We are constantly surrounding ourselves with brands of all sorts. From the shoes we wear to the coffee we drink and even the couch we sit on. Brands are everywhere and more importantly, they come from different parts of the world. As such, the pronunciation of brand names can differ depending on where you are. In fact, the best thing to do is say it the way its origin country says it. Here are some brand names you might be pronouncing wrong.
Maggi
Firstly, MasterChef Australia is responsible for stirring up some controversy on how Maggi should be pronounced. In Australia, it is pronounced as MADGE-y with a soft G rather than the hard G we use. However, a quick dig through the Maggi website says that the name can be pronounced differently. Americans pronounce it as MAG-ghee which is how we do too.
IKEA
This Swedish company is the perfect place for furniture shopping and filling our stomachs with meatballs. But have you been pronouncing it right? Many Malaysians pronounce it as I-key-ah but in Sweden it’s called EE-kay-uh.
Nutella
Next up is a sweet hazelnut chocolate spread that no one with a sweet tooth can resist, Nutella is a very popular brand. No, it’s not pronounced as nuh-tell-uh. If you’re pronouncing it the Italian way you should be saying NEW-tell-uh. But don’t worry because manufacturer Ferrero doesn’t want to impose a universal articulation.
Hoegaarden
It’s been a long day at work and some of us just like to kick back and relax with a beer and some friends. Although it’s pretty popular, have you been ordering your favourite Hoegaarden correctly? Instead of hoe-gar-den, it’s actually WHO-gar-den. Who would have known.
Givenchy
Movin on, this name can be heard in a lot of different ways. We have give-an-chee or gah-vin-chee and sometimes we also have the occasional ghee-van-chi. This French brand is actually pronounced Zhee-Von-Shee which will make more sense with the video below.
L’OCCITANE
Lastly, we have another French brand but this time it’s skincare! Therefore, the next time you want to treat your skin to some good stuff you can pop on down to Lox-Ee-Tahn. That’s right, it’s not lock-key-ton or loh-see-taney or lockey-tane. Even L’OCCITANE is tired of everyone pronouncing it wrong so they made a video all about it!
