It may seem a daft question but please can some one let me know how Hua Hin is correctly pronounced is it like Hooa Hin or maybe Hugh Hin. Most people pronounce Pattaya wrong for instance it is correctly pronounced Pat a ya
But 'head,' apparently the literal and contextual meaning of Hua, is not pronounced 'Whah'. I think this is a colloquial pronunciation in the same way that Brits might pronounce Middlesborough as 'Middlesbruh.'
I just double checked with Mrs Jaime and she pronounces it clearly as 'Hoo-(w)ah Hin' A quick 'Hoo-(w)ah' but definitely 'Hoo-(w)ah' nevertheless. My wife is from the North but her cousin's husband (born and raised in Hua Hin) pronounces it the same way and don't forget that Thailand has many regional accents that could affect the pronunciation too.
I think Jaime is correct. Many years ago I picked up the bad habit of pronouncing it Wah Hin after hearing it said that way. Even now it slips out that way sometimes and usually gets a big laugh from the Thais! Pete
Thanks guys - typical Thai language wind-up! Tell the stupid farang its pronounced one way, and then have a good laugh everytime you get it wrong.
However, are sure that its me who's been wound up, and not you guys?
My wife, her family and many friends are also from the North East - they all pronounce it 'Whah'........................to hell with all of this - lets just pronounce it 'heaven'
Big Boy, my sister-in-law is from near Sakhon Nakhon and she pronounces it in a similar way to the way you mention, with the Hoo-ah being said very quickly so that it sounds like 'Whah'. As I posted above, I think this is a colloquial corruption. Ask Mrs Big Boy to pronounce Hua Hin v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Better still, ask her to say the Thai word for 'head' on its own, without the Hin after it and listen to how it sounds.
Hoo-ah also means 'cow' when spoken in a different tone. I get mixed up between the two!
I eventually slowed he speech down to snail's pace - no mean feat for a Thai Lady. You are correct - albeit it was not until about the 6th attempt that she slowed it down enough.
Steve,
[quote]if they are from the North East they must be Thai geordies, so they pronounce it “whahâ€