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Spelling of Sanuk / Sanook?


MooNoi

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When we write this term in English, if it supposed to be a direct phonetic translation, shouldn't it be written sanook rather than sanuk??

 

Writing is as "sanuk" makes it sound like it rhymes with "duck" or "luck".

 

I've always written it as sanook, but it seems most people write it as sanuk.

 

:dunno:

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There are many different transliteration schemes, not just one. They tend to be a lazy man's out that basically say when you see thai character so and so, then translate it directly to english character so and so. That's why you get those crazy things like Suvarnabhumi airport that sounds absolutely nothing like that, or Sawasdee magazine from Thai airways even though there is no second "s" sound. While it makes an easy job for the translator, the net result is the audience for the translation (i.e. those who can't read thai) absolutely butcher the words which are totally incomprehensible.

 

I think it makes the most sense to spell each word so that the casual reader has the best chance of pronouncing it right. In this case there is hardly an "a" sound there so why not go the extra mile and spell it sunook? That ought to easily give the best chance of being understood when a newbie utters it.

 

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