Hooniversity- Pronunciation Edition
Things used to be simple back in the forties, toilet paper came in catalog form from Sears, everything was in black and white so it didn’t matter if your socks didn’t match, and cars had easy to pronounce names like Ford and. . . Ford. Today, it’s all different and cars come in a plethora of nameplates that require third-party manipulation of lip and tongue to pronounce- but Hooniverse is here to help.
There are a number of brands and car-related companies for which multiple pronunciations have developed. It’s not just regional dialects and accents, but mostly sloth that drives this, but that’s not to say it is uncorrectable. So let’s get started with an English brand, the owners of which get catty about how it’s pronounced.
Jaguar. While there are seemingly endless pronunciations, the brand is British and hence it should be pronounced ja-gyu-wer – three syllables where the “g” is attached to the second and there is no hard “i” in the last. The etymology is from the Portuguese, from Tupi jawára meaning large carnivore, so that makes sense. Variations on the last syllable can be ‘ur’ or ‘ar’ as the mood strikes, but two syllables and infusing the name with the hard ‘i’ are right out.
Porsche. The German maker of sports cars has, for years, had its name mangled. As it’s not just a brand, but a family name, that’s especially egregious. While many who strive to own a Porsche for its magnetism to the opposite sex feel it’s perfectly acceptable to say PORSH, those who strive for correctness and reverence to the marque know to say Por-sha, with a soft ‘a’ at the end. Leave off that soft ‘a’ and you might as well be wearing a silk shirt open to the navel and gold chain with a razor blade on the end.
Renault. Many people are too young to even remember when this French brand was sold in the U.S.. Back then, most Americans pronounced the name RAY-NALT, or REE-NALT, when they weren’t cursing the cars for having broken down. The correct pronunciation is Ray-know as in, My ray-know wouldn’t start this morning, or Does this bumper belong to your ray-know? It fell off about a mile back. Some day the brand might once again be sold in the states, so it’s best to be prepared.
Bertone. Few realize that the legendary design house built cars, much less sold them under their own name. In the 1980s, after Fiat had abandoned the U.S. market, Bertone continued sales of the X1/9 targa under its own brand. These rebranded Fiats fooled no one, and Bertone was unable to sell enough to keep the venture alive. Aside from that, Bertone designed hundreds of iconic cars and it’s a good idea to be able to properly pronounce it if you should ever come across one at a car show or Tim Horton parking lot. Much like Porsche, Bertone has an active vowel at the end. It should be pronounced Bear-tone-ay, and not bur-tone. Again, it’s European so it has more syllables than Americans are typically used to.
So that’s enough for today, I’m sure your heads are swimming with this much knowedge! Next time we’ll warm up the kim-chee and will look at some Korean brands that can sprain a tongue.
Image sources:[fritzless.com, automobilesdeluxe.tv, Autoblog.com, CPV Performance, Cartype.com]
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No, No, No. Jaguar is simply pronounced…JAAAAAAG. Jeremy Clarkson told me so.[youtube 7eWIrBOc3zE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eWIrBOc3zE youtube]
oh man, totally got first on that.
JAAAAAAAAAG. My wife and I watched that episode, and every time we see a Jag, she goes Jeremy Clarkson…. "Its a JAAAAAAAGGGGG"
Thank you for posting this clip, Scorggz
Er, I believe that the 124 Spider was sold with Pininfarina badging, not Bertone, as it was designed by the former.
Yup. It was the Fiat X1/9 that was sold as a Bertone.
The opening photo is all WIN!
I agree.. and that looks kind of like David Hobbs pronouncing 'Jag-war" as he so often used to do on F1 coverage for the old Speedvision…
I hate when people can't pronounce Hyundai.
but what of peewwgot?
<img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hfj1R8wnDyg/SjZHx5qyH-I/AAAAAAAAADo/bMNVRlrv3Oo/s400/Pidgeot.jpg">
It's not Knee-San, It's Nis-sin.
I always was told it was Lawn-sha
Lawnsha, Lawnsha, Lawnsha!
Also, tell the Neesawn dealers around here that they're doing it wrong.
That's why Datsun is always a safe bet.
lots of people seem to think its hondai
They make a nice pepper mill. I've heard they make bicycles too. We are talking about car makers here.
Beat me to it. I still laugh my ass off every time I see that clip.
"Awfully Sorry…….Bit of an issue with the wallet. Would you mind awfully settling this, while I go outside and warm up the JAAAAAAAAAG."
He got there first because he's got a JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG.
I was hoping to finally learn how to pronounce Citroen without having crepes thrown at me and mimes get in my face. Hopefully we'll cover that next semester?
Ugh, I was at Ihop for lunch with co-workers (don't ask) and ordered some "Crepps". The guy next to me asked, "Isn't it cray-ps"? Mmm, no, no really, it's not.
Panoz…
GO!
I'm of the "p'no" camp myself
Indeed, they do.
I always feel tempted to pronounce Citroen the rather appropriate citron rather than the proper see-tro-en.
And when saying Porsche, I can never quite commit to the a sound at the end. It always feels over-accentuated, and I feel obligated to start ranting about water cooling and safe predictable handling.
It's barely there, clipped, like you were getting ready to start another syllable and decided against it. "Porshuh" makes you sound like a doushuh, and "Porsh" makes you sound like a mouth-breather… it's a fine line.
So wait. It's not lam-berr-geeny con-tack? Oh. My. God.
S'Trro-enh. It should sound like two syllables, where the second syllable is kind of a very hard "T", followed by a rolled "R" and a "woanh" type of sound to end it.
Thanks! I hate it when mimes get in my face because then I want to punch them and I'm not sure if you're not supposed to punch mimes or if it's ok. Do they fall under the "Rules for Women" or the "Rules for Men"?
I've always been partial to the simple "si'Trone", though the British "Citrin" is a tantalising alternative for angering purists.
The dealership told me it was properly pronounced almost like HSHN-die-y.
The "SH" there doesn't really work, but we don't really have a letter for some of these sounds.
yah… but thats in canadialand
per korean coworker. heeun daye
But, then Jeff Bridges told us during a Superb Owl commercial that it — oh, sorry, that was Superb-Bowl — is pronounced "Hun-day, like Sunday."
Say "shun". Notice how you could spell it as "shyun". Now say "hyun". It should rhyme with "shun".
The second part, "ai" is really "ay". Shunday/Hyunday/Hyundai
/I spent six years learning to speak Korean and this is where it got me.
I've heard "Hi-un-die" before and understood immediately why we were able to defeat the British during the Revolutionary War.
So it's "Hunday", with a barely-there Y after the H? I can dig that.
pss… were saying the same thing
So is it:
Sell – ick – a or,
Sell- eek – ahh?
It depends, are you British? If you are British, it's suh-leek-a if not, sell-ih-ca. Does that help?
Also, welcome aboard, POLAЯ! Got more foolin' around time at work these days?
Actually, I think proper 'English' pronounciation on that side of the Pond would be "Cell-ick-er". You know… those random r's thrown on the end of words that usually end with a vowel? Panda = pander… Amanda = Amander… etc.
I think you're confusing "England" with "New England" (only in Maine would one get in the cah, go to the stoah and get some soder). Anyway, my statement above is based on hearing actual English people utter the word "Celica", not conjecture. Don't like it? Complain to Vicki Butler-Henderson.
Don't know anything about her. But are you telling me you've never heard a British person call a person named Linda "Linder"?
Yup, that's what I'm saying. The only place I have heard that particular dialectic peculiarity is Maine.
SELL-ick-uh, if you're American (or, I believe, Japanese); sell-EEK-ahh if you've got bad teeth.
My friends all drive Porshees.
In Upstate New York that would be Pahnneeack, as in "Lackawanna Gambini Pahnneeack hee-as the noo Bahnneevill in stahk."
Next semester you will be taught the proper way to pronounce Peugeot and Citroen in French Car History 101.
I've heard rumors that one of our contributors pronounces his name in such a way that it doesn't rhyme with "birth chair"
That tricky word after 'mad' is sy-nns.
The "_" is silent.
yarrr… blimey… yarr……
So does that mean he's NOT dilated 10 centimeters?
hehehe… funny on me, eh?
couldn't figure out why i didn't have a pic up there near me name for a second there… then realized… "OOOOOOOOOHHHH YEAH…"… i'm not at *that* site anymore… (well… not worth mentioning..)
Let me add a welcome too.. And, like Engineerd says, you won't find much in the way of press releases here. And, don't worry, it's still okay to read [Redacted] from time to time.
Take your pick: Pay-nose or Pan-noze
Pay-NOSS, as in the energy drink / slash / fuel additive.
I still read it as Darth Air…
Sidenote: Braff is pronounced Lord Humongous…
And I think of it as, "a low-oxygen environment". Canadian fresh air being what it is.
Deer There.
Nah, seriously, I see it exactly as written: "dearth", "air".
When confronted with mimes, i take the approach of "would i punch a puppet?" then proceed from there.
If it's that simple, then I'm going to have to punch more mimes. I ALWAYS punch puppets. It's like a rule or something.
I don't know, guys… I was always taught that the diaeresis over the o (ö) makes it "oye", resulting in S'troy-enh…
If it were a German or Metäl Umlaut, sure– as in Mötorhead, Queensrÿche, or Mötley Crüe.
But in French a diaeresis means, "this is a separate syllable, pause briefly, think about whether you really should have used this word, then continue."
The same was used in English until recent decades — they even spelled it "coöperation" every once in awhile. Zoë and Chloë know something about this phenomenon.
What about Zhangjiagang Jiangnan?
death-trap
have any hard ones?
Pee Ohh Ess
Just sneeze twice. THat's close enough.
actually thats a lot easier then you think!
And points! Don't forget the points!
"Stars? We don't need no stinking stars."
By the way, how many points do we need to accrue before we can cash them in on a free seat upgrade? or sandwich?
I think you can get a dead hooker for 70 points. Live hookers are 69 points.
Just as an aside, Mike the Dog will henceforth be pronounced "His Tremendousness". That is all.
Ask Rosie O'Donell…
Ask Rosie how to pronounce that one…
I'm of the opinion that you can spell your name S-h-i-t-h-e-a-d and pronounce it "Jones", if that amuses you. You kind of lose the privilege of getting snotty with people who mispronounce it, though. I went to school with a girl whose name was spelled T-o-n-n-e-a-u (no kidding). If you were unfortunate enough to pronounce it like it's spelled (~tonno), she would do that indignant head bobbing thing that only women of a certain ethnicity seem to be able to pull off and inform you (in cadence with the head bobbing) "That's Tuh-Nee-Uh!" and give you a look like you were the dumbest piece of shit to ever draw breath for having mispronounced it when it was soplainly obvious how to pronounce it correctly. After about the thirtieth time I witnessed this display (which impressed nobody but her) I told her to look her name up in the dictionary. It didn't help.
I always thought S-h-i-t-h-e-a-d was pronounced Shu Taade when used as a first name.
I tend to pronounce it Shy-thead, myself. But I think you see the point I was making…
I'm just curious to know if she spent much of her high school years in the backs of pickup trucks, like her namesake.
Since she bore an uncanny resemblance to Fred Sanford's sister-in-law Esther in looks and attitude, I suspect not.
Well you never know. There's always gonna be at least one guy at the party without a date, and MD 20/20 is a magical elixer, turning dogs to foxes with just a few sips. I can't really say that every gal I ever wound up with was a home run. I can at least say that I never hooked up with a gal that was hairier than I am, that's gotta be good for something.
I knew a guy named "Ran3dy", went through the paperwork to have it legally changed to that spelling… he got very angry at me when I asked if the 3 was silent, or if I should call him Randy-in-3-D.
Weirdo.
He sounds like the kind of guy you may not want to piss off.
Ranthredee.
no, no – it actually was silent. He’d just never been called out on it before. WTF, ya know? I see a number in the middle of your name, I’m going to have to either pronounce it or make fun of you, or both.
Reminds me of the scene in L.A. Story where then-new Sarah Jessica Parker introduces herself to Steve Martin as "Sandy – big S, small a, small n, big D, small e… and it has a star on the end of it." She then proceeds to write it on his palm – SanDe*
That sounds like the worst movie of all time, just from that description alone. The fact that S J Peepee is in it makes it unbearable.
If it makes you feel any better, they're basically mocking L.A. culture like that which her character displays.
Reading all of these comments reminds me of when I moved from Australia to the US when I was 8. Many of the car names I had learned over there were pronounced differently here. Celica, Mercedes, Mazda, Nissan, etc.
Considering I'm a bit pedantic, I try my best to pronounce things correctly, but every once in a while I'll randomly revert back to my old pronunciations.
And wait, FormerlyTheGreatestDriver just admitted to having Australian roots over on [Redacted] too. How many Aussie expats/refugees are there on these intertubes, I wonder?
I will go to my grave having never said "Por-sha" in anything other than a derogatory way. I love the marque but it begs to be mocked.
If you haven't noticed, your commonwealth brethren from the Canadian north pronounce Mazda, "Masz-duh", (with the first A as in "catch"), but right across the river, or the barren prairie here in the U.S., the voiceover on the same commercial will say "Mozz-duh" (with the first A as in "ahhh, I can't find my keys".) How do they say it in Australia?
The Canuckian way.
In my hometown of Buffalo, NY, they say "Maahz-duh." ("a" as in "avalanche") But, then again, they say every vowel that way. I can still hear my aunt's voice – "Aah Maay Gaad! Yaa Aall Waat! Waats daa maatter?"
Thank you…! Your examples really pointed out the proper pronunciation. I was selectively applying German rules to a French word… no wonder there was a conflict…
In conflicts between the Germans and the French … look out, that's all I'm saying.
it's not "Dirt-Hair"?
I thought his name was reference to his predilection towards dirty blondes
And yet, we all (well, all you hetero males, at least) love to talk sexy-talk about Giada De Laurentiis on FoodTV. Yet, without speaking Italian myself, she appears to over-pronounce every Italian dish she crafts. And with her mouth full of neon-pearly-white teeth, it's hard to miss…
And I bet you know just how I pronounce Giada…
I know… Giada gets you as hot and bothered as Megan Fox does…
In college, the guys in my dorm all had a thing for Fiona Ritchie's voice. That Irish lilt was pure aural sex. We'd have Thistle & Shamrock playing on the radio in four or five different rooms on Sunday afternoons with the doors open, and actually crank it up between songs. We all agreed that we didn't want to know what she really looked like, because nothing could ever match what our individual mental images of her was.
And yes, I lived in the "geek dorm."
By the by, about JAAAAAAAG. I am from Brasil and we natively spek portuguese. That said, I would like to make a correction. If the English are pronouncing it right, I don't think the name is directly derived from our language, because we say it like you americans say it: Jah-Guar. Go back there and try to say Jah- gyu- ahr in Brasil. I guarantee no one will understand you. And since tat is not the only Tupi word we have (Biguá, like the De Tomaso springs to mind) something along the way was lost in translation. So make up your minds: say it like the English or like the people who invented the word (it's root at least).
I'm with you. Stretching it out to three syllables is an affectation to sound British. I leave it at Jah-Guar, and I don't refer to "al-loo-min-ee-uhm"… it's ALUMINUM, dammit. And the "H" is SILENT in "herbs"…!
"…You say 'erbs', and we say 'herbs', because there's a fucking 'H' in it!…"
I have to agree with FuzzyPlushroom in this one. There is an H. an aluminium is because it's alumínio in portuguese,so that's how i originally learned. But tomato and other stuff, I'm with you guys. Same for Porsh. It's almost a continuation of your accent, which in turn comes from regoinal speaking which in turn is somehow linked to your way of thinking. So no matter how people say it, I don't care. Like Carlin used to say: "They're only words"
Good point. Fix that for ya.
I say Pay-Nose
Hey! Welcome to the new place to hang out if you don't like endless reams of press releases and self-congratulatory stories.
Also, if you go to intensedebate you can set up a profile and a picture of your choosing.
Remember, folks: it's Rehno, Murder, Arson, and Rehno.
jag-RWAR – Check
Porch – Check
Frenchie – Check
Bertolli pasta – Check
Class Dismissed!
Reminds me of those parents that try to give their children cute names with odd spellings and the parents pronunciation doesn't match up with the spelling. P161911, it is pronounced Jason.
I'm of the opinion that you can spell your name S-h-i-t-h-e-a-d and pronounce it "Jones", if that amuses you. You kind of lose the privilege of getting snotty with people who mispronounce it, though. I went to school with a girl whose name was spelled T-o-n-n-e-a-u (no kidding). If you were unfortunate enough to pronounce it like it's spelled (~tonno), she would do that indignant head bobbing thing that only women of a certain ethnicity seem to be able to pull off and inform you (in cadence with the head bobbing) "That's Tuh-Nee-Uh!" and give you a look like you were the dumbest piece of shit to ever draw breath for having mispronounced it when it was soplainly obvious how to pronounce it correctly. After about the thirtieth time I witnessed this display (which impressed nobody but her) I told her to look her name up in the dictionary. It didn't help.
Por-sha applies to every car but the cayenne. I refuse to accept it as a real Porsche, so I call it a porsh.
Also, another one to remember. Bimmer(car) vs. Beemer(bike)
I hate to be that guy, but RAY-know is the British way to pronounce the French name, not the correct French pronunciation.
As there is no accent over the "e", it is actually closer to "RUH-know", although that RUH is cut very short and made Froggily in the back of the throat.