Pronunciation Of 'ikea'

[puternut]

For years I have, and all my friends, relatives colleagues (possibly enemies too) have been pronouncing this as 'Eye-Kia'.

Now

from the recent spate of advers it appeaars that the Swedish sounding gentelman says it should be 'Ick-ear'.

Whose right!

(same as Nestles - rhymes with trestles - is now 'Nest-lay' and 'Marathon' is now 'Snickers'!!!)

[puternut]

^ Sorry for typos :)

[jeffa]

I pronounce it "over-priced-***-for-gullible-idiots"

[askyourgran]

I'm with you puternut (where have you been?) nestles - trestles. and Eye Key a. Maybe it is pronounced different in their own country, I don't think I'll change now.

[Peter Pedant]

yeah I noticed that

it is oikoya here..... oikos is NT greek for a house

Ness lay has always been Nest-lay as it be French see and has an acute accent on the final e

When I was in Holland working with Mrs Cantle - she said o god people havent got my name right for 20 y....yup - cant-lay ...

[baza]

Sounds like the same voice over as previous ads for over priced Swedish made replacements for MFI, imo.

[Buenchico]

This should help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBhkD4Lb4yE

[Buenchico]

^^^ . . . however that assumes that you actually want to use Swedish. Most people are happy to use Anglicised version of foreign words. After all, would you refer to Paris, Munich and Bruges or to 'Paree', Munchen and Brugge?

[seekeerz]

Only if you we're showing off !!

[seekeerz]

Grrr ^^^were

[Obiter]

Agree with Chico. Have never understood how Peking suddenly became Beijing on the spurious grounds that that's what the locals call it. No one in my experience, unless speaking Russian, says Moskva instead of Moscow.

[jeffa]

The Peking / Beijing thing is simply due to incorrect transcription of Chinese characters into something Westerns could read, called PinYin. It's always been Beijing in Mandarin.

As regards IKEA and other foreign loan words, languages tend to pronounce them the way that best fits its own phonology. E.g. most people know that the dish moussaka is Greek, but the Greeks don't pronounce it moo-SAR-ka, nor do they pronounce Nana's surname mus-KOO-ri.

Similarly, many English people to the Italian foodstuffs as chee-ah-BAR-ta and broo-SHET-ah, or Pavarotti's surname as loo-chee-AR-no.

[Quizmonster]

I'm amazed that they've bothered to try to 'correct' us after so long. The German electronic company, Braun - which is, of course, pronounced Brown by Germans - has always been pronounced Brawn by Brits. Instead of us grasping that, the company now refer to themselves in adverts here as Brawn!

[factor-fiction]

I have always said "Eye key a" and I'm not going to change now.

I've always pronounced Lidl as "Lid'll" but I've heard several alternatives, particularly "Leed'll", but I'm not going to change this either

[Svejk]

Anyone (English) who says Paree, Barthelona or Neehuraarguaar needs to take a long, hard look at themselves. ;-)

[Maydup]

I went to Eye-key-a for the very first time this year. I walked for miles and miles and have only just found my way out. I didn't buy anything!

[douglas9401]

According to their own website you can pronounce it any way you like, as long as you're buying. :-)

[Mosaic]

I get migraine just thinking about shopping at eye-keeya. The layout, absence of natural light and air, and the fact that our 'local' is in the obesity capital of the north west - Warrington. Squeezing a path through battalions of slow-moving dead-eyed elk-people to buy some coloured plastic is not my idea of anything good.

[Old_Geezer]

IMO if a foreign firm markets itself with an anglicised name in this country, initially, it is bad form to try to change it to how they want it pronounced after they have become established. I can see why they do it, but it's just bad manners. But firms are always being annoying and changing things. Consider marathon and opal fruits to mention just two. the first you mention yourself.

Personally I don't mush care for the Ikea style. Basic bookcases maybe an exception. And I only had to visit one once to know I disliked the style of "shop" too.

[Old_Geezer]

MUCH !!!!!
Like I typed >:-(