pronunciation corrections

[EnnieJuan]

Is it unreasonable to use the right pronunciation back to someone who uses the wrong one? Aldi is pronounced with an A (Al-Dee). Audi is pronounced with an Ow (Ow-Dee). Omega watches have a stress on the O, not the Me. I never know whether to say the word correctly or just go along with the wrong one to humour the person. When it's someone's name it's simpler as they introduce themselves with their chosen pronunciation, like Renée (pronounced Ree-nee for old ladies up North).

My OH frequently pronounced words incorrectly and I always correct him

She immediately said "Oh, yes, dear old I-ree-nee Handl." My reaction was, "You are a pretentious twat" which I didn't say, but did query the the pronunciation, she justified it by the fact that Irene Handl was born at the time that the pronunciation would have been "I-ree-nee." I thought "No, you are definitely a pretentious twat

I don't see how it's pretentious to pronounce someone's name the way that they themselves pronounce it? If anything, I'd say it's pretentious to presume to know better than someone about their own name.

. I have just realised that whilst the Germans invented Aldi, they evidently didn't know how to pronounce it properly. This American video helpfully describes Ol-dee and its marketing success

Pmsl @ "Titlyste".

Serves them right. People should think of these things.

At work, there's a bunch of geeks data analysts in something called the Quality and Performance team. Every time someone says they're going upstairs to Q&P, I hear "queue and pee". My inner child sniggers like mad.

AuntieRoberta you must think Irene Handl was a pretentious twat as well then because that’s how she pronounced her own name

I can go years without anyone in my life saying

Moët.

And if they did, I’d bite their hand off, however badly they pronounced it.

DoJo

I don't see how it's pretentious to pronounce someone's name the way that they themselves pronounce it?

Yes, I deliberately set out to mispronounce the actress's name. You should have heard what I did to "Handl."

Seriously, my friend would have no more idea than I how Irene Handl actually pronounced her name. Considering Ms Handl's surname is of German origin and she was the daughter of an Austrian father and German mother, she may, for all I (or my friend) knows, have pronounced in the German manner, which is (perhaps this, perhaps not: who knows how accurate Youtube is) thus: and different to either.

So, yes, in this case, I would consider her to be pretentious on two grounds;

• she said the altered pronunciation immediately after I had said it, which could be perceived as a social solecism, or to my way of thinking, as I previously wrote, oneupmanship. If she didn't like my pronunciation, she could have kept it to herself and not "corrected" me.
• she actually has no real idea of the actual correct pronunciation that Irene Handl would have used, but chose what she perceived as the "classier" of the two.

Her whole response was completely unnecessary.

I am unable to find anything that says how Irene Handl pronounced her name, and since she's been dead for thirty years, I don't think I'll be able to find out from the source.

However, do you have any first hand knowledge of the lady - perhaps you can enlighten me?

However, whatever the pronunciation, my point about my friend still stands.

If it’s in regards to a profession, and would actually matter, maybe. If it was a friend and for the purpose of (both) having a laugh at the mispronounciation, maybe. Otherwise, no. It just sounds rude

Yes, it's usually pronounced Eye-Reen. But Irene Handl (and everyone who referred to her to my knowledge) pronounced it Eye-Reen-Ee

I've heard it pronounced as such many many times on the radio when the continuity announcer reads the credits (I listen to a lot of R4 and 4Extra!)

pronounced by someone who obviously knew her well.

One of the most fiery debates we ever had in my old office was regarding the 'correct' pronunciation of Prezzo - when specifically relating to the faux-Italian, but firmly UK-based, fast food chain. We ended up emailing head office (but the sole voice arguing fervently for the anglicised, soft 'z' version still wouldn't change her mind). Happy days...

It's at about 4 minutes 15 seconds but that whole video is worth a watch for the 80s adverts alone!!

BitOutOfPractice

AuntieRoberta you must think Irene Handl was a pretentious twat as well then because that’s how she pronounced her own name grin

Read my above comment - I feel it puts my earlier post into a better context.

Irene Handl was obviously perfectly free to pronounce the name "Irene" as "Sam" if she felt like it - but the pronunciation of her name is not what I'm actually commenting on. It's my friend's behaviour, and that she would have no idea how IH pronounced it - and, really, even if she did, she was scoring points.

People further up the post said they were reluctant to use a word after someone had used what they felt to be a mispronunciation; not my friend. She leapt in, boots and all.

Do people really call a toastie machine a Breville?! I've never heard that, ever.

What if they want something from a Breville Halo? Or a soup maker? Are they "Brevilles" too?

This is bizarre.

I suppose it's like calling a vacuum a Hoover professor. Everyone knows you mean a vacuum and not a Hoover branded washing machine

BitOutOfPractice

Thank you, thatis interesting, but I still stand by what I said. The pronunciation is really, in this case, secondary to the actual motives.

For example, the actress Sophia Myles uses the pronunciation So-phi-a (with a long I), which may well be the English pronunciation. Yet if I heard someone here call her So-phee-a, which would be the pronunciation they would use, I don't think I would feel compelled to immediately use her name with her preferred pronunciation (unless I wanted to be thought to be a pretentious twat with a taste in oneupmanship).

I fancy a cuppa, could you fill the Russell Hobbs. Then pass me the remote for the Samsung. Oh and turn the British Gas up a bit, I'm cold!

Hoover is a verb in the dictionary. I very much doubt Breville is a noun in there.

OK AuntieRoberta but that's not really what you actually said. You said "Seriously, my friend would have no more idea than I how Irene Handl actually pronounced her name" - well obviously she did because she wouldn't have prounounced it like that unless she'd heard it would she? So it turns out that she wasn't a pretentious twat but actually, well, correct . Pronouncing someone's name how they prefer it isn't oneupmanship in my book. It's just polite. But you obviously have a lower twat threshold than me

Anyway, I have now emerged from my Irene Handl inspiried YouTube worm hole and must get some work done

Professor You sound like so much fun!

I call a toastie machine a breville, a vacuum a hoover, used to call a personal cassette player (think this is what they were called) a walkman, a flying disc a frisbee, etc.

Here are some more to keep you going from
www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-s6-c5-platform-discussion-7/how-%22audi%22-really-pronounced-1709262/

I particularly enjoyed Jag-wahr (unacceptable, but tolerated by the company as long as the person is interested in buying the car)

Frequently Mispronounced Car Company Names

Audi

• Correct pronunciation: Ow-dee
• Frequent mispronunciations: Aw-dee, Ah-dee
• August Horch founded Audi in 1909. Why "Audi"? It's "Horch" translated into Latin.

Hyundai

• Correct pronunciation: Hun-day
• Pronunciation used by 99.9 percent of consumers: Hun-dye

Isuzu

• Correct pronunciation: Ee-su-zu (preferred), I-su-zu (acceptable)
• Frequent mispronunciations: Eye-su-zu, Ee-zu-su
• Just think "Susan" and you'll have it.

Jaguar

• Correct (i.e., British) pronunciation: Jag-yu-wahr
• American pronunciation: Jag-wahr (unacceptable, but tolerated by the company as long as the person is interested in buying the car)
• Frequent mispronunciation: Jag-wyre

Porsche

• Correct pronunciation: Por-shah
• Frequent mispronunciation: Porsh
• "Porsche" is the surname of the company's founder, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, which is one reason Porsche aficionados are almost rabidly intolerant of anyone who mispronounces the name.

Scion

• Correct pronunciation: Sye-on
• Frequent mispronunciations: Sky-ahn, Skee-ahn
• "Scion" means "descendant" or "heir," which makes sense since Toyota is the parent company.

Volvo

• Correct pronunciation: Vuhl-voh
• Frequent mispronunciations: Vol-voh, Vall-voh, Voh-voh
• Why "vuhl" and not "vol"? It's another one of those Latin words (see "Audi," above). "Volvo" in Latin means "I rotate."

Frequently Mispronounced Car Model Names:

(Porsche) Cayenne

• Correct pronunciation: Kye-ann
• Frequent mispronunciations: Kay-ann, Shy-ann
• Why Cayenne? Think cayenne peppers: hot, hot, hot!

(Saturn) Ion

• Correct pronunciation: Eye-ahn
• Frequent mispronunciation: Ee-uhn

(Nissan) Murano

• Correct pronunciation: Mur-ah-noh
• Frequent mispronunciations: Mur-ay-noh, Myur-ah-noh
• Named after the elegantly sculpted Italian glass.

(Volkswagen) Phaeton

• Correct (i.e., British) pronunciation: Fay-tun
• Frequent mispronunciation: Fay-uh-tun, Fee-tun, Pay-toon
• The name comes from Greek mythology and symbolizes the desire to tread new paths. A VW that can top out near 100 large? That qualifies as a new path.

(Toyota) Prius

• Correct pronunciation: Pree-us
• Frequent mispronunciation: Prye-is
• From the Latin word meaning "preview" or "to go before."

(Buick) Terraza

• Correct pronunciation: Ter-ah-zah
• Frequent mispronunciations: Ter-ay-zah
• Buick reportedly chose this name for its new van because consumers said the name conveyed a sense of luxury, ruggedness, comfort, and strength.

(Volkswagen) Touareg

• Correct pronunciation: Toor-eg
• Frequent mispronunciations: Toh-ar-eg, Toh-ar-eg
• Named after a nomadic tribe that lives in the Sahara Desert. The word literally means "free folk." [We had more to say about the Touareg name last year in this post on Wordlab.]

Don't know about OP says it but the correct pronunciation is Porsha. Listen to Muddly Walker or James Hunt (old footage now). People at Porsche are annoyed when someone says Porsch. Friend used to work there.

My name ends in the same sound as Porsche does and in more than 20 years of living in English-speaking countries I have never met a native English speaker who can get the sound right. Some get close but it's never quite right. I also can't think of an English word that has that vowel sound exactly like it.

Oh, I'm a riot.

My toastie machine comes from Tesco. It's not a Breville, it's a Tesco toastie machine.

My vacuum is a Hoover though.

Frisbee is another noun. Not sure about Walkman.

My toaster machine is actually breville, my vacuum is a dyson but still called hoover & my cheap pens picked up from all sorts of places are Biros. Plus all coke is coke regardless if its pepsi, cola, etc.

Frisbee, Biro, Hoover and the rest are Trademarks that through common usage are now nouns. But, use them in a business setting and you could find yourself sued.