Col (not Colonel)
Gen (not General)
Lt Col (not Lieutenant Colonel)
Lt Gen
Maj Gen
C-in-C (Commander-in-Chief)
Acronyms
Recognisable and readable acronyms in lower case; Asean (not ASEAN)
Businesses
Use the correct, registered commercial name. Confirm from company references (online) if possible.
Examples:
The Sukhothai (not 'Sukhothai Hotel')
The Oriental (not 'Oriental Hotel')
7-Eleven (not '7-11' or 'Seven-Eleven')
Capitalisation
Capitalise only official names, eg Royal Thai Army, Army Commander-in-Chief, Cabinet, Parliament, but not army, foreign ministry, etc.
EX: The army had increased its grip on provincial security. (NOT: The Army had increased its grip on the provincial security.)
Surin province and Surin district, not Surin Province or Surin District
Compass Directions
Northeast, southwest, etc (not north-east, south-west, etc)
Country Names
Official UN recognised name at the time of the story, ie. In 1981, it is Kampuchea, after 1993, Cambodia., or Burma before 1989, Myanmar afterwards
Dates & Time
Months and days written out in full, 22 February (not 22 Feb)
12am, 4pm (not 12 a.m. or 4 p.m.)
Distance & Measures
3km (not three km)
36km (not 36 km or 36 kilometres)
40kg
10 sq km
percent – written out in full (not per cent, or %)
Land speeds in kilometres, not miles, written as kmph, not kilometres per hour, or km per hour, eg, 75kmph
Money
150 baht (not 150B or THB150)
a million dollars (not $1 million or $1,000,000) but $10 million (not 10 million dollars)
Numbers
One through nine spelled out, 10 and above in digits.
3,000 not 3000
17th (not 17th with superscript; must disable in MS Word under AutoCorrect)
People
Go with modern commonly accepted transliterations for major figures. Wikipedia usually has the correct/most commonly accepted transliteration for Thai historical figures. Final arbiter is the index in The King of Thailand in World Focus.
Anand Panyarachun
Banharn Silpa-Archa
Bhumibol Adulyadej (not Phumiphon, etc)
Chamlong Srimuang
Chatichai Choonavan
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
Chuan Leekpai
Khuang Aphaiwong
Kriangsak Jamanandana
M R Kukrit Pramoj
Phibun Songkhram (not Pibul Songgram, etc)
Praphas Charusathian (not Prapass Charusatiara)
Prem Tinsulananda
Pridi Phanomyong
Samak Sundaravej
Sarit Thanarat
M R Seni Pramoj
Thanom Kittikachorn
Thanin Kraivixien
___________________ (add as necessary)
___________________
___________________
Place Names in Thailand
A few of the more troublesome place names:
-buri: Lopburi, Thonburi, Suphanburi, etc, not Lop Buri, Thon Buri, Suphan Buri, etc
Ayuthaya (not Ayudhya or Ayutthaya)
Chao Phraya River (not Chao Phya River)
Chiang Mai (not Chiangmai)
Chiang Rai (not Chiangrai)
Chumphon (not Chumporn)
Loei (not Loey)
Mekong River (not Mekhong River)
Nakhon Si Thammarat (not Nakhon Sithammaraj, etc)
Narathiwat (not Naradhivas)
Phetchaburi (not Petchaburi, Phetburi)
Phitsanulok (not Pitsanuloke)
Phra Phutthabaht (not Phrabuddhabat, etc)
Ratchadamnoen Ave (not Rajdamnern Ave)
Sakon Nakhon (not Sakol Nakorn)
Samut Prakan (not Smud Prakarn)
Satun (not Satul)
Surath Thani
Udon Thani (not Udorn Tani)
Ubon Ratchathani (not Ubol Rajathani)
Uttaradit
Province Names (adapted from Wiki, edited to conform with general usage/RID)
North
Chiang Mai (เชียงใหม่)
Chiang Rai (เชียงราย)
Lampang (ลำปาง)
Lamphun (ลำพูน)
Mae Hong Son (แม่ฮ่องสอน)
Nan (น่าน)
Phayao (พะเยา)
Phrae (แพร่)
Uttaradit (อุตรดิตถ์)
West
Kanchanaburi (กาญจนบุรี)
Phetchaburi (เพชรบุรี)
Prachuap Khiri Khan (ประจวบคีรีขันธ์)
Ratchaburi (ราชบุรี)
Tak (ตาก)
Northeast
Amnat Charoen (อำนาจเจริญ)
Buriram (บุรีรัมย์)
Chaiyaphum (ชัยภูมิ)
Kalasin (กาฬสินธุ์)
Khon Kaen (ขอนแก่น)
Loei (เลย)
Maha Sarakham (มหาสารคาม)
Mukdahan (มุกดาหาร)
Nakhon Phanom (นครพนม)
Nakhon Ratchasima (นครราชสีมา)
Nong Bua Lamphu (หนองบัวลำภู)
Nong Khai (หนองคาย)
Roi Et (ร้อยเอ็ด)
Sakon Nakhon (สกลนคร)
Si Saket (ศรีสะเกษ)
Surin (สุรินทร์)
Ubon Ratchathani (อุบลราชธานี)
Udon Thani (อุดรธานี)
Yasothon (ยโสธร)
Central
Ang Thong (อ่างทอง)
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (พระนครศรีอยุธยา)
Bangkok (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon), (กรุงเทพ ฯ)
Chainat (ชัยนาท)
Kamphaeng Phet (กำแพงเพชร)
Lopburi (ลพบุรี)
Nakhon Nayok (นครนายก)
Nakhon Pathom (นครปฐม)
Nakhon Sawan (นครสวรรค์)
Nonthaburi (นนทบุรี)
Pathum Thani (ปทุมธานี)
Phetchabun (เพชรบูรณ์)
Samut Prakan (สมุทรปราการ)
Samut Sakhon (สมุทรสาคร)
Samut Songkhram (สมุทรสงคราม)
Saraburi (สระบุรี)
Singburi (สิงห์บุรี)
Suphanburi (สุพรรณบุรี)
Uthai Thani (อุทัยธานี)
East
Chachoengsao (ฉะเชิงเทรา)
Chanthaburi (จันทบุรี)
Chonburi (ชลบุรี)
Prachinburi (ปราจีนบุรี)
Rayong (ระยอง)
Sa Kaew (สระแก้ว)
Trat (ตราด)
South
Chumphon (ชุมพร)
Krabi (กระบี่)
Nakhon Si Thammarat (นครศรีธรรมราช)
Narathiwat (นราธิวาส)
Pattani (ปัตตานี)
Phang Nga (พังงา)
Phatthalung (พัทลุง)
Phuket (ภูเก็ต)
Ranong (ระนอง)
Satun (สตูล)
Songkhla (สงขลา)
Surat Thani (สุราษฎร์ธานี)
Trang (ตรัง)
Yala (ยะลา)
Publications, Films, Books, etc
Official names of publications, films, magazines and books should be italicised,
Bangkok Post
The Elephant King
Catcher in the Rye
Time
Names of articles receive quotation marks, eg, 'The Thai Sense of Style,' by Pico Ayer.
Quotation MarksSingle, not double, quotation marks (eg: He said 'It's the government's fault.')
Road names
Use roman numerals for royal names, Rama I, not (Rama 1),
Royalty
Don't use 'His Majesty', 'Her Majesty', etc, just King, Queen, etc. Always capitalise. In repeated references in the same story, the name and title are used first, and either name and title or title alone for ensuing references eg:
'King Bhumibol attended the museum's opening ceremony. The King later commented on the education value of the exhibits. Bhumibol himself had studied photography in Switzerland.'
King
Queen
Prince
Princess
Princess Mother
M C (rather than Mom Chao)
M L (rather than Mom Luang)
M R (rather than Mom Ratchawong)
Titles & repeated reference in the same article
Don't use 'Mr', 'Mrs', etc.
Don't use old Thai titles such as 'Luang' or 'Nai'.
Use 'Dr' and military ranks at first appearance, eg: 'Dr Alexander Jones and Lt Gen Prapas Charusathian conferred …', but just the names thereafter, eg ' Jones and Prapas decided …' Last name for westerners, first name for Thais, following local and Post custom.
former Prime Minister Prem, capitalised (not former prime minister)
MISCELLANEOUS
Bhikkhu (as part of a title, eg Buddhadasa Bhikkhu)
lèse majesté (note accents & italics; on Thai MS Word you may have to use the Insert/Symbol command for the accent grave, /è/)
Thai Airways International or THAI in second reference (not 'THAI Airways,' 'Thai Airways,' 'Thai International Airways,' etc)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is what writers have received, with updates made on 5 March '09.
KEY STYLE POINTS
DATELINE Date stories on the day the event occurred, not the date story was published. If reported from somewhere other than Bangkok, eg Washington DC, Khon Kaen, etc, add the place directly at the front of the first sentence, followed by an em dash.
TIME REFERENCES Never use 'yesterday', 'last night' etc as these will not make sense in context of our book. Change present to past tense except when it appears in quotations. You can also skip through time by flashing forward, eg, 'The following week, a suspect was captured and charged with arson. A month later he was convicted and sentenced to death.' For this type of stuff you may need to use the Internet or refer to stories, or ask us to find out for you. We understand this can be time consuming but a quick search on Internet can help you save time digesting the articles and will improve the book’s scope. Be wary of using Wikipedia as your sole source.
Reporting future events Try not to produce stories that anticipate an event coming in the near future using future perfect tense. Instead confirm that the event did occur, then write the story dated for that day, using past tense. It's OK to leave future perfect for events or conditions anticipated far into the future, of course.
Sometimes this will mean doing extra research to confirm that an event occurred.
Example of what not to write:
12 August
Charter to be ratified
BANGKOK--The National Assembly had finished revising the new constitution, and it would be submitted to King Bhumibol for royal approval on 20 August, according to Senate spokesperson Amasing Randi. In decades to come, the Thai people would look back with pride on the constitutional drafting process, widely said to be the most democratic in Thai history, said Amasing. A large crowd was anticipated outside Chitrlada palace for the royal signing ceremony.
Better:
20 August
Charter ratified, King approves
BANGKOK--King Bhumibol gave his royal approval for the new constitution in a ceremony that attracted thousands of well-wishers to the streets surrounding Chitrlada Palace. Eight days earlier the National Assembly had finished revising the charter, according to Senate spokesperson Amasing Randi. In decades to come, the Thai people would look back with pride on this constitution, widely said to be the most democratic in Thai history, said Amasing.
STYLE Follow typical news copy style, by opening with lead on key event, followed by detail/color/quote etc. Please add context and background when necessary, eg, 'The issue had not been settled for months despite numerous meetings between Cambodian and Thai diplomats, so the breakthrough at Geneva came as a surprise.' When a conclusion is inferred, rather than self evident, be sure to hedge by citing a source, eg, 'Praphas said the Communist Party ultimately intended to overthrow the monarchy,' rather than 'The Communist Party ultimately intended to overthrow the monarchy.'
TITLES Don't use 'Mr', 'Mrs', etc. Don't use old Thai titles such as 'Luang' or 'Nai'. Use 'Dr' and military ranks at first appearance, eg: 'Dr Alexander Jones and Lt Gen PrapHas Charusathian conferred …', but just the names thereafter, eg ' Jones and Prapas decided …' Last name for westerners, first name for Thais, following local and Bangkok Post custom.
COLOUR Add quotes and colour and details wherever possible to keep the copy lively.
YEAR SUMMARY Please write a brief 75-word summary of year – 'year in review' style – after you have finished writing up a year.
YEAR OPENER If you come across any great quotes for our year-opening quote, please note for us.
FAQ
What are the word counts?
First leads: 150-200 words
Second leads: 100-150 words
Shorts: 100 words or less
TOTAL word count per year should be 5,000 words or less.
I notice that the Post transliterates Thai personal names and Thai place names differently in different years. Which style should I use?
We're trying to follow a standard, modern transliteration for all Thai personal and place names. For place names we have a list that follows official RTGS and official Highway Dept signage. For personal names, especially of prominent figures whose names crop up again and again over the years, follow the spellings in the index of The King of Thailand in World Focus.
If a story from, say, the 1950s, uses 'Malaya', 'Burma' or 'Ceylon', should I update to 'Malaysia', 'Myanmar' and 'Sri Lanka'?
Always use the terminology of the time, for country names, eg, Malaya, Siam, Burma, Ceylon, etc.
I'm re-writing a story on the 1960s discovery of a prehistoric human skeleton in Kanchanaburi, and noticed that the dating claimed at the time differed substantially from what is known today about the same find. How should I handle that?
This sort of thing crops up fairly frequently. In cases like this, best to write something like 'Scholars initially dated the skeleton to 6000 BC. More extensive research later confirmed a date of around 2000 BC '
