ศาลาชุมนุม

[pensive]

But that is simply because unstressed syllables usually take a mid-tone, chi mi krap?

[r2d2]

Sorry for mixing in but I heard the term "hima" the first time at the top of Petersberg, Bonn, Koenigswinter (where several Afghanistan conferences took/are taking place) out of the mouth of my sister-in-law.

We were searching for snow, after her arrival from Bangkok, in March 2010, (on the top of) the valley of river Rhine.

It is

hima m. cold , frost RV. &c. &c. ; the cold season , winter Ka1lid. Ma1rkP. ; the sandal tree L. ; the moon (cf. %{hima-kara} &c.) L. ; camphor L. ; (%{hi4mA}) f. (only with %{zata4}) the cold season , winter (also= `" a year "' ; cf. %{varSa4}) RV. VS. AV. ; (%{himA4}) , night Naigh. i , 7 ; (%{himA} , only L.) , cardamoms ; Cyperus Rotundus and another species ; Trigonella Corniculata ; a partic. drug (= %{reNukA}) ; N. of Durga1 ; (%{am}) n. frost , hoar-frost , snow (rarely `" ice "') , Shad2v Br. &c. &c. ; sandal-wood (of cooling properties) Sus3r. ; the wood of Cerasus Puddum L. ; tin L. ; a pearl L. ; fresh butter L. ; a lotus W. ; N. of a Varsha VP. ; mf(%{A})n. cold , cool Ja1takam. [Cf. Zd. {zima} ; Gk. ($-) $ ; $ ; $ ; Lat. {bi1mus} for &392190[1298 ,3] {bihimus} ; %{hiems} ; Slav. {zima} Lit. $ ]

as in hima-alaya (หิมาลัย, or हिमालय, literally "abode of snow" hima-alaya).

I was most impressed by the fact that the second syllable was clearly pronounced with a stop. The tone of the first syllable I do not remember so well. It is now 2 years ago. "I" in /hi/ short, tone? In doubt low, at least lower than this impressive high short stopped /ma/

[r2d2]

Actually, from the rule หิมะ would be pronounced as hiL maH, but in spoken, we would pronounced it as hiM (or heeM) maH.

Yes - near to that what I heard at Petersberg/Koenigswinter, 2 years ago. But I still would hear, independent from the question whether the i in the first syllable is short or long, or the syllable is low or middle, that the syllable /hi/ is stopped ---- fully in accordance with the Thai letters หิ ... so, no major remark but a minor recalling of the scene.