tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905541471605961414.post8352645617520212007..comments2024-03-28T17:25:17.827+07:00Comments on Thai 101: Linguistic puzzler: ChevroletRikkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196282287835224940noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905541471605961414.post-84231913395317827992009-03-23T02:22:00.000+07:002009-03-23T02:22:00.000+07:00It's unfortunate. Ironically, Chevrolet entered th...It's unfortunate. Ironically, Chevrolet entered the Thai market as a replacement for GM's Opel brand. Opel had a few bad models that did poorly here. So GM slapped the Chevy logo on the Astra and the Zafira and problem solved. Except for the pronunciation of the name.Wise Kwaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00462741207572023832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905541471605961414.post-31297683126152347552009-03-21T10:28:00.000+07:002009-03-21T10:28:00.000+07:00Yes, but this solution leads to the American pronu...Yes, but this solution leads to the American pronunciation of the word, which is also not correct, taking into account Chevrolet is a French word and the French would pronounce the second syllable with a short vowel.<BR/><BR/>Words like บุฟเฟต์, บัลเลต์, ปาร์เกต์ are also not written correctly. The French pronounce these words with a short vowel (in the second syllable). Thai people pronounce the second syllable with a falling tone, which will shorten the vowel and make the pronunciation sound closer to French.<BR/><BR/>If you would write เชฟโรเลต์ you would make the same mistake. However, I agree with you that this is probably the least "bad" way to write the word.<BR/><BR/>In my country there are many American and English brands that use a different brand names inside my country only. Some brands choose a similar sounding name that sound more expensive or classic than the original name (often with a French accent).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905541471605961414.post-63136833806313330932009-03-21T00:16:00.000+07:002009-03-21T00:16:00.000+07:00I think the most obvious and sensible choice would...I think the most obvious and sensible choice would be to simply put a การันต์ over the ต: เชฟโรลเต์. Problem solved. :)<BR/><BR/>But they've already been open for business for 9 years, with 100,000+ Chevrolets on Thailand's roads (says their website). Probably not gonna change.Rikkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196282287835224940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905541471605961414.post-25664232982605984282009-03-20T23:05:00.000+07:002009-03-20T23:05:00.000+07:00The alternatives for writing the last syllable cou...The alternatives for writing the last syllable could be:<BR/>เล<BR/>เหละ<BR/>เหล็ด์<BR/>The first syllable is probably close to how Americans would pronounce this word. If Mr. Chevrolet was Swiss-French I am sure he would have used เหละ (our maybe he just gave up correcting everyone after a while and accepted his new name). Anyway, Americans pronounce his name wrong. <BR/>เหละ can, taking into account this is a loanword, be pronounced wrong: เห-ละ<BR/>The third way of writing is rather strange because of the combination of เ-็- followed by -์.<BR/>So, I think that's why they ended up writing it this way. It looks like a logical choice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905541471605961414.post-49078500974362142432009-03-20T16:17:00.000+07:002009-03-20T16:17:00.000+07:00Another French company seen in Thailand, is Carref...Another French company seen in Thailand, is Carrefour คาร์ฟูร์. This spelling baffled me for a while. In England Carrefour is pronounced car-four, so why is the Thai transliteration car-foor? <BR/><BR/>Well, that's how the French pronounce it. Four is foor.5tashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14939700299648004915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6905541471605961414.post-30663930170951516442009-03-20T15:45:00.000+07:002009-03-20T15:45:00.000+07:00It's probably unrelated, but it's pronounced chev-...It's probably unrelated, but it's pronounced chev-ro-leT in Hungary as well (hungarian has lots of strong consonants). I could imagine that the English just simply couldn't put up with the strong consonant at the end of the word, and their version became dominant.Nyiti (Gabor)https://www.blogger.com/profile/09032126312186929394noreply@blogger.com