Still they can't spell in Pattaya - now foreigners get more confused by NUA or NUAE!

[rooster59]

Still they can't spell in Pattaya - now foreigners get more confused by NUA or NUAE!

 

Image: Sanook

 

Sanook reported that expats and tourists were contacting Thai media to complain about more irregular spellings in Pattaya.

Following last week's CTIY debacle, this week Sanook reporters drew the authorities' attention to several road signs on Sukhumvit Road leading up to North Pattaya.

Here they pictured transliteration for the Thai word for 'north' as both "NUA" and "NUAE" within the space of a two kilometer stretch.

This, Sanook said, was not good enough for a main road at one of the leading resorts in the world and they demanded that the authorities get their spelling sorted.

Meanwhile Thaivisa contacted a foreign expert in the Thai language for his opinion.

Gerry Carter from the UK was head of the Thai department at Harrow International School in Bangkok for 15 years and introduced a transliteration system for his students before they learnt the Thai script.

He said: "The word for north in Thai is not actually straightforward to transliterate into English.

"I would write it NEUA. The problem is that the vowel used does not have a direct equivalent in English so it is rather arbitrary. Some people put a line through the 'U' to indicate it is a sound not found in English.

"But I would say that neither NUA nor NUAE represent the sound well.

"However", added Gerry, "wouldn't the problem be solved if they just put NORTH Pattaya on all their signs - presuming that they can spell "north" of course".

 

Source: Sanook

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-07-22

[Damrongsak]

I would write it NEUA as well, though North Pattaya is even better.

[GaryB1263]

There is confusion on how to spell Thap Praya also. I have seen conflicting signs. Thap Praya, Thappraya, and Thap Phraya.

 

I am disturbed.

[lamyai3]

The problem of correct spelling of English words is a different issue than the proper transliteration of Thai words into English, which are notoriously inaccurate... Don Mu(e)ang has been a case in point for years.

 

On a side note, methinks the foreign expert consulted in the article is none other than author 555 

[wgdanson]

On some road signs on the road from Bkk, it says PHattaya. And it's not long since all the kilometer signs saying Suvanhabum had the 'I ' added.

[johng]

Pattaya , Phattaya

Jomtien, Chomtien

 

Sukumvvit,Sukumwitt

Puket ,Phuket

Don meung, swampy

Potato,Po-tarrto

tomato ,tom-artoo

lets call the whole thing off !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chaam local]

Sometimes it's not just the letters. Should it be:

Cha am

Chaam

Cha-am

Cha Am

ChaAm

Cha-Am

?

[impulse]

2 hours ago, GaryB1263 said:

There is confusion on how to spell Thap Praya also. I have seen conflicting signs. Thap Praya, Thappraya, and Thap Phraya.

 

I am disturbed.

 

What's one got to do with the other?

 

Sorry...  Couldn't resist.

[impulse]

58 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

On some road signs on the road from Bkk, it says PHattaya. And it's not long since all the kilometer signs saying Suvanhabum had the 'I ' added.

 

The road signs don't disturb me as much as trying to get the GPS to find a destination.  Most locations do okay because the GPS seems to have multiple spellings in the database.  But some of them are hit and miss.

 

[fresnoboy]

North Pattaya would be TOO easy ! 5555555555

[Rimmer]

A troll post and reply have been removed

[Emster23]

Well, we are in Thailand, not Tailand.... adding an h not all that uncommon. Ever been to Kathmandu?

I was a teacher, so anything in the ball park regarding spelling fine with me...

[seabear]

The charm of Thailan !

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, GaryB1263 said:

There is confusion on how to spell Thap Praya also. I have seen conflicting signs. Thap Praya, Thappraya, and Thap Phraya.

 

I am disturbed.

Like Don Muang for the Railway station and the airport in the past, now called Don Mueang.

Very handy.

[YetAnother]

signs in thailish is just asking for trouble

[wirat69]

Or Bang Saen

Bang San

Bang Sane

Bang Sen....

[osandpo]

Used to be spelled "Phathya" on signs on the Bangkok outer ring road....

[Oxx]

Of course, there is an official standard for transcription of Thai into the Latin alphabet, the RTGS (Royal Thai General System of Transcription).  If only the sign makers would use it, rather than inventing their own transcriptions.

[farcanell]

How hard can it really be?

[brakar]

How do you pronounce Pattaya? An English television channel in Pattaya used press on the first syllable. Norwegian users press the second syllable, while people from Thailand use the last syllable. How do you pronounce it?

[osandpo]

Short a, very short a and then long ah

[Stargeezr]

Why are the signs  Pattaya Tai  and Nua  in  the  first place.

  Why not  North Pattaya   and  South Pattaya?

Geezer

[PomPolo]

At last a story about Pattaya that doesn't involve filth or violence! Are the expats and tourists really complaining about this? I would have thought there would have been more pressing issues for them and the authorities to deal with in Sin City

[JRUSA]

5 hours ago, GaryB1263 said:

There is confusion on how to spell Thap Praya also. I have seen conflicting signs. Thap Praya, Thappraya, and Thap Phraya.

 

I am disturbed.

Yes we know.. but how do you feel about the topic..????

[JayBird]

The issue is less of being accurate (since it debatable what the correct spelling is) and more about being consistent.

[DPKANKAN]

3 hours ago, seabear said:

The charm of Thailan !

This sums it up nicely. 555

[mikecha]

And the complaining goes on and on and on

 

be Lucky they have signs some countries have nothing   BUT SOME PEOPLE CAN READ MAYBE THATS THE PROBLEM  WAAAAAAAL

Learn thai   then no problem

 

[Mad mick]

6 hours ago, johng said:

Pattaya , Phattaya

Jomtien, Chomtien

 

Sukumvvit,Sukumwitt

Puket ,Phuket

Don meung, swampy

Potato,Po-tarrto

tomato ,tom-artoo

lets call the whole thing off !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spelt , inturpreted pattaya 

during viet war " built soi 6 and many other soi on r a r welcome to thailand great place once " All thing change , for better or worse " like a marriage .

[KhunBENQ]

4 hours ago, Oxx said:

Of course, there is an official standard for transcription of Thai into the Latin alphabet, the RTGS (Royal Thai General System of Transcription).  If only the sign makers would use it, rather than inventing their own transcriptions.

So true, but then our English speaking friends would bitterly cry .

A that is A and not AW

U that is U and not OO

and so on.

("great vovel shift" is the keyword that separates English from rest of world)

 

Thais have been flooded by the "English style" transcriptions and given up.

A total mess and laughable that this is a problem for the Phat Thaya administration.

 

Love the Jomtien variations where "Chom Thian" would be to the rules (and would confuse everyone).

The Indians have my respect. They streamline their transcriptions consequent.

Mumbai, Laknau (no more Lucknow) etc.

 

At our village school there are three place names with an identical vovel. Once transcribed "ch" (RTGS), two times as "j" (English).

 

And of course I would write NUEA (not NEUA???).

But North sounds good too

 

[Oxx]

3 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

The Indians have my respect. They streamline their transcriptions consequent.

Mumbai, Laknau (no more Lucknow) etc.

 

They shouldn't have your respect.  The respellings are a consequence of virulent Hindu nationalism trampling roughshod over local traditions and pronunciation.