Post by Admin on Apr 1, 2017 9:02:12 GMT
Hi guys, When I first arrived in Thailand in 2008, I was told that the English words are spelled with an L instead of a R. Here are some examples:
Farang (Thai pronunciation: Falang)
Aroy (Thai: Aloy)
When I speak Thai I say it as Falang or Aloy because this is how the Thais say it.
It was pointed out to me early on that it is because the Thais can't pronounce their R's. This begs the question: Why is it spelled that way in English? And for the past 9 years I have asked many people this question, and I have never been able to get to the bottom of it.
The Thais don't use the the Roman alphabet and have a completely different alphabet of their own, so somebody when translating these words thought it best to spell it with an R, instead of an L. If the words are not pronounced this way, or indeed the Thais can't even pronounce the words the way we spell them.
My question is: Why isn't it spelled, in English, the way it is pronounced?
Any ideas would be appreciated
Farang (Thai pronunciation: Falang)
Aroy (Thai: Aloy)
When I speak Thai I say it as Falang or Aloy because this is how the Thais say it.
It was pointed out to me early on that it is because the Thais can't pronounce their R's. This begs the question: Why is it spelled that way in English? And for the past 9 years I have asked many people this question, and I have never been able to get to the bottom of it.
The Thais don't use the the Roman alphabet and have a completely different alphabet of their own, so somebody when translating these words thought it best to spell it with an R, instead of an L. If the words are not pronounced this way, or indeed the Thais can't even pronounce the words the way we spell them.
My question is: Why isn't it spelled, in English, the way it is pronounced?
Any ideas would be appreciated
