One of my Facebook friends from high-school (back in the late 1800’s, it feels like) asked a question that we Phuket residents often get, so figured best to post an entry on the subject.

How do you pronounce ‘Phuket’?

Quick answer: ‘POO-ket’

The longer answer involves invoking the Thai script, explaining the shades of difference in Thai pronunciation, addressing some of the issues involved in transliterating one language (especially a tonal language like Thai) into another, invoking the Malay word bukit meaning ‘hill’ from which the name is derived, and snickering a little at the alternative pronunciations we could conceive.

For now, I will simply point to Jamie Monk’s post on all this.