lot of the time i get "Mi-loo" again. Kinda puzzles me how people use a word a lot of the time and don't actually know what it means. One I have been trying to find a meaning for is "Na"....as in "Na-Krap". I have never met a Thai person who can tell me what the "Na" means even though is used a million times a day by many people?

It's mei lu not mi loo you thunk.

There is no only-one, official way to spell Thai words in English. I've seen variousThai words transliterated in various ways in Thai-English dictionaries ... including "my-loo" and "mai-lu" and other spellings which I'm too lazy right now to look up in my ten or more T-E dictionaries.

It's not the spelling it's how it's pronounced. It's not "mee" "lu" get it? You even got the prounciation wrong.

who said mi is pronounced mee?

[ultimate weapon]

who said mi is pronounced mee?

cos you spell the word to look like it's pronounced as me. Like some ppl misspell me as mi. It's pronounced "mei" Not me.

[AYJAYDEE]

who said mi is pronounced mee?

cos you spell the word to look like it's pronounced as me. Like some ppl misspell me as mi. It's pronounced "mei" Not me.

mi is not a word so its not up to you to decide how its pronounced

[micmichd]

Pronounce it like you dance it.

[ThePlant]

Try 'Mai Roo''? or 'Mai Ruu'

I agree there is a lot of very iffy romanisation on this site at times as seen here.

[ThePlant]

Dee Pee....(sorry)

[crusty]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

The name change from Siam to Thailaut was an attempt to cover up their political chicanery after Siam actually declared war on the allies but was not on record as the Thai ambassador in America refused to present the declaration. After the war the Thais had the cheek to try and march in the allied victory parade but were refused by the allied commander Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Interesting so the thai ambassador saved the country i suppose. What's his name? Suppose he actually presented it. Why did he refuse? I mean he's just the office boy compared to the leaders.

His name was ML Seni Pramoj

[mikiea]

as i read all these posts i now understand that many of us need to find something useful to do. way to much time on our hands, spittle flows from our keyboards like it would from a 93 year old farts lips while eating oatmeal. :-)

[HerbalEd]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

The name change from Siam to Thailaut was an attempt to cover up their political chicanery after Siam actually declared war on the allies but was not on record as the Thai ambassador in America refused to present the declaration. After the war the Thais had the cheek to try and march in the allied victory parade but were refused by the allied commander Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Where did that parade take place?

[HerbalEd]

who said mi is pronounced mee?

cos you spell the word to look like it's pronounced as me. Like some ppl misspell me as mi. It's pronounced "mei" Not me.

How do you pronounce the words "mike" and "bike" and "spike"?

[AYJAYDEE]

who said mi is pronounced mee?

cos you spell the word to look like it's pronounced as me. Like some ppl misspell me as mi. It's pronounced "mei" Not me.

How do you pronounce the words "mike" and "bike" and "spike"?

fee fi fo fum

[thailiketoo]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

The name change from Siam to Thailaut was an attempt to cover up their political chicanery after Siam actually declared war on the allies but was not on record as the Thai ambassador in America refused to present the declaration. After the war the Thais had the cheek to try and march in the allied victory parade but were refused by the allied commander Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Name Change, "23 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand

The Thai government declared war on Britain and the United States on January 25, 1942

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand_in_World_War_II

Ambassadors don't declare war countries do.

You will notice the name change was made before war was declared.

Military Parade In Bangkok - British Pathé Google to see parade.

[thailiketoo]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

The name change from Siam to Thailaut was an attempt to cover up their political chicanery after Siam actually declared war on the allies but was not on record as the Thai ambassador in America refused to present the declaration. After the war the Thais had the cheek to try and march in the allied victory parade but were refused by the allied commander Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Where did that parade take place?

Bangkok 1946 Thailand was occupied by the British at the time.

[northernjohn]

Don't know if it means any thing but Siem Reap is Cambodian for Siam defeated.

[ThePlant]

Ambassadors don't declare war countries do.

It is their duty to 'deliver' the official declaration of war which Seni Pramoj refused to do in Washington.

[thailiketoo]

A few reasons. First is to save face (no kidding) and dis-associate their name is being the ally of Japan during WW2. Secondly, Siam aka siamese, well, Laotians and cambodians and burma can be called siamese people as they were part of the Siamese kingdom in ancient times, or something like that, not sure but it's something I have read before.

The name change from Siam to Thailaut was an attempt to cover up their political chicanery after Siam actually declared war on the allies but was not on record as the Thai ambassador in America refused to present the declaration. After the war the Thais had the cheek to try and march in the allied victory parade but were refused by the allied commander Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Interesting so the thai ambassador saved the country i suppose. What's his name? Suppose he actually presented it. Why did he refuse? I mean he's just the office boy compared to the leaders.

Seni Pramoj (May 26, 1905 – July 28, 1997) he was educated at Trent College in Derbyshire before obtaining a second-class degree in Law from Worcester College, Oxford. He continued his studies at Gray's Inn, London, receiving first honours. After returning to Thailand he studied Thai Law.

Why? He didn't have any cash (USA had frozen Thai assets in American banks). His action enabled him to tap into the frozen Thai assets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seni_Pramoj