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View Full Version : lai ong, lai ong, mali mali ong


Richard
02-21-2008, 10:37 PM
I believe this is a New Years greeting? Actually I'm asking about two Pisang Awak cultivar names. Perhaps you folks with a better knowledge of Thai and Taiwanese dialects can help. Here is the state of my ignorance :o

lai ong = pineapple, or more literally apple/treat from Lai (province).

mali = malai = heavy cream or creamed

so ...

Kluay Ong (ABB) = apple/treat banana ?

Kluay Mali Ong (ABB) = creamy apple/treat banana ?

Thanks!

Gabe15
02-22-2008, 02:54 AM
Simmonds lists 'Kluay maliong' and 'Kluay ong' both as Northern Thai names for 'Klauy namwa'/'Pisang Awak', but does not note any differences between them, although a few separate forms of 'namwa' are listed (daeng: red, khao: white, kiau: green, kom: dwarf, hakmuk/som: silvery/waxy fruits).

Richard
02-24-2008, 01:57 PM
Thanks Gabe, although I'm not trying to determine synonyms -- just trying to learn reasonable translations of the names. One amusing fact about plant cultivars is that as they are refined, a qualifier is added -- often in a different language. So we have multi-word plant names with each word from a different language!

Klue sangkivo:
Klue = an indo-chinese UK-colonial transliteration of "Thai banana"; i.e., how peoples external to the Thai region referred to banana from Thai.
sang = "to" and sometimes "from".
Kivo = a namesake from Burma