"It's a good system, " said Lars Svensson, Bangkok-based marketing director, who appears to relish properly pronouncing words that sound especially unsavory to Thai ears.

WSJ: IKEA's Products Make Shoppers Blush in Thailand

They often have problems spelling, writing, reading aloud and pronouncing words.

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He says that, with the transliterations, some Thais wind up pronouncing the words more accurately than English speakers who struggle with Swedish.

WSJ: IKEA's Products Make Shoppers Blush in Thailand