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06/11/2012 07:03:42 PM · #1 |
After attending a local photography group meeting the other evening, where I heard several people speak the word 'bokeh' and having suspicions they were pronouncing it incorrectly, I had a quick google for the correct pronunciation - I found this. Is this correct? Can you guys confirm or deny cause I'd like to send this link to the group. There's nothin' worse than confidently speaking a word totally incorrectly and looking like a bit of a wally. :)
And are there any other photography based words that people have issues with? For instance, in Australia, we say 'Nickon' whereas I've heard it pronounced 'Nykon' (with a long 'i' sound) elsewhere. |
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06/11/2012 07:45:45 PM · #2 |
That guy suffers from bokeh. I will continue to pronounce it "bokuh" until some Japanese Samurai cuts my tongue out. Bokuh Bokuh Bokuh Bokuh Bokuh
And it's Nykon, not Nickon. Just ask Ashton Kutcher. :) eta: pronounced "koo churrr"
Message edited by author 2012-06-11 19:47:25. |
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06/11/2012 08:34:20 PM · #3 |
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06/11/2012 08:35:34 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by bvy:
Rhymes with mocha. |
That's what I always thought. |
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06/11/2012 08:41:29 PM · #5 |
I suppose it depends upon which country (and perhaps county) you are in at the time.
I suspect acceptable pronunciations include:
Bokuh
Bokay
Boki
Stuff
Circles
Photo thingies
Whahoogamacugabokaywhachawhatnotchano.
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06/11/2012 08:51:51 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Cory:
I suppose it depends upon which country (and perhaps county) you are in at the time.
I suspect acceptable pronunciations include:
Bokuh
Bokay
Boki
Stuff
Circles
Photo thingies
Whahoogamacugabokaywhachawhatnotchano. |
Don't forget "that thing where the background is all blurry" |
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06/11/2012 09:07:58 PM · #7 |
I'll look at the link when I get home, but it's pronounced as it's written in Japanese hiragana, ぼけ, which might just come up as little squares on your computer screen. ;-)
Nikon, "i" as in "ink". If it was pronounced "nykon" it would be romanised "naikon", or "i" as in "ice cream". |
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06/11/2012 09:17:26 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Pug-H:
I'll look at the link when I get home, but it's pronounced as it's written in Japanese hiragana, ぼけ, which might just come up as little squares on your computer screen. ;-)
Nikon, "i" as in "ink". If it was pronounced "nykon" it would be romanised "naikon", or "i" as in "ice cream". |
You being in Japan skews things. In the US, it's pronounced 'Nykon'. It doesn't really matter how it's pronounced in Japanese since every piece of advertising here uses the hard i sound.
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06/11/2012 09:32:22 PM · #9 |
... i reread my post and cringed at the pompousness. had to remove, even though I have most likely been quoted.
apologizes and cringes once more.
Message edited by author 2012-06-12 13:45:15. |
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06/11/2012 09:46:21 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by blindjustice:
Anyway, Next you will tell us canon is not pronounced like "Cannon" and rock our worlds. |
wait, its not pronounced "kah-non"?
i like that pronunciation, makes me sound elegant.
Message edited by author 2012-06-12 07:23:23. |
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06/11/2012 09:46:44 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by blindjustice:
It always seemed to me that the British make it a sacrament to mispronounce things. Or rather, pronounce things their own way. Americans, we try, and only as you get farther away from the coasts do you have words like "Versailles" pronounced "Ver-sal-ees."
Also, in general popular American culture, it is considered a snobbish and obnoxious faux pas to "overpronounce" a foreign term in the native tongue.
like "burrito" - it is silly to say booo-(roll the r) eeeto. you will be laughed out of the place, the
same way you would if you said "nick-ahn" instead of Nikon. (or at very least people would think you were wrong.)
(Trivia: A common mispronunciation is the Chinese term "Feng Shui" not "FENG schway" but correctly pronounced "FUNG schway")
Anyway, Next you will tell us canon is not pronounced like "Cannon" and rock our worlds. |
a) I'm not British
b) I'm not telling you how to pronounce anything, I'm asking the question
c) Americans are definitely trying :)
d) always thought it was 'foong schway' :) |
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06/11/2012 09:52:39 PM · #12 |
I'm from Western Colorado, we pronounce the word "creek" as crick ie. I'm going camping up Rifle Crick this weekend.
I should probably just stay out of this discussion. :) |
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06/11/2012 10:49:07 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by blindjustice:
(Trivia: A common mispronunciation is the Chinese term "Feng Shui" not "FENG schway" but correctly pronounced "FUNG schway")
Anyway, Next you will tell us canon is not pronounced like "Cannon" and rock our worlds. |
fung suy, actually, at least that's how my mandarin speaking neighbors pronounce it. Fung as in FOONG, not fung as in funky.
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06/11/2012 11:27:25 PM · #14 |
| Nothing to add - just loving this discussion :-) |
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06/12/2012 12:23:01 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by blindjustice:
It always seemed to me that the British make it a sacrament to mispronounce things. Or rather, pronounce things their own way. Americans, we try, and only as you get farther away from the coasts do you have words like "Versailles" pronounced "Ver-sal-ees."
Also, in general popular American culture, it is considered a snobbish and obnoxious faux pas to "overpronounce" a foreign term in the native tongue.
like "burrito" - it is silly to say booo-(roll the r) eeeto. you will be laughed out of the place, the
same way you would if you said "nick-ahn" instead of Nikon. (or at very least people would think you were wrong.)
(Trivia: A common mispronunciation is the Chinese term "Feng Shui" not "FENG schway" but correctly pronounced "FUNG schway")
Anyway, Next you will tell us canon is not pronounced like "Cannon" and rock our worlds. |
So the English mispronounce words from the ENGLISH language?? Or are you talking solely about foreign words? Don't get me started on the way Americans pronounce things AND change the wording of perfectly fine book titles etc to make them more American.
And no, I'm not English. |
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06/12/2012 12:40:26 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by pamb:
After attending a local photography group meeting the other evening, where I heard several people speak the word 'bokeh' and having suspicions they were pronouncing it incorrectly, I had a quick google for the correct pronunciation - I found this. Is this correct? Can you guys confirm or deny cause I'd like to send this link to the group. There's nothin' worse than confidently speaking a word totally incorrectly and looking like a bit of a wally. :)
And are there any other photography based words that people have issues with? For instance, in Australia, we say 'Nickon' whereas I've heard it pronounced 'Nykon' (with a long 'i' sound) elsewhere. |
It's a Japanese word, it's pronounced as the he says in your link. The way you say Nikon in Australia is also correct. If you go to Nikon's Wikipedia page you can have a listen at the top of the page.
That said, if you came to Japan and asked "Where's the nearest McDonald's" You would get the oddest looks. They pronounce it "makudonarudo" and if you don't pronounce it this way you aren't going to get anywhere. It's not the correct way to pronounce it, but trying to get the Japanese to say it properly is hard. They can't. R's and L's are difficult and the lack of separation between certain parts of words makes it even more difficult. If you tell them they are wrong in how they pronounce it they listen and try to pronounce it the correct way. The reasons for not pronouncing certain words correctly isn't because they don't want to, it's because they can't. We don't have that luxury...we can pronounce it correctly but choose not to. I am baffled by why the people at Nikon Japan don't send a memo out to other countries with the proper pronunciation...maybe it's because if they were asked to do the same, they couldn't. |
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06/12/2012 01:04:41 AM · #17 |
Ah, Japanese pronunciation. "Single" and "shingle" are both loan words in Japanese, but to them they're pronounced the same as there's no 'si', only 'shi', in Japanese. My wife didn't know the difference when we were talking about roofing shingles.
Message edited by author 2012-06-12 01:06:40. |
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06/12/2012 01:29:06 AM · #18 |
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:
That guy suffers from bokeh. I will continue to pronounce it "bokuh" until some Japanese Samurai cuts my tongue out. Bokuh Bokuh Bokuh Bokuh Bokuh
And it's Nykon, not Nickon. Just ask Ashton Kutcher. :) eta: pronounced "koo churrr" |
Watch out for that Samurai, Art!
Message edited by author 2012-06-12 01:29:16. |
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06/12/2012 01:32:54 AM · #19 |
bokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuh
bokuh Oh fer cryin out loud, can't we all jest speak Amurican gahldurnit??! bokuh
bokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuhbokuh
(awesome bokeh, huh?) |
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06/12/2012 03:25:49 AM · #20 |
| I love me some good ole english-american arguments. and that is crazy bokuh ken but looks like you should zoom out a bit more next time. |
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06/12/2012 06:55:28 AM · #21 |
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06/12/2012 07:09:26 AM · #22 |
One that someone called me on last year was how I pronounced "ISO". I always (and still do) pronounce it "eye-so" but have had others tell me that is totally improper and it should be pronounced by the individual letters.
And I always say bokuh - and never say Nikon (the word itself no matter how it is pronounced is dirty). |
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06/12/2012 07:34:29 AM · #23 |
| In the end I guess it all depends on who you talk to and who cares really. When someone comes to Japan and can't get around town because they are mispronouncing everything, I have little sympathy since it's not hard for westerners to make the shift over to Japanese pronunciation. It is for the Japanese and so I do feel some sympathy, but at least they TRY to get it right. All my Japanese friends know 'gonna' 'wanna' 'gotta' 'watcha doin''. They also know I pronounce water 'wader' and butter 'budder'...they get it when it's explained to them and make the effort to understand both. |
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06/12/2012 08:28:24 AM · #24 |
Originally posted by pamb:
After attending a local photography group meeting the other evening, where I heard several people speak the word 'bokeh' and having suspicions they were pronouncing it incorrectly, I had a quick google for the correct pronunciation - I found this. Is this correct? Can you guys confirm or deny cause I'd like to send this link to the group. There's nothin' worse than confidently speaking a word totally incorrectly and looking like a bit of a wally. :)
And are there any other photography based words that people have issues with? For instance, in Australia, we say 'Nickon' whereas I've heard it pronounced 'Nykon' (with a long 'i' sound) elsewhere. |
That guy just sounds like a pretentious ass. So would any American that started saying "Nickon" or "bokay", as if to correct you.
Message edited by author 2012-06-12 08:28:39. |
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06/12/2012 09:27:16 AM · #25 |
Originally posted by Cory:
I suspect acceptable pronunciations include:
Bokuh
Bokay
Boki
Stuff
Circles
Photo thingies
Whahoogamacugabokaywhachawhatnotchano. |
You forgot "depth of field effect"
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