Thai is a completely phonetic, and one of the few tonal languages in the world. You will be continuously and completely confused by the fact that the same word will be spelled numerous different ways in English, as you travel down the same road. For example the city of Pattaya is spelled five different ways on the way down, on the same highway! It just depends on who made the sign, and how the word sounded to that person at the time. So be aware that although the spelling has changed, you should still be going to the right place, OR NOT!
For the experienced Asian traveler, you may know how the Japanese use L’s for R’s when speaking English. This is because the Japanese do not have an R in their language; consequently their mouth does not have the ability to pronounce it. An example of this would be the infamous “Flid Lice” instead of Fried Rice. For some reason, and I have not been able to figure it out yet, the Thais transpose their R’s and L’s, although they have both of them in the Thai language. So, Thais also say “Lice” for Rice and “Loyal” for Royal. But, mai pen “Rai” (no problem, and used for any excuse) they pronounce mai pen “Lai”. “A Rai” (what?) is actually pronounced “Arrai”, rolling the tongue as in French or Spanish. But you will hear most Thais pronounce it “Allai”. Are you confused yet? Oh yes, Thais also tend to drop any S’s or K’s at the end of any foreign word. So House becomes “Hou” and Mouse becomes “Mou” which sounds just like the Thai word “mao” which means drunk, and motor bike becomes “motor bai”. So, you have to know the context of what a Thai is trying to say, when you are trying to pick out the word that they are trying to express. Just be aware that you will be very confused with it all at the beginning. You may also hear some “Farangs” (foreigners), that live in Thailand, speaking to their girlfriend, waiter or even other farangs in Pidgin English, in a Thai style. This is not done to insult them, or to belittle the Thais for not being able to speak better English. This is merely done because it is the easiest way that the Thai can understand what you are saying.
You will hear every Thai use the word “Farang” (pronounced “Falang” of course) when speaking about foreigners. The word Farang is a derivative of the word for Caucasian, used to describe the French in early days. The French missionaries were the first white Western people the Thais had ever seen. Farang has now become the general word to describe all Western foreigners or Western things. Farang is not a derogatory phrase, as it would be in some other country or culture. Of course, if you have just pissed somebody off, and they sneer Farang at you with contempt, you will definitely know it. Farang is merely the Thai word used to indicate any Westerner or Western thing.
In Thai, the adjective is transposed as well. You will see signs that say “Bar Beer” instead of Beer Bar, “Taxi Meter” instead of Metered Taxi, and they will say “Car Red” instead of Red Car. This can also be confusing to the foreigner new to Thailand.
Always remember that you are the visitor in Thailand, and when speaking with a Thai, English is NOT their first language. Speak slowly and concisely, and don’t add too many extra words in an attempt to be polite. It is better when ordering to just say “One beer” followed by a warm smile, than to confuse the issue with a lot of extra words. If you say something like, “Yes please I would like to have another beer while you’re up”, the poor Thai will now have to pull the word “yes and beer” out of all that. They may end up just walking off with a smile and bring you back an Ice Tea. That is if they decide to come back at all.