Bangkok Barry Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 A friend of my wife was opening a business and asked me to write the promotional literature. I did, as a favour, and it was rejected for being written in poor English. I've been a professional writer for nearly 40 years, but Thais know best. Which is why no-one ever seems to get native English speakers to check their work. They'd lose face by being wrong, and they'd far rather lose face by publishing nonsense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekMarshall Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 4 hours ago, colinneil said: Out of all the people who are going to ridicule Thais for misspelling English can write in Thai? Answer very few. Fair point but I am pretty sure that if they owned a very large business or ran one for somebody else they would have the gumption to hire a competent and fully qualified translator, perhaps one recommended by their embassy to get the required spelling and grammar exactly correct!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekMarshall Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Moti24 said: The problem is that Thais will not accept help from a foreigner. If you point-out that something is not quite right, they will just ignore you. Not even the local administration can get it right; Soi Bearing in Samut Prakarn had different signs at each end, one end spelt, "Baring". As far as I know, it is still the same 12 years later. At my local resort, there are clocks on the wall behind the reception. One day, I pointed out that the London clock was out by 1 hour, due to British Summer Time starting. The receptionist said she would get it changed. The clock was still showing the wrong time the following week, and every week after that. Now, 1 year later, it is still the wrong time. You just can't help these people! 1 But its right half the year! As they say even a broken watch tells the right time twice a day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigma6 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 i suspect that the person who produces the text can spell, and that the errors come in at the printing company. If they ran proper QA, he'd have to sign off the finished sign as correct. It probably just gets passed on straight to the installation crew, who DGAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perthperson Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Some more classics -- collected by the BBC and all found in the UK ! http://www.bbc.com/news/world-10940598 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webfact Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 Residents want “CTIY” road sign corrected By The Nation PATTAYA: -- Local residents have urged authorities to correct a sign giving directions to Pattaya City Hall in Chon Buri province which has a typographical error, as such a simple mistake could affect the image of the internationally-known tourist town. The sign which spells out “CTIY” instead of “CITY” is located near a branch office of CAT Telecom PCL on the Southern Pattaya Road. Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30320636 -- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirat69 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 3 hours ago, LazySlipper said: Suvanaphumi for Suwanapum airport... and on the BKK expressway they spell Pattaya --> Phataya with an H... Suvanabhumi, actually. On the northern route you are likely to run out of fingers for the different spellings of Don Meuang The classic for me was Dr Pinit, a former Senator... I drafted the letter to the Americans who were going to pay for Tsunami projects in several instalments, of several million US$ each. I used the word "tranche", a well known word to financiers and bankers... but Pinit had never heard of it previously, did not choose to Google it or find a dictionary... just insisted that it be changed to a less professional word that he knew... TiT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perthperson Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 2 minutes ago, wirat69 said: I used the word "tranche", Should have used the word "aliquot" ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjoo888 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Clutch said: Correcting the sign would only cost about 1000 Bath. Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Correcting the spelling of Bath to Baht won't cost you anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgdanson Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 4 hours ago, colinneil said: Out of all the people who are going to ridicule Thais for misspelling English can write in Thai? Answer very few. I don't think that your post is in correct Queen's English either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piersbeckett Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 It almost works as a transliteration - it's all about 'faec' it seems, this tendency towards shying away from enquiry but coupled with the mai phen rai attitude, is, I feel, so damaging to the ordinary Thais' prospects of improving their lot and subsequently the lot of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perthperson Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 10 minutes ago, piersbeckett said: It almost works as a transliteration it's all about 'faec' And your explanation for the errors posted here which occurred in the English speaking West is ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHolmesJr Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 7 hours ago, webfact said: The right turn to City Hall is spelt CTIY. thats exactly how the thais pronounce it, so for them it's right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grusa Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 It doesn't matter! Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. https://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/people/matt.davis/cmabridge/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typoglycemia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl sees all Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Who cares about this really?! Just think this topic is 'overblown'. Is there any farang on TvisaF who really gives a s===? When I lived near Penn (in Isaan or Isan or even Issan) I noticed various ways of spelling Penn; Pen, Phen, and Phenn. This is a sign on the 2022 that says 'pen'. More important and interesting topics to waste away the day than this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonltr Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 1 hour ago, wirat69 said: Suvanabhumi, actually. On the northern route you are likely to run out of fingers for the different spellings of Don Meuang The classic for me was Dr Pinit, a former Senator... I drafted the letter to the Americans who were going to pay for Tsunami projects in several instalments, of several million US$ each. I used the word "tranche", a well known word Suwanato financiers and bankers... but Pinit had never heard of it previously, did not choose to Google it or find a dictionary... just insisted that it be changed to a less professional word that he knew... TiT Suvanabhumi, actually? I don't think so. Correct pronunciation would be Suwanabhum as the Thai language does not have the letter 'V' it uses 'W' . As for the spelling and in addition to this, it should be understood that although there is a letter sounding like 'ee' as the last letter it is silent and has a silent marker above it much the same as the town of Buriram (ee) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimmer Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 A falme and a trlol post have been remevod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridler Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 6 hours ago, colinneil said: Out of all the people who are going to ridicule Thais for misspelling English can write in Thai? Answer very few. And your point is? If you are going to write in a language then make sure it is correct. Just because you criticize the writer does not mean you have to be able to speak their language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinneil Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 18 minutes ago, Ridler said: And your point is? If you are going to write in a language then make sure it is correct. Just because you criticize the writer does not mean you have to be able to speak their language. My point is exactly what i posted, mocking other people is ok, if you can write correctly in their language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil B Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 (edited) Pattaya the dyslexic friendly resort... Unfortunately this forum is not... The gramar polece are havin a feild day... Edited July 13, 2017 by Basil B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nurseynutcase Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I do dispute that the Thai people do not ask for help with spelling. In my local bar I am often asked the correct way to spell things. The only problem was I needed the loo before I had finished and they now have a strawberry daglieri on the menu. Yes I do know how to spell but have never tried one. Love the spelling of gasoline though - I think I have got up to 9 so far. Laughed out loud when I saw the 'Laundly' - to be fair it brightens up my day but I feel sorry that people have spent their hard earned money on these signs only to have the spelling mutilated somewhere along the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webfact Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 Misspelled road sign damages Pattaya’s image, says mayor of ‘World’s Sex Capital’ By Coconuts Bangkok Photo: Sanook PATTAYA: -- Pattaya’s mayor apologized over the embarrassment caused by misspelling of the English word “city” on a road sign, adding that the misspelling damaged the reputation of the tourism city. Despite Pattaya being dubbed the “World’s Sex Capital” by Mirror Online earlier this year, Mayor Anan Chareonchasri seems to think a misspelled sign could further defame the “world-class tourism city,” as Thai news site Sanook refers to Pattaya. Anan apologized to city residents and ordered the sign be replaced last night, after a snap of the marker on South Pattaya Road, reading “Pattaya Ctiy Hall” went viral on social media. Full story: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/misspelled-road-sign-damages-pattayas-image-says-mayor-worlds-sex-capital/ -- © Copyright Coconuts Bangkok 2017-07-13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pookiki Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 4 hours ago, aonangkrabi said: The best transcription should be Phatthaya, because Thai writing indicates that both the p and the t sounds are aspirated. The Thai language differentiates between unaspirated and aspirated p, t, k. European languages don't do that. English, German and Nordic languages always aspirate while Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian never do that. I admit it is difficult to transcribe when your mother tongue is English, because the English spelling is even inadequate for the English language. When I want to know for sure how to pronounce a Thai word, I always have to check the Thai writing. You are right about aspirated and unaspirated but your transliteration is wrong. It should be 'Phathaya' - only one 't'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pookiki Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 (edited) What I find more amusing is that Pattaya Tai is 'translated' as 'Pattaya Tai' instead of 'South Pattaya'. Edited July 13, 2017 by pookiki forgot something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toofarnorth Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 56 minutes ago, Nurseynutcase said: I do dispute that the Thai people do not ask for help with spelling. In my local bar I am often asked the correct way to spell things. The only problem was I needed the loo before I had finished and they now have a strawberry daglieri on the menu. Yes I do know how to spell but have never tried one. Love the spelling of gasoline though - I think I have got up to 9 so far. Laughed out loud when I saw the 'Laundly' - to be fair it brightens up my day but I feel sorry that people have spent their hard earned money on these signs only to have the spelling mutilated somewhere along the line. When I fisrt came to stay here in 2005 my now wife used to say she was going to the ronry . But an articulate ferlung up here asked if I had been to Fayer. He meant Phayao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFriend You Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 10 hours ago, Jeremy50 said: That's rich considering that most sex-pats in Pattaya can't even pronounce the name of the town they are living in, It's pattaYA not paTTAYa. Presumably, the road sign should read South Pattaya, as most foreigners in Pattaya wouldn't have a clue that Tai means South. Alternatively just learn to read Thai, and you won't have to bother with the mis-translations. They should have a sign "Welcome to Pattaya, Sex Capital of the World" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebuzz Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 11 hours ago, colinneil said: Out of all the people who are going to ridicule Thais for misspelling English can write in Thai? Answer very few. Most Thai cannot write Thai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tifino Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 2 minutes ago, Joebuzz said: Most Thai cannot write Thai. but CAN follow Pali, as it gives them good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoop1130 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Pattaya ‘CTIY’ Hall sign error blamed on contractor By The Nation A typographical error on a sign giving directions to Pattaya City Hall in Chon Buri province was caused by the contractor who erected the sign before it was approved and proofread by the city, Pattaya City mayor Pol Maj General Anan Charoenchasri said on Thursday. The sign, which spells out “CTIY” instead of “CITY”, is located near a branch office of CAT Telecom PCL on the Southern Pattaya Road. Anan said the city had already removed the sign for correction and would prevent any re-occurrence in the future. Earlier, local residents had asked for the sign correction as they said such a simple mistake could affect the image of the internationally-known tourist town. Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30320676 -- © Copyright The Nation 2017-7-13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadGeordie Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 20 minutes ago, snoop1130 said: the contractor who erected the sign before it was approved and proofread by the city, Yeah, right, of course it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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