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ArchivesPronunciation of Nike in English
According to Wikipedia, the mythological name Nike is pronounced ['najki] (NIE-kee) and that is the pronunciation that I heard in commercials for the brand of trainers Nike.
In Spain, the brand is pronounced ['najk] and I found the same pronunciation in Italian forums about this matter, so I thought that that was a matter of non-native speakers applying analogy with other English names and words with the segment ike: Mike, Ike, like, bike...
But, in these thread some English native speakers from Britain and Canada comment that some years ago they pronounced Nike as in Spain:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=349063
Was ['najki] the American pronunciation of the name Nike and ['najk] the British and Canadian one and the commercials and success of the brand have extended ['najki] to all the English dialects?
Or even was the pronunciation ['najki] generated in the company and extended, first to American dialect and later to the rest of the dialects?
As usual, any contribution would be very helpful.
Thank you very much
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
In Spain, the brand is pronounced ['najk] and I found the same pronunciation in Italian forums about this matter, so I thought that that was a matter of non-native speakers applying analogy with other English names and words with the segment ike: Mike, Ike, like, bike...
But, in these thread some English native speakers from Britain and Canada comment that some years ago they pronounced Nike as in Spain:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=349063
Was ['najki] the American pronunciation of the name Nike and ['najk] the British and Canadian one and the commercials and success of the brand have extended ['najki] to all the English dialects?
Or even was the pronunciation ['najki] generated in the company and extended, first to American dialect and later to the rest of the dialects?
As usual, any contribution would be very helpful.
Thank you very much
Lumia
http://onomastica.mailcatala.com
1
Replies
"Was ['najki] the American pronunciation of the name Nike and ['najk] the British and Canadian one and the commercials and success of the brand have extended ['najki] to all the English dialects?"
I'm English and I don't think most people have heard of the mythological Nike (I certainly don't know who he/she is) - I think the majority of people only know the name through the shoes. I suppose that is why we tend to pronounce it as it's written, "nyke". Although you're right, I think this is changing as a result of hearing it said "Nykee" on American TV. Even so, I'm used to hearing both pronunciations and although I now would say "Nykee", I always feel just slightly silly doing so, as if I'd said "tomayto" instead of "tomahto"...
I'm English and I don't think most people have heard of the mythological Nike (I certainly don't know who he/she is) - I think the majority of people only know the name through the shoes. I suppose that is why we tend to pronounce it as it's written, "nyke". Although you're right, I think this is changing as a result of hearing it said "Nykee" on American TV. Even so, I'm used to hearing both pronunciations and although I now would say "Nykee", I always feel just slightly silly doing so, as if I'd said "tomayto" instead of "tomahto"...
1
Thank you very much
The fact that Nike was a unknown name for most of the English speakers could explain the duplicity in pronunciations: some dialects treated it as other names and words ending in -ike and some other dialects as other Greek names ending in -e.
The fact that Nike was a unknown name for most of the English speakers could explain the duplicity in pronunciations: some dialects treated it as other names and words ending in -ike and some other dialects as other Greek names ending in -e.
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I do not know how the name was pronounced in England, but in the USA I don't think the two syllable pronunciation was just invented by the company. There is a long tradition in English among people with higher education of pronouncing names which come from Greek and which end in "e" with the "ee" sound at the end. Zoe, Chloe, Antigone, Eurydice, Merope, Aphrodite, Psyche, Ariadne, Circe, Daphne, Niobe, Penelope, and Persephone are all normally pronounced with the -ee sound at the end. Irene is the only major exception I can think of; somehow the two syllable "eye-REEN" pronunciation developed for that name in the USA and was later also adopted in England. But I have never heard Nike said in one syllable in the USA.
1
Thank you very much
The concordance with the educated pronunciation of other Greek names has a lot of sense.
The concordance with the educated pronunciation of other Greek names has a lot of sense.
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That is all right, Lumia. Besides, Nike comes from Greek (pronounced [nee - KEH] which means "victory") and gives origin to several names: Nicanor (victorious man), Nicéforo (he who leads to victory), Nicolás (victorious among people), etc.
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If you're talking about the shoes then i think its [Nigh-kee]
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