[JayBee]

Originally Posted by ATMwalking

You'll never find me arguing over romanized thai phonetics. when typing this stuff, I don't put much thought into how it actually sounds. Pointless as there is no standard. Doubt anyone unfamiliar with the language could get anywhere close just by reading this stuff anyhow. Spell however you want

The point I was making hasn't got anything to do with "correct" romanized spelling, since the only correct spelling is in Thai letters. There are too many different ways of "romanizing," which is just a way of trying to get the sound of the word across, but is difficult since the sounds really are not the same in so many cases.

Originally Posted by ATMwalking

I know what you are saying though. the "g" is very soft and short and this word shouldn't be confused with a similar sounding word for person. so guess that would be cong vs. cawn (again spell how you want).

The point is that the word for "of" is khong, kong, or cong, however you like to spell it. It Thai it ends with the consonant "ngoh ngoo," which is one letter which sounds like "ng" in English. It does not end with "noh nu," which is the same as the English letter n. The "g" is not separate from the "n." It is one letter, not two letters, as in the English translation. That is why it cannot be cawn, rather than cong. The way the Thais speak, it is often difficult to hear the correct endings on words, but, believe me, THEY HEAR IT!.

Originally Posted by ATMwalking

The last bit isn't true. without showing possession you are just talking about some penis. Could be any penis (assuming you weren't already chatting about your penis).

You misunderstood my point. Cong is the equivalent of the word "of" in English because it shows possession(except when used as a noun, then it means thing or things). More often than not, they leave it out, though.

Originally Posted by ATMwalking

So it's the difference of "Penis" vs. "My penis". In the context of being in a bar, things can be unclear. Showing position (meaning your penis) is key to making the dumb joke work. She needs to be clear during the set-up. If she is thinking you are too formal (I agree she could be), you're just tearing that down with the joke anyway.

Again, you misunderstood me. The difference is not between "penis" and "my penis." The difference is between "my penis" (juu phom) and "penis of me" (juu kong phom). Same difference as in English as between saying, "Jim's home," or "the home of Jim." They both mean exactly the same thing. In Thai, it is more correct to use the "of"(kong) form, but most people generally don't.

Originally Posted by ATMwalking

I agree in normal speech, where the context is clear, possession is dropped all the time and sounds more natural.

Here it is not a matter of possession being dropped, just which form of possession to use, the simple, everyday form, or the more correct form. You could use either one.

Originally Posted by ATMwalking

never thought I would be debating the correct use of "penis" in a thai sentence

Ditto!

Originally Posted by ATMwalking

That aside, i guess it does show a lot can be learned about thai language by trying to make dumb jokes for BGs.

Nothing like a dumb joke to break the ice, especially with Thais, as they are born jokers.