Some Bar News

[Gaybutton]

This evening I was in Sunee Plaza, but only for a short while. I did not enter any of the bars, but I did notice that Happy Bar is open again.

 

Also, Look Bar is now a thing of the past. I don't know whether it was sold or simply changed hands, but it definitely has a new name. Now it's called Playboys.

 

As you may know, Look Bar was recently raided. Now it has a new name. It is not uncommon for bars to be raided, get forcibly shut down, and then quickly reopen under a new name. I am only guessing, but I have a feeling that may account for the demise of Look Bar and the opening of Playboys Bar.

[Guest ReneThai]

Happy Bar is in Soi Yensabai , and Look-Y2K-Playboys Bar is in Soi VC .

 

Why mention all the bars in that area Sunny Plaza , that is not correct.

 

Rene

[Gaybutton]

Why mention all the bars in that area Sunny Plaza , that is not correct.

First, it's Sunee Plaza, not "Sunny" Plaza. I've unsuccessfully tried to eliminate that confusion for years.

 

Technically you are correct about the locations of the various bars. Most people, however, refer to that entire area as Sunee Plaza. So do I, even though the two I mention are actually outside of Sunee Plaza.

 

I've never really understood the confusion about the name. The signs are clearly marked, "Sunee Plaza." The actual Sunee Plaza is owned by Madame Sunee (pronounced SOO nee - one of the few Thai words in which the first syllable is emphasized). It has nothing to do with the sun. The most common misspellings, along with mispronunciations, are 'sunny' and 'sunnee.'

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Speaking of pronunciation - why is it that almost no farang pronounce Pattaya correctly? It is Pah Tah YAH, Not Patty AH or Pah TAI ya.

[Guest fountainhall]

Probably because few farangs pay the slightest attention to how Thais actually pronounce it.

[Gaybutton]

why is it that almost no farang pronounce Pattaya correctly?

That's one of my little peeves too. There are several words that are commonly mispronounced. It's one thing if someone is new to Thailand, but many have heard these words spoken for years and still insist on mispronouncing them.

 

I think the most common mispronunciation is 'farang'. It is correctly pronounced 'fa-RAHNG' or 'fa-LAHNG'. Take your pick, but it is definitely not pronounced 'fa-RANG' as in rang a bell. It is also definitely not pronounced 'FAIR-rang.' I hear that one too.

 

I know several people who are aware of exactly how these words are correctly pronounced, but they just won't do it. It's another item on my "I Don't Get It" list.

[Guest Hedda]

I think the most common mispronunciation is 'farang'. It is correctly pronounced 'fa-RAHNG' or 'fa-LAHNG'. Take your pick...

 

Sorry GB, but I think that pronouncing farang as "falang" is as legitimate as pronouncing rice as "lice" in English. It may be common in Pattaya to hear "R's" turned into lazy "L's" but it's bad Thai and immediately marks the speaker as a hick. Some like to call it a "local dialect," but you would never hear "R" pronounced as an "L" in any discussion among educated Thais.

 

Other common examples: the word for cute you will hear among Thai boys here is "NALAK," but the correct word is "NARAK." Same goes for the word for handsome, where "Roo-ploh" gets smothered to Loo-ploh.

 

Many Thais here will answer you "MAI-LOO" when they want to say they don't know an answer, but the only correct way to say "I don't know" in Thai is "MAI-ROO."

 

I also think someone above got the wrong phonetics on the right pronunciation of "Pattaya." I believe that the Thais do not accent any of the three syllables of the name, making it: Paa-Taa-Yaa.

[Bob]

Sorry GB, but pronouncing farang as "falang" is as legitimate as pronouncing rice as "lice" in English. It may be common in Pattaya to hear "R's" turned into lazy "L's" but it's bad Thai and immediately marks the speaker as a hick. You would never hear "R" pronounced as an "L" in any discussion among educated Thais.

 

I disagree. The actual correct pronunciation of "falang/farang" is with both an "l" and an "r" sound (actually it's half way between). I've never heard anybody (other than foreigners) pronounce it as fah-rang. I don't think it's any coincidence that the various language books alternate the spelling between falang and farang - it's just because they pick the spelling that sounds more like what they heard (and it's difficult to distinguish).

 

I also disagree with the concept of "bad Thai." "Krap" may be good Bangkokian Thai but it's not how it's pronounced in the north or northeast. It's not the north's problem that the flatlanders don't know how to pronounce it correctly.

[Guest Hedda]

Double post....please delete

 

You sure you don't mean: Please derete.

 

Seriously, we are talking phonetics here, and there is no way that one can say that a rolling "r" in words such farang, roeploh, narak and roo is acceptably spoken as a lazy "L."

 

The fact that the Lek Dolittle's with whom many expats find themselves in contact don't learn to roll their R's does not make it correct Thai. As for some language books, they may be offering alternative spelling to enable the foreigner to recognize the different pronunciation when heard, but I don't believe you would ever hear those "R" words pronounced as an "L" in Thai society or academia.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

While we are on language, what about native English speakers who use incorrect grammar all the time. I don't mean accents or the difference between UK English and American or Australian English. I mean people who don't know when to use "I" and when to use "me", for example or "have went" instead of "have gone". I hear it wrong by supposedly intelligent people on TV all the time, both BBC and CNN.

[Guest fountainhall]

While we are on language, what about native English speakers who use incorrect grammar all the time

 

Now you are getting on to a very contentious issue - dialects! A native Scot from the south west of the country might well say "I have went" (how many times have you heard he comedian Billy Connelly say that?) and be perfectly correct in accordance to the speech custom of the area. Almost no Englishman, to my knowledge, would dream of saying it because they'd never have the opportunity of using it. Similarly "me and the wife" is a not uncommon phrase used in parts of Scotland and England, whereas in the south of England it would almost exclusively be "the wife and I".

 

My first job happened to be with the BBC in London. In those days, the BBC had a pronunciation unit and the pronunciation of all names, major words and phrases in things like news bulletins had to be checked with the unit prior to broadcast. Regional accents were not only frowned upon, they were stamped out. For that reason, BBC presenters had an almost identical style of delivery and pronunciation.

 

Now, diversity is the name of the broadcasting game in the UK and regional accents are both encouraged and promoted. There is therefore no such thing any more as the 'Queen's English' and ploper plonunciation .

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I was not referring to dialects, but rather textbook English grammar. I have went is incorrect English grammar. Me and my wife is also incorrect. Common usage doesn't make it correct. In NYC and Chicago is is not uncommon to hear "youse guys", but that doesn't make it correct English grammar.

[Gaybutton]

Sorry GB, but I think that pronouncing farang as "falang" is as legitimate as pronouncing rice as "lice" in English.

Actually, I agree with you. For years I've been saying it should be pronounced with an 'r,' but every time I say it, somebody starts arguing with me about it and insists it should be pronounced with an 'l.' On this thread, just to avoid that, for the first time ever I said "take your pick." So, what happens? Now I've got you arguing with me about it. Arrrrrrrghhh! I can't win . . .

[Guest lvdkeyes]

At any rate, farang or falang, it is NOT fa RANG.

[Guest joseph44]

So wot ubout du bar nuews?

[Gaybutton]

So wot ubout du bar nuews?

You mean stick to the topic? That would require another miracle . . .