Here's a topic I haven't found a tread for. My pet peeve is pronunciation (though my spelling leaves much to be desired). I like to get local names, foods etc. right when I travel somewhere new. How do I know how to say all of the city/food/street names all of you mention in your posts? I've read the pronunciation pages in the back of the Fodor's, but is there a book or web site that will tell me how to phonetically say words/foods/cities etc in Thai.
khawp khun

Here are some web site that you hear the proper pronunciation for certain Thai words or phrases.

http://thaiarc.tu.ac.th/thai/thphrase.htm

http://www.koratmagazine.in.th/thai/...on1/esect1.htm

If you need more information try searching at www.google.co.th and click "Search pages from Thailand".

Hope this help!

Keep in mind that in Thailand, it isn't only in the way you put the sounds together, it's the TONE of the word parts as well, that can have different meanings!!! It can get pretty funny sometimes.
Carol

simpson your telling me.. I've beent studing thai for 2 years now and I'm such a lunk head that my teacher has thrown me back too kindergarden..I'm now reading about klaa and keew and thier black pupy.. and here th fun part k is pronounced like a g and KH like a hard K.

=======
123Go .. and to add to the mess. some of the vowels sound verry simaler to oeachotrer...

and one last thing thier are a million words for male and female anatomy so the odds of you saying "penis" is taxi driver is kind of high. hmm may'be this is one of the reasons that thailand is called the land of smiiles. they are just laghing at us for saying something naughty.

----------
hanuman..good too see you posting more often.. it's nice having a real thai put in some imput and maybe correct me if I say something real stupid.

Orgy,

This place, Fodors, is addictive. Kind of feel good to help people but I keep telling myself that I should work more and stay away from here!

You want to teach everybody how to say "pumpkin" in Thai?

Addictive? Absolutely! Entertaining? Certainly!
Informative? You bet! (especially lessons in pronouncing Thai words)
Carol
(I'm glad I'm retired... no boss is telling me to get busy)

you guys crack me up. I'll check the web sites but I'll probably just smile a lot and shake my head, hopefully at the appropriate times.

A nice smile (and a very slight bow, with hands together) goes a long way in Thailand.
Carol