Pronunciation of Nokia

[krisse]

Can I just get on my soapbox here and let people know that Nokia is pronounced "noh-kia" (with a short "o" as in "golf").

The pronunciation "noe-kia" is incorrect.

Thank you.

:p

[aflegg]

Dunno whether this matches what you're saying or not, but in the UK the only pronounciation used is:

knock-e-a (rhymes with Ikea - eye-kea)

[Reggie]

krisse,

So is it noh-kee-yah or noh-kyah?

Three syllables or two?

:D

[RedMist]

Dunno whether this matches what you're saying or not, but in the UK the only pronounciation used is:

knock-e-a (rhymes with Ikea - eye-kea)

But the thing is Ikea is often pronounced "ickier", and not the way we do, sounds-like "idea" :)

[Hedgecore]

I'm still awaiting the sound byte "My name is Dr. Ari Jaaksi, and I pronounce Nokia as Nokia"

("My name is Linus Torvalds and I pronounce Linux as Linux") :)

[ScottRD]

krisse,

So is it noh-kee-yah or noh-kyah?

Three syllables or two?

:D

Since the name is Finnish the most notable distinction is what I think you have alluded to here. The main difference is that in Finnish the emphasis is on the FIRST syllable and I think this is what you are getting at. As for the first post that started this thread, I would argue this is not entirely correct and the closest to the Finnish pronunciation is a longer O and not short as in golf. Technically it's probably not exactly the same as either the long or the short O in English.

[omegaone37]

Who really cares how its pronounced... as long as people keep buying the tablets.

This forum must really be getting bored to death!

Omega

[YoDude]

In the US we pronounce it... ex·pen·sive
:D

[jmk]

/ˈnokiɑ/ in IPA (nock-ia?)

In Finnish you write as you read, meaning generally that each sound corresponds to a letter. If one compares it to French or English, this is definitely a big advantage in learning the language. (http://finnish-language.blogspot.com/)

Keep it simple: "The Finnish letters are always pronounced as they are written."

http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/finnish.pronunciation.html

[TA-t3]

krisse,

So is it noh-kee-yah or noh-kyah?

Three syllables or two?

:D
noh-kee-yah is the closest you can get I think.

[barry99705]

So is it in-vid-e-ah, or neh-vid-e-ah?? I pronounce it the first way, buddy of mine pronounces it the second. Every game that I've played pronounces it the first as well.

[lardman]

Ah, so is the medium length "o" pronounced: No-kia (as in "open", so the "No" sounds like the opposite of "yes"), or as I would say n-o-kia (as in the o from "odd" - the "n-o" sounding a bit like the start of the French "non", the opposite of "oui").

:)

[Milhouse]

From what I've read most Finns (and possibly Europeans, but certainly Brits and Aussies/Kiwis) would go with the pronunciation where "No" is pronounced as in the first three letters of "knock" so you have kno-key-ah while Americans say know-key-ah. All advertising I've seen, both local and internet (thus global?) based conforms with the Finnish/European/Aussie pronunciation. Hell, some Americans think Nokia is a Japanese company (http://www.autospies.com/news/Land-Rover-is-an-American-brand-Hyundai-is-Japanese-and-Volvo-and-SAAB-are-from-Germany-according-to-the-youth-of-America-15613/) so perhaps no great surprise they have their own unique pronunciation! :)

[Texrat]

I hear the Finns saying "nahk-ya"

[Milhouse]

I hear the Finns saying "nahk-ya"

Not sure which pronunciation that comes closest to - the European or US way of saying it? My guess is the former, probably with a slight Finnish accent/twist to it :) It's kind of surprising how much this subject has been debated on the internet in the past... if only there were a definitive way of pronouncing Nokia as there is for Linux (http://www.paul.sladen.org/pronunciation/).

[TA-t3]

if only there were a definitive way of pronouncing Nokia as there is for Linux (http://www.paul.sladen.org/pronunciation/).
This sounds like a job for Ari! :D

[YoDude]

I hear the Finns saying "nahk-ya"


I've heard them say "thahnk-ya"
:D

What does it matter as long as we buy the product?

Nike actually changed the pronunciation of his family name to suit how consumers pronounced it. I guess after the first $1,000,000 it doesn't really matter. I think most folks now call him "Rich". :)

[jussik]

Nike actually changed the pronunciation of his family name to suit how consumers pronounced it.

A greek goddess changed pronounciation of her name because of consumer pressure? Wow.

:)

[sping]

Can I just get on my soapbox here and let people know that Nokia is pronounced "noh-kia" (with a short "o" as in "golf").
:p

Funny, I read "noh" and think of pronunciation as in "no". Doh!

Anyway, in business calls with Finnish Nokia employees, they always pronounce it "knock'ya" to my ears, with that delicate consonant pronunciation that Swedes and Finns bring to speech.

When I hear them (I've mostly mixed with Swedes) pronounce English with such delicate precision, I can't help but think native English speakers must sound guttural and lazy to their ears.

[krisse]

Ah, so is the medium length "o" pronounced: No-kia (as in "open", so the "No" sounds like the opposite of "yes"), or as I would say n-o-kia (as in the o from "odd" - the "n-o" sounding a bit like the start of the French "non", the opposite of "oui").

:)

I actually gave an example in the original post.

The "o" in Nokia is pronounced exactly like the "o" in Golf (more examples: Box, Mock, Sock etc.)

A lot of people mistakenly seem to stretch the "no" bit of Nokia, but you shouldn't, just like you shouldn't stretch the "go" bit of Golf.


Anyway, in business calls with Finnish Nokia employees, they always pronounce it "knock'ya" to my ears, with that delicate consonant pronunciation that Swedes and Finns bring to speech.

Yes, that's it! A much better way of writing it... thank you.

Nokia is correctly pronounced "knock'ya".

Another important issue dealt with. :D


What does it matter as long as we buy the product?

Doesn't matter a bit, but this IS the "off-topic" board.

[TA-t3]

Many pronounce the 'o' in 'golf' like the 'oo' in 'floor'.. which is probably the cause of the small confusion! ;)

[sping]

Yes, that's it! A much better way of writing it... thank you.

Nokia is correctly pronounced "knock'ya".

Another important issue dealt with. :D

Though we forgot to re-iterate, the stress is on "knock". Knock'ya.

And I just realized, many Americans pronounce "knock" more "naaak", which isn't right for "Nokia".

In my experience, in the USA, people say know-key-ah, with no particular stress. In the UK, people say knock-ee-ah, perhaps with a little stress on "ee".

The trouble with all this, is knowing and using the correct pronunciation doesn't endear you to anybody... It's like when I discovered that "forte" ("that's not my forte") should really be pronounced as "fort (http://www.answers.com/forte&r=67)". If you do so, you're assumed to be an idiot, or perhaps worse, an annoying pedant (guilty).

Tangent upon off-topic tangent: "sorbet" has no business being pronounced without the 't' as if it's French. It comes from Turkish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbet). But try asking for "sore-bet" (as it used to be pronounced), and you'll be assumed to be an ignorant hick.

[anidel]

Well simply post the audio version of how you pronounce it :)

In Italian we pronounce it the way it's written and should be:

Noh-kee-ah

http://193.205.161.33/Nokia.mp3

But pronounce "Nike" in a totally different way (and Nike itself adapted to it here):

http://193.205.161.33/Nike.mp3

[anidel]

The trouble with all this, is knowing and using the correct pronunciation doesn't endear you to anybody... It's like when I discovered that "forte" ("that's not my forte") should really be pronounced as "fort (http://www.answers.com/forte&r=67)". If you do so, you're assumed to be an idiot, or perhaps worse, an annoying pedant (guilty).

"forte" is italian and that's expression comes from our "questo è il mio forte" (the exact translation of "that's my forte").
The 'e' at the end is not so long as answers.com says.
It's way shorter.

[blackdog]

Adding to the confusion...

[deeteroderdas]

My father-in-law calls his phone his "nookie" phone...;^)

[cairn]

My father-in-law calls his phone his "nookie" phone...;^)

That's awesome! From now on my N800 will be known as my "Nookie Tablet". That'll keep my wife on her toes ;)

[Greyghost]

I'm still awaiting the sound byte "My name is Dr. Ari Jaaksi, and I pronounce Nokia as Nokia"

("My name is Linus Torvalds and I pronounce Linux as Linux") :)

LOL!!!:D Thanks!

[YoDude]

A greek goddess changed pronounciation of her name because of consumer pressure? Wow.

:)

Ah... you got me :o (dang Wekipedia)

It must have been Joe Isuzu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Isuzu) I was thinking about. :D