The RTGS spelling for ซอส is SOT, but I am just wondering if it is actually pronounced as this, or as SOS, or as both.

I would appreciate any comments anyone has on this. Some sites with audio pronunciations sound like 'SOS'.

Thank you for your help.

Final -s is pronounced -t, except for some loanwords.

Jdietz is spot on.

Is there a hard and fast pronunciation rule with loan words which contravenes the standard pronunciation rules?

My unscientific observations are that the more familiar the speaker is with English, principally their own fluency and educational background, the more likely they are to move from [ซ้อด] to [ซ้อซ].

Thank you Jdietz and Seligne2 (and Briggsy for your additional comments).

So, I assume that you mean for words like:

MAEKKI (แม็กกี้ซอส)

HOI SIN (ฮอยซินซอส)

SIRACHA (ซอสศรีราชา)

it should be pronounced as 'sos' and for other typical Thai words, it should be 'sot'?

Thank you for your help.

Yes, but with a slightly longer vowel. Can you hear the pronunciation here? http://www.thai-language.com/id/133054

Briggsy is spot on.

For a native Thai speaker with no exposure to other languages the terminal consonant will invariably be /t/ for the simple reason that a terminal /s/ doesn't exist in the Thai language.

The more exposed the speaker is to other languages (primarily English in this case), the more able will they be to pronounce a terminal /s/. It's not purely a matter of education. Some lady "entertainers" (so I'm informed) can speak English very well.

Dear Seligne2,

Thank you for that audio. I can hear the long vowel.

Well understood.

Dear AyG,

Thank you for those additional comments and confirmation.

Perhaps I should then keep the reading as sōt/sōs (with ō meaning a long vowel) for my simplified reading (separate from the RTGS reading, which is sot), rather than differentiate between them, depending on whether they are linked with a loan word (sōs) or a Thai word (sōt).