Saturday, July 16, 2011

How should Nikon be pronounced?

Question

In the US/Canada, I've heard Nikon pronounced as nye-con, as in n-eye-con.

When I was in Southeast Asia, I heard it pronounced as knee-con. I'm assuming everywhere else in the world would pronounce it this way as well.

Is there a correct or universal way of pronouncing "Nikon"? I got some funny looks when I pronounced it as the former during my stay in SE Asia.

Answer

This is a regional thing - there is no universal way per se. In the UK most people pronounce it nick-on.

Considering Nikon is Japanese, however, and in Japan it's pronounced knee-con, one could argue that that is the 'correct' pronunciation. The Wikipedia article on Nikon gives the following pronunciation guide, which is very Japanese, with a palatised n at the end:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Nikon.ogg

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