VOA新闻杂志2022--泰国政府解释更改曼谷官方名称

Thai Government Explains Official Name Change for Bangkok

Thailand's government recently provided new guidance on how the official name of the capital, Bangkok, would be used internationally.

The guidance, however, caused some confusion¹. Some people thought it meant that English speakers would need to start calling Bangkok by its longer, local name, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon.

But Thailand's Royal Society recently explained that the new guidance did not mean that people should stop calling the capital Bangkok. The Royal Society is responsible for creating academic and language guidelines² for the country.

In its recent guidance, the agency said the capital would now be officially known internationally as "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok)." This was a change from the old guidance, which described the capital as "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon; Bangkok."

As people tried to understand the meaning of the new guidance, many saw the use of parentheses³ around Bangkok as a sign that the short form may no longer be welcomed like before.

The short name for the capital means "great city of angels" in Thai. When speaking, most Thais shorten⁴ that name to Krung Thep.

Some language experts wondered if the new guidance would lead to difficulties for people not aware of the capital's longer, official name. As the issue gained attention in Thailand, the Royal Society released a statement on Facebook explaining that its new guidance simply represented a stylistic change.

"Writing the capital city's official name with the Roman alphabet can be done both as Krung Thep Maha Nakon and Bangkok," the statement said.

What some people may not know is that even the term used by Thais to describe the capital is a shortened⁵ version of the official name. That name, which has roots in the Pali and Sanskrit languages, stretches 168 letters. It is more of a phrase to describe the city than a traditional name.

The Guinness World Records organization lists Bangkok's extremely long official name as the world's longest place name.

Words in This Story

confusion – n. a state in which people do not understand what is happening or what they should do

parentheses – n. two curved lines that are used around extra information or information that should be considered separate

stylistic – adj. relating to a particular style of doing something

1 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

2 guidelines   

n.指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• The government has drawn up guidelines on the treatment of the mentally ill. 政府制订了对待精神病人的指导方针。
• Planners seem a little uncomfortable with the current government guidelines. 规划师似乎不太接受现行的政府指道方针。

3 parentheses   

n.圆括号，插入语，插曲（ parenthesis的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Irregular forms are given in parentheses . 不规则形式标注在括号内。
• Answer these questions, using the words in parentheses. Put the apostrophe in the right place. 用句后括号中的词或词组来回答问题，注意撇号的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。

5 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句