questions about car pronunciation?

[Driving Park]

Is it Scood-uh-REE-uh or Scoo-DER-ee-uh?

I say "kö-nig-zeg". I've heard "koh-eh-nig-zeg/seg" and contracted as "koh-nig-zeg". Is there another way?

I THINK I'm right in pronouncing Huayra "why-ruh"?

I say "Mahhz-duh" (not "Maaz-duh"), "Knee-sahn" (not "Niss-en"), etc.

I've read through the thread and seen "Hi-un-die" and variations and "Hun-day". I feel like I'm the only one who pronounces it "Hyun-day". I have no idea which is right.

I say "Pyoo-jho". I've heard "Poo-jho" and "Purr-jho". I have no idea which is right.

I say "Re-NO" (Renault). I have no idea if it's right.

I grew up hearing "jag-wahr" and unfortunately it means I usually say it that way too even though I know it's supposed to be "jag-you-arr".

I've always said "mit-su-bee-shee"...it probably should be "mit-su-bih-shee" though, right?

I pronounce all the BMW model names the same: seven-fifty, seven thirty-five, etc.

I had no idea it wasn't just "mish-uh-lin". I had no idea it was French, either, so that makes sense.

I always said "al-te-za" but someone earlier in the thread said the double Z is like the double Z in pizza, ergo "al-tet-sa". Is that correct? And on a related note, I've always heard "im-preh-zuh" but every time I watch Top Gear I hear "im-prets-uh". Which is correct?

---

But, there's one that I have NO idea how to say: Citroën.

My mother who took French when she was in high school has told me it's "sit-roy-en" with a very French tr. The "sih-trin" that the Top Gear presenters use cannot be correct...it just sounds lazy. When I was younger and didn't know how to pronounce most things let alone car names I said "sih-tro-en". Nowadays it's a real problem when the word comes up in spoken conversation because I don't know how to say it...say one of the obviously (to me) incorrect pronunciations are say the way fancy pronunciation my mom gave me.

 

[YouButNotYou]

For Scuderia, I say Scoo-deh-ree-a

For Huayra I would say Who-why-ra.

Mazda, just like it looks Maz-dah or Maz-der.

For Hyundai I would say it how I previously posted, Hi(or Hy)-un-die.

Peugeot, I pronounce it Purr-jho.

For Renault, I tend to switch between Re-no and Re-nol.

For Jaguar I would say Jag-you-er/ar.

Mitsubishi would be Mit-su-be(as in the start of beer)-shi.

For Altezza, I would say Al-tez-ah.

When pronouncing Impreza, I would say Im-pret(the P as in Pizza)-ser

Finally, for Citroen I would say Cit-row-en but I know in France and in the Citroen adverts they say Seat-trow-enn.

 

[homeforsummer]

True French pronunciation for each is difficult to get right unless you're actually French. Or at least have a good grasp of the language.

Renault is quite a throaty sound - closest is something like "Khru-no" - the "Khr" said with the back of the throat rather than a rolled R.

Citroen is similar - "Ci-tr'en" is probably closest on paper, but the "tr" is said with the tongue on the roof of the mouth, almost as if you're getting ready to gob on someone...

Peugeot is pretty simple by comparison - more or less "puh-jo". "Poo-joe" or any similar pronunciation is way off. Even us Brits get it wrong (including in advertising) as we tend to say "Purr-jo", which draws it out a little too long.

Again, there are a few French GTPers who can probably expand here. I'm on my phone so trying to keep it relatively brief!

 

[Mark II Blit]

The Japanese names are interesting ones because the Japanese vowel sounds are always pronounced the same way.

A is always an "ah" sounds, I always "ee", U always "oo", E always "eh" and O always "oh"

So Mazda would be "Mahz-dah", Nissan "Nee-sahn", Honda "hone-dah" etc.

Which look like the American pronunciations, but Americans tend to draw out their vowels, whereas the Japanese words are quite curt. So Nissan is exactly as it's written phonetically - not "Neeee-sahn" as it is in the American tongue.

Indeed, that's what's wonderful about kana. It's pretty much like you describe it, although Mazda has always been written Matsuda, sounding more along the lines of mahts-dah.

Reading the pronunciation of car names from katakana can be quite useful. Take the Subaru Impreza and Toyota Altezza, written Inpuressa and Arutetsa respectively in romanized Japanese.

As for the Altezza, in Arutetsa, ru is used, as it often is, as a substitute for the 'L' sound , which doesn't exist in kana. So, in this case, the correct pronunciation of Altezza = Arutetsa = Altetsa = al-tet-zuh (-zza as in pizza)

For the Impreza, double 's' in Inpuressa means there is a silent tsu in between re and sa. When you pronunce the word, this means you have to pause before stressing the last syllable (sa). So it ends up sounding like Inpuress-sa. Combined with a short vowel sound from 're', the closest we get to this pronunciation in English is to pronounce it like Imprezza (im-pre-suh in rapid succession) as Kyle MacLachlan will tell you in this 1992 WRX commercial.
Here it is -ezza as in Jezza and Fezza, not as in Altezza.

 

[Driving Park]

Thanks for the informative posts, guys. 👍

True French pronunciation for each is difficult to get right unless you're actually French. Or at least have a good grasp of the language.

Renault is quite a throaty sound - closest is something like "Khru-no" - the "Khr" said with the back of the throat rather than a rolled R.

Ah! I think I get it...the Khr sounds like the way Peter Sellers says "room" in that one scene from the Pink Panther, which I can do. So it's like I've been saying it ("reh-NO") but with a very French r.

Citroen is similar - "Ci-tr'en" is probably closest on paper, but the "tr" is said with the tongue on the roof of the mouth, almost as if you're getting ready to gob on someone...

Hmm...not sure I'm able to grasp this one.

Indeed, that's what's wonderful about kana. It's pretty much like you describe it, although Mazda has always been written Matsuda, sounding more along the lines of mahts-dah.

Reading the pronunciation of car names from katakana can be quite useful. Take the Subaru Impreza and Toyota Altezza, written Inpuressa and Arutetsa respectively in romanized Japanese.

As for the Altezza, in Arutetsa, ru is used, as it often is, as a substitute for the 'L' sound , which doesn't exist in katakana. So, in this case, the correct pronunciation of Altezza = Arutetsa = Altetsa = al-tet-zuh (-zza as in pizza)

For the Impreza, double 's' in Inpuressa means there is a silent tsu in between re and sa. When you pronunce the word, this means you have to pause before stressing the last syllable (sa). So it ends up sounding like Inpuress-Sa. Combined with a short vowel sound from 're', the closest we get to this pronunciation in English is to pronounce it like Imprezza (im-pre-suh in rapid succession) as Kyle MacLachlan will tell you in this 1992 WRX commercial.
Here it is -ezza as in Jezza and Fezza, not as in Altezza.

Very informative. Thanks 👍

 

[xXKingJoshXx]

How do you pronounce:

Jaguar (I just say Jag-wahr, but I'm sure this is incorrect)
Koenigsegg (I say koh-eh-nig-sehg, but that's surely wrong too)
Nissan (I say nee-san, but I hear others saying niss-in. Nee-san I've heard in adverts)
Hyundai (I see the discussion in here but can't get it right. I pronounce it "hon-day" because that's what I see in adverts.)
Lancia (I say lan-see-uh)
Scuderia (I say scoo-dehr-ee-uh)
Aventador (uh-vehn-ta-dohr?)
Wiesmann (I say wise-mehn)

Jaguar - Jag-why-er
Koenigsegg - Ko-nig-seg
Nissan - Nee-san
Hyundai - Hun-day
Lancia - Lan-see-uh
Scuderia - skoo-dur-ee-uh
Aventador - A vent, a door. (say it fast )
Wiesmann - vice-min

As for French names, Americans tend to murder them somewhat. Michelin is most amusing, but even the British ads get that one wrong. Correctly said, it should be "meesh-lan", but I've heard "mich-lin", "mich-el-in" and all sorts.

I didn't know it was pronounced that way. I've always called it mish-lin. I guess I wasn't too far off

I THINK I'm right in pronouncing Huayra "why-ruh"?

I've heard a few times that why-ruh is the correct way of pronunciation.

But, there's one that I have NO idea how to say: Citroën.

I say sit-rin like the guys on Top Gear say it, but like you said, it's probably wrong. I know a guy that owns a Citroen 2CV and pronounces it sit-ron (like telling a guy named Ron to sit. Sit, Ron!) but I'm pretty sure that's not correct.

 

[Gotbeefboy564]

I always thought Wiesmann was pronounced with the W but after hearing the name a few times I now pronounce it Viesmann.

 

[Doog]

Jaguar (I just say Jag-wahr, but I'm sure this is incorrect)

I know you're supposed to say Jag-you-wahr, but for some reason it's a bit difficult to say, at least with my accent. I just say Jag-wahr, but it's not uncommon to hear uninformed folks say Jag-wire.

Koenigsegg (I say koh-eh-nig-sehg, but that's surely wrong too)

I say Koe-nig-seg.

Nissan (I say nee-san, but I hear others saying niss-in. Nee-san I've heard in adverts)

Nee-sahn.

Hyundai (I see the discussion in here but can't get it right. I pronounce it "hon-day" because that's what I see in adverts.)

I've always heard it pronounced as Hun-day in advertisements. I've heard Hon-day and Hi-un-dai though.

Lancia (I say lan-see-uh)

I know it's Lan-chia, but I say Lan-see-uh as well.

Scuderia (I say scoo-dehr-ee-uh)

Scoo-deria.

Aventador (uh-vehn-ta-dohr?)

A vent, a door.

Wiesmann (I say wise-mehn)

Never had to say this in real life, but I'd pronounce it as Veiss-man.

 

[xXKingJoshXx]

but it's not uncommon to hear uninformed folks say Jag-wire.

Uninformed?

I ask for two reasons,

1. People around here all say it like that. That's how I've learned to say it, and that's probably how I'll always say it. It's not really incorrect to pronounce some things differently than other people, IMO.

(sorry if I sound like I think you were directing that at me, because I know you weren't.)

2. Since when were people informed on how to properly pronounce Jaguar? (if there even is a "proper" pronunciation)

 

[Doog]

Uninformed?

I say uninformed because I always see it coming from people who know nothing of cars, other than the fact that the ones with the leaper on the hood look pretty nice. If you ask car guys, they'll all tell you it's Jag-you-ahr. That's how it's pronounced in the UK, and seeing as that's Jaguar's home region, I'd say that's the proper pronounciation.

 

[Nicksfix]

I hear of lot of "Shivy" from people. It's not "Shivy", it's "Chevy".

 

[xXKingJoshXx]

How do you guys pronounce Chrysler?

crys-ler or crice-ler? Or a different way? (I'm aware my breaking of syllables and whatnot isn't very good, but hopefully you get the idea)

 

[Rykon Zero]

With a Z sound, so I guess the former rather than the latter.

 

[Crash]

I always thought Wiesmann was pronounced with the W but after hearing the name a few times I now pronounce it Viesmann.

W in German has a V sound, hence it's pronounced "Viesmann" and "Volksvagen."

 

[Monatsende]

W in German has a V sound, hence it's pronounced "Viesmann" and "Volksvagen."

Sorry to say but Wiesmann and Volkswagen is pronounced completely different.

1.) Volkswagen "V" like "f" in forgiven. And "w" in "...wagen" like see 2.)

2.) Wiesmann "W" like "W" in "Wombat" (yeah, the animal from Down Under).

For the whole name it`s (OMG) "W" "ie" sm "a" nn = "Wombat W" "freeze ee" sm "Alfred A" nn - stress on the first syllable.

"V" and "W" can be pronounced similary but not in this case.
German word "vage" is like 2.) and completely same pronounciation is "Waage".


And yes, I`m German.

 

[Liquid]

I thought I'd nailed Volkswagen pretty well.

One of the above quotes tried to say that Volkswagen, in its native tongue, is Volks-vawgen. Wrong. It's Folks-va:gen, where the colon represents a long vowel on the a, and the o is short as in 'on'.

But...

Lancia Bee-ta
Lancia Bay-ta (Even then, it's rendered bay-da thanks to American accents)

Bee-ta for me.

 

[MrWednesday]

How do you guys pronounce Chrysler?

crys-ler or crice-ler? Or a different way? (I'm aware my breaking of syllables and whatnot isn't very good, but hopefully you get the idea)

There's a difference?

(I read both of your possibilities as long-i, soft-s. The only conceivable change for me would be short-i or possibly more of a 'z' sound to the 's'.)

Re Jaguar, I typically say it as "Jag-warr". If it sounds more like "wire" to you, I don't think that's so much "uninformed" as just their particular accent on the "warr" sound.

 

[Pupik]

As for the Altezza, in Arutetsa, ru is used, as it often is, as a substitute for the 'L' sound , which doesn't exist in kana. So, in this case, the correct pronunciation of Altezza = Arutetsa = Altetsa = al-tet-zuh (-zza as in pizza).

I pronounce fake Italian loan words written in Roman characters in their original fake Italian.

I don't get to hung up on regional pronunciation differences.

 

[GranTurismo916]

How do you guys pronounce Chrysler?

crys-ler or crice-ler? Or a different way? (I'm aware my breaking of syllables and whatnot isn't very good, but hopefully you get the idea)

Cry-sler.

 

[Liquid]

How do I pronounce Chrysler?

Bank-rupt.

 

[YouButNotYou]

How do I pronounce Chrysler?

Bank-rupt.

Good one... 👍

 

[Pupik]

How do I pronounce Chrysler?

Bank-rupt.

They have lots of fiat currency.

 

[Liquid]

Just couldn't resist.

I'm also now starting to pronounce Dacia as Datch-ya as opposed to Day-see-a, based on their recent adverts.

 

[sems4arsenal]

This thread needs a few Egyptian takes on Car Makers pronunciations

few examples

-Toyota: We ignore the 'O' completely so it sounds like T-yota and say it really fast
-Ferrari: Classic Fer-air-y
-VolksWagen: Fol-kiss Don't ask
-Porsche: Boar-sh again don't ask

There are far more worse things around here but seriously is the 'Impreza" pronounced Imp-ereza or Imp-rtza? guess it's the former.

 

[Tornado]

Renault is quite a throaty sound - closest is something like "Khru-no" - the "Khr" said with the back of the throat rather than a rolled R.

That's why I just say "ren-alt".

 

[Slash]

Chevy = Sh-eh-vee
Chevrolet = Sh-eh-vro-le (with the dash about the e)
Toyota = Toy-ota
Nissan = Nee-sahn
Volkswagen = Volks-wagen
Ferrari = Fer-ar-ee
Porshe = Por-sh
Chrysler = Crice-ler
Dodge = Dah-dge
Cadillac = Kad-ih-lak
Lamborghini = Lam-bor-gee-nee
Countach = Coon-tah-sh
Honda - Hahn-duh
Hyundai = Hun-day, I've also heard it pronounced Hun-die, so it's a tossup.
Mach 1 = Mahk-one (believe it or not I've heard it pronounced "match-one"
Lincoln = Ling-kin
Mercury - Merr-cure-ee
Aston Martin - Ass-ton Marr-tin
Camaro = Kuh-mare-oh, I've also heard "Kuh-marr-oh"
McLaren = Mc-lair-en
Shelby = Shell-bee
Pontiac = Pon-tee-ack
Audi = I've heard 2 of these, either "Ow-dee", as in Ow, I hurt myself, and "Aww-dee". I tend to lean towards the latter.
Mustang = Muhs-tang/Muh-stang
Chevelle = Shuh-vell
Suzuki = Suh-zoo-kee, also have heard Soo-zoo-kee and Zuh-zoo-kee
Infiniti = In-fin-ih-tee
Jaguar = Jaeg-woir
Saab = Sob
Peugeot = Pee-you-gee-ot
Diahatsu = Dee-uh-hot-sue, also, Dee-hot-sue
Alfa Romeo = Al-fuh Roe-me (dash mark)-oh, also have heard Al-fuh, Roe-mee-oh, like Romeo and Juliet
Renault = Reh-nall-t
Daewoo = Day-woo
Vauxhaull = Vawx-hall
Opel = Opuhl
Citroen = Sit-tro-en. also have heard sit-tren
Bently = Bent-lee
Maserati = Mahz-er-ah-tee
Volvo = Vol-voe
Fiat = Fee-aht, also Fee-at
Mitsubishi = Mit-sue-bee-she
Buick = Bee-you-ick
Mazda = Mahz-duh
Subaru = Sue-buh-roo
Acura = A(high)-cure-uh




This is so hard to put into text. Think I got most of them. I'll do a quick video.



Edit, I just read this list off, uploading to YouTube currently.

 

[Tornado]

Chevy = Sh-eh-vee

Dodge = Dah-dge

Slashfan is from Boston?

 

[Slash]

No lol, thats how I, and most others I know of around here pronounce those. You'll see in my video.

 

[playnthru]

No that's Daw-dge.

In ma Kaaar

 

[Slash]

Here's the video of te list above. I think I made a fool of myself at Peugeot lol. Please forgive the fact I'm laying in bed looking at my TV screen with GTP up and really tired lol.