NO Not Like That! 🙂
Phuket is an island off the south-west coast of Thailand in Asia. It is actually pronounced [poo-ket] but it sure does make for good conversation!
How about some of those other names? Bangkok? Fukuoka? Hmmmm…no comment 🙂
See For Yourself How to Pronounce Some of These Names
Check out Howjsay – it is fun!
Dad wrote a story called “In Name Only” about something he encountered his whole life. The name “Sahud” is Arabic, yet dad was Jewish. This made for some interesting experiences, both good and bad. Here is an excerpt from “In Name Only“::
Dr. Elliott Sielbaum, the Podiatrist, injected Novacaine into four sides of my infected toe. The problem was an ingrown toe nail and I had little patience for his political chatter. He swung around, picked up a scalpel and stared at me for a moment. “I can’t figure out your name. Are you Arabic or Moslem?”
I said, “Why are you sitting there with a sharp scalpel in your hand and questioning my heritage”? He smiled and said, “Just curious, I always felt that a level playing field was necessary to remedy the situation between the Arabs and Israelis”.
I said, “If you wanted to level the playing field and felt that I might be Arabic, you should hand me a scalpel before I answer”. As he handed me a scalpel, I said “Actually, we are both quite safe. I am a Russian Jew. My parents were born in Odessa. I can’t explain the Arabic name. Unless dear old Grandma was messing around with the nomad caravans traveling from Russia to Arabia as it was called in those days”.