Correct way of saying "Nikon"

In the USA we say Ni-kon and places around the world say it Nik-on

So who is saying it correctly?

Canon users say it No-Kin...

chasrich wrote: Canon users say it No-Kin...

Smarty pants!

I have never heard it pronounced any other way.

Village Clown wrote: In the USA we say Ni-kon and places around the world say it Nik-on

So who is saying it correctly?

Both are. It depends on where you are from.

I recently answered the same question on another forum. I once knew enough Japanese to get by in Japan. Japanese uses relatively few vowel sounds in a very structured way. Assuming that Nikon writes its name in the way that Japanese is usually transcribed into English, and it does - I checked the name in Japanese script on Nikon's Japanese site, the "I" is a short vowel sound as in "kick" or "nick". It is not the long "ee" as in "knee" and definitely not "eye" as I often hear it pronounced. So, the Japanese pronunciation is "nick on", not "knee-kon or "n-eye-kon".

Of course foreign words often get mis-pronounced in any language. This is more a question of culture and custom, not right or wrong. (None-the-less I admantly stick to "nick on" when most around me say "n-eye-kon".)

Regards,
Chris

The company itself recognizes 2 ways of saying it. Watch a commercial in the U.S. to find out the pronunciation in the U.S. It is different than Japan.

Shadowfixer1 wrote: The company itself recognizes 2 ways of saying it. Watch a commercial in the U.S. to find out the pronunciation in the U.S. It is different than Japan.

Nikon U.S.A. accepts it maybe, but it's still the incorrect way to pronounce the name.

The U.K., Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand etc. etc. all get it right (well some slightly mispronounce it, but it isn't as bad as the U.S./Canada).

The correct way is: ニコン (which some people slightly mispronounce as: ニイコン

The way American's pronounce is is way off. They say: ンアイコン Which as you can plainly see is completely wrong.

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

Shadowfixer1 wrote: The company itself recognizes 2 ways of saying it. Watch a commercial in the U.S. to find out the pronunciation in the U.S. It is different than Japan.

Nikon U.S.A. accepts it maybe, but it's still the incorrect way to pronounce the name.

The U.K., Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand etc. etc. all get it right (well some slightly mispronounce it, but it isn't as bad as the U.S./Canada).

The correct way is: ニコン (which some people slightly mispronounce as: ニイコン

The way American's pronounce is is way off. They say: ンアイコン Which as you can plainly see is completely wrong.

私はあなたが少しずれてあなたのスペルを持っていると思う。

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

Shadowfixer1 wrote: The company itself recognizes 2 ways of saying it. Watch a commercial in the U.S. to find out the pronunciation in the U.S. It is different than Japan.

Nikon U.S.A. accepts it maybe, but it's still the incorrect way to pronounce the name.

The U.K., Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand etc. etc. all get it right (well some slightly mispronounce it, but it isn't as bad as the U.S./Canada).

The correct way is: ニコン (which some people slightly mispronounce as: ニイコン

The way American's pronounce is is way off. They say: ンアイコン Which as you can plainly see is completely wrong.

They don't just accept it. They use it. I know how it was originally supposed to be pronounced, but in the states it is nighcon.

Shadowfixer1 wrote:

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

Shadowfixer1 wrote: The company itself recognizes 2 ways of saying it. Watch a commercial in the U.S. to find out the pronunciation in the U.S. It is different than Japan.

Nikon U.S.A. accepts it maybe, but it's still the incorrect way to pronounce the name.

The U.K., Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand etc. etc. all get it right (well some slightly mispronounce it, but it isn't as bad as the U.S./Canada).

The correct way is: ニコン (which some people slightly mispronounce as: ニイコン

The way American's pronounce is is way off. They say: ンアイコン Which as you can plainly see is completely wrong.

They don't just accept it. They use it. I know how it was originally supposed to be pronounced, but in the states it is nighcon.

And the rest of the world laughs.

Nikon USA marketing knows not to insult it's customers so it holds your collective hands and says "it's ok, just say it any way you like."

So how did the name Nikon get so screwed up in how people say it?

You can probably blame Paul Simon's song Kodachrome.

I think that the most import thing isn't the fact that people on different continents, and in different cultures pronounce the name Nikon wrong or right, the most important thing is that the name Nikon has a global name recognition.

Good point Barry. What about the company's name Nippon Kogaku? wonder how everyone would pronounce that?

I read that an early nickname was Nikko; in English the double consonant would be pronounced with a short i sound and Nikon a long i sound. I think. Guess it depends if you're pronouncing a word in its native language or in your native language. Or regional accent.

Here in the southern Midwest we just say everything w/a nasal twang, esp. those of us who live in 'Sinus Valley' - how I pronounce anything varies w/the season! LOL

And what about Nike....?

icepics wrote: Good point Barry. What about the company's name Nippon Kogaku? wonder how everyone would pronounce that?

I read that an early nickname was Nikko; in English the double consonant would be pronounced with a short i sound and Nikon a long i sound. I think. Guess it depends if you're pronouncing a word in its native language or in your native language. Or regional accent.

Here in the southern Midwest we just say everything w/a nasal twang, esp. those of us who live in 'Sinus Valley' - how I pronounce anything varies w/the season! LOL

And what about Nike....?

Nike is correct. Since the Nikon marketing in the US uses the Americanized version it is correct. It is like when I was a kid the French cars Renault, people here called the Ray nalts, I was raised to call them Ray knows. They didnt care much either as long as they sold. Also the Japanese have no room to talk with the Engrish i some of the manuals.