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A sort of related question that I've struggled to get a good answer on: how does one actually pronounce "Pad" in "Pad Thai"? Pad as in iPad? Or closer to pod?

happyglands 7y ago
I've always heard "pád", but I've never been to Thailand or heard it from them.
dev-ns8 7y ago
While in Thailand, I never once heard someone pronounce it as "pod", always Pad Thai
ValentineC 7y ago
The Google Translate audio is exactly how I've heard it being spoken by Thai people: https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=th&tl=en&text=%E0%B8%9C%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A2 https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=th&t...
rnicholus 7y ago
Either, really. And you’ll hear Thai people pronounce it either way (depending on their English reference - usually British), since locals will not call it “Pad Thai”.
- mdturnerphys 7y ago
  Not sure what you mean by this. This is the name in Thai and "ผัดไทย" ([pʰàt tʰāj] in IPA) is what is written on shops and carts where it's sold. The vowel in "pad" is in between the two options given in the question above. Unlike English, where accents primarily change the vowels, vowels stay quite constant across accents in Thai.
  - rnicholus 7y ago
    I mean that I’ve heard either pronunciation. And when addressing to English native speakers, the pronunciation may not be connected to local custom...
  - jdmichal 7y ago
    The /a/ in Thai is a central vowel. This is different than English /a/, which is a front vowel. And /o/ is the open back vowel. That is why it falls between English ⟨pad⟩ and ⟨pod⟩. And if you don't speak a language with such a vowel, any particular utterance will probably be mentally mapped to one or the other.
doubleorseven 7y ago
In my experience I never hear the 'D'. It's like it's dropped and you are left with "Pa Thai". Maybe it's because the letters sound the same and the flow of speak takes it away.
iamaelephant 7y ago
Almost rhymes with "mud". Like "Pahd" but even more "uh".

happyglands 7y ago

I've always heard "pád", but I've never been to Thailand or heard it from them.

dev-ns8 7y ago

While in Thailand, I never once heard someone pronounce it as "pod", always Pad Thai

ValentineC 7y ago

The Google Translate audio is exactly how I've heard it being spoken by Thai people: https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=th&tl=en&text=%E0%B8%9C%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A2 https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=th&t...

rnicholus 7y ago

Either, really. And you’ll hear Thai people pronounce it either way (depending on their English reference - usually British), since locals will not call it “Pad Thai”.

mdturnerphys 7y ago
Not sure what you mean by this. This is the name in Thai and "ผัดไทย" ([pʰàt tʰāj] in IPA) is what is written on shops and carts where it's sold. The vowel in "pad" is in between the two options given in the question above. Unlike English, where accents primarily change the vowels, vowels stay quite constant across accents in Thai.
- rnicholus 7y ago
  I mean that I’ve heard either pronunciation. And when addressing to English native speakers, the pronunciation may not be connected to local custom...
- jdmichal 7y ago
  The /a/ in Thai is a central vowel. This is different than English /a/, which is a front vowel. And /o/ is the open back vowel. That is why it falls between English ⟨pad⟩ and ⟨pod⟩. And if you don't speak a language with such a vowel, any particular utterance will probably be mentally mapped to one or the other.

doubleorseven 7y ago

In my experience I never hear the 'D'. It's like it's dropped and you are left with "Pa Thai". Maybe it's because the letters sound the same and the flow of speak takes it away.

iamaelephant 7y ago

Almost rhymes with "mud". Like "Pahd" but even more "uh".