Newsgroups: sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!gatech!europa.chnt.gtegsc.com!ra.nrl.navy.mil!news.math.psu.edu!news.cse.psu.edu!uwm.edu!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uchinews!ellis!deb5
From: deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Siam is with a long I?
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: midway.uchicago.edu
Message-ID: <Dq2ADt.88A@midway.uchicago.edu>
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (News Administrator)
Reply-To: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: The University of Chicago
References: <8BED46E.06D3003A24.uuout@kandy.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 14:17:52 GMT
Lines: 24

In article <8BED46E.06D3003A24.uuout@kandy.com>,
ED EVANS <ed.evans@kandy.com> wrote:
>One of my students is from Thiland. He spells his first name as
>Siam.  It's pronounced with a long i, right?
>
>Several teachers I know say his name is pronounced with an e,
>as in see am. Siamese cats are from Thiland or thereabouts, I
>believe, and no one seems to have trouble with the i sound.

The only way to be sure is to ask him.  Although standardised
romanisations of Thai exist, the average person is more like
to come up with his own idiosyncratic romanisation depending on
his knowledge of English (and other foreign languages) at the
time.  Thus, <i> could have the value it generally has in 
English, or the value it has in virtually every other orthography
in the world (what we would spell "ee").

Also, his name doesn't have to have anything to do with the name
"Siam".  BTW, the current name for the country is Thailand.

-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
