Headaches in pronouncing Thai names

Dear Dr English,

1. IÕm quite confused about some Thai words that have a Sanskrit background, such as Suvarnabhumi Airport or Singha beer. When I talk to foreigners, should I pronounce it like ÔSingÕ beer or ÔSing-haÕ beer? How do we know which one is proper?

2. In the subway, I always hear the voice of Khun Sarocha Pornudomsak saying, ÒPlease mind the gap between train and platformÓ. IÕm just wondering why she doesnÕt say, ÒPlease mind the gap between the train and the platformÓ. Should we put the article THE in front of the words train and platform?

Thank you in advance.
Arnuparb Tarntong

Unfortunately, it has become a fashion to write names in a Sanskrit-looking way, at the same time forgetting that Thai has pronunciation indicators - the ÒgarandÓ, for example. In Roman script these tonal marks donÕt exist, something that every learner of English bemoans since it makes English so much more difficult to pronounce correctly.

If we write a Sanskrit word in Roman script nobody can possibly pronounce the word correctly if they donÕt know it already. To keep correcting peopleÕs mispronunciation of a word that you make sure they canÕt pronounce is extremely impolite, and not the best first impression that our country can give.

In the case of the drink, I remember watching the advertisement of the product and it is pronounced as ÒSinghaÓ. I presume the business wants its product to be recognised under that name by non-Thais, so it uses that name.

For the pride-of-our-nation airport, I would call it by the name all Thais do - Su-wan-na-poom Airport - so foreigners know what to tell the taxi driver to get them there.

And regarding the announcement in the subway, you have done your part for community service. It is correct that there should be the article ÒtheÓ in front of the words ÒtrainÓ and ÒplatformÓ, since it refers to something very specific. However, as a general rule for all occasions ÒPlease mind the gap between train and platformÓ is perfectly correct, since it refers to all trains and all platforms. So you might say that the warning is not only for this particular time when you get on and off the train, but for every time you do it.

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