Would a Bangkok by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? [S5.E49]

Greg and Ed discuss the significance of the recent decision
by the Thai parliament to accept a change to the official English
name of Bangkok that was proposed by the Royal Society of Thailand.
Initially, it was announced as a major change from 'Bangkok' to
'Krung Thep Maha Nakhon,' (that's กรุงเทพมหานคร for
you Thai readers), but Greg clarifies that the change
really was just a matter of punctuation.

Nevertheless, the announcement kicked off a huge debate on
social media over what Thailand's capital should really be
called, as it's an issue fraught with a surprising amount of
subtext, as this great thread from Khun
Phacha will show.


Ed notes initially that the word 'Bangkok' is not a word
made up by Westerners, but an old word for a district of the old
capital of Thonburi. Greg points out that Bangkok has been used
for centuries and is extremely well known around the world so
it's a bit strange for the change to be made now.


The guys also discuss proper
pronunciation of places, as most countries
have the 'international name' (ie, Germany, Thailand and Sweden)
and the 'local name' (as in Deutschland, Meuang Thai, and
Sverige). Read more about this interesting concept with the name
of Laos in this great post by
Tim.


In the end, the guys prefer to keep the podcast 'The
Bangkok Podcast' instead of going through the trouble of renaming
it 'The Krung Thep Maha Nakorn Podcast.' Lazy as always!


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