Pronunciation of Nikon....

[izux]

Erm just wondering here...how do u people pronounce 'Nikon'?
Is it 'Nee-kon' or 'Nai-kon' ?
I usually use the latter.

 

[ckiang]

This has actually been polled before by kongg I believe.

The correct one should be Nee Kon. Only Americans pronounce it Naikon (just as they pronounec Antai-clockwise, Multai-media, etc)

Nikon came from "Nippon Kongaku", which I don't think the Japs pronounce "Naipon" right? ;p

Regards
CK

 

[denizenx]

Conan camera?

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by denizenx
Conan camera?

:bsmilie: :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

Regards
CK

 

[denizenx]

yeah jap ni is nee not nai.. greek is nai
then how come not Amer-ai-cans?
becos the word is spanish iirc....

 

[ziploc]

What does "Kongaku" mean in Japanese?

 

[denizenx]

Originally posted by ziploc
What does "Kongaku" mean in Japanese?

using my level -17 jap skill I shd think it's guang1 xue2, "light research" or "optics" lah

 

[GeEkMaN]

Originally posted by ckiang
This has actually been polled before by kongg I believe.

The correct one should be Nee Kon. Only Americans pronounce it Naikon (just as they pronounec Antai-clockwise, Multai-media, etc)

Nikon came from "Nippon Kongaku", which I don't think the Japs pronounce "Naipon" right? ;p

Regards
CK

I also believe that since Nikon is a Japanese brand, the pronounciation should follow the Japanese style and be pronounced as 'nee-kon' instead of 'nai-kon'.

 

[beluga]

I don't think it matters because as a product gets globalized, different people pronoounced it differently. Just like in US, they pronounced Samsung as Sam(as in english name)-Sung(as in past tense of sing) and Hyundai as Hyon-day.

As for the Japs, they pronounced it at Nee-kon.

 

[Tetrode]

The correct term should be 'Kogaku' not 'Kongaku'.
I believe it means optical works or optical company - but don't quote me on that.

 

[Tetrode]

Actually the proper Japanese pronounciation for Nikon is
Nee-Kon-g(where the g is near silent)

 

[Tetrode]

Just found out what 'Kogaku' means: engineering.

 

[Silverelf]

Originally posted by beluga
I don't think it matters because as a product gets globalized, different people pronoounced it differently. Just like in US, they pronounced Samsung as Sam(as in english name)-Sung(as in past tense of sing) and Hyundai as Hyon-day.

As for the Japs, they pronounced it at Nee-kon.

Hmm... I feel that it is only proper to pronounce something properly if you know the correct pronounciation, of course most people in US won't know how it's pronounced in other parts so you can't really blame them for it.... That doesn't mean that's the way it should be though. cheers...

 

[beluga]

Originally posted by Silverelf


Hmm... I feel that it is only proper to pronounce something properly if you know the correct pronounciation, of course most people in US won't know how it's pronounced in other parts so you can't really blame them for it.... That doesn't mean that's the way it should be though. cheers...

It's also about acceptance. Once it's accepted, it doesn't matter if it's right or wrong...

 

[ckiang]

Originally posted by ziploc
What does "Kongaku" mean in Japanese?

Optical Works or something.

Nippon Kongaku is supposed to mean something like "Ri Ben Guang Xue"

Regards
CK

 

[denizenx]

haha I sense a disturbance in the Force...

 

[denizenx]

argue not, Canon use, then problems none yes? mmm?

 

[twisturn]

Paiseh ... feel a need to step in ..

Offical name in the past is Nippon Kogaku which simply means Japan Engineering ... Kogaku (gong1 xue2 - in Mandarin) means Engineering in Japanese ...

Koukagaku (guang1 hua4 xue2) means photo chemical in Japanese ...

The Japanese Kanji (Chinese lookalike characters) is often misleading and may not always have the equivalent meaning in Chinese..

Just my 2 cents worth

 

[RuthBaby]

9-KON

 

[roygoh]

From Nikon Japan's website,

"1917- Three of Japan's leading optical manufacturers merge to form a comprehensive, fully integrated optical company known as Nippon Kogaku K.K."

The company name in kanji is as shown below, if you can read it:

"“ú–{Œõ›{H‹ÆŠ”Ž®˜ðŽÐ"

So ckiang is correct about the kanji being Mandarin equivalent of "guang1 Xue2", but got the spelling wrong. It is "Kogaku" instead of "Kongaku".

Here are the English and Japanese versions on Nikon's corporate website listing the company's history:

http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/portfolio/history.htm
http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/jpn/profile/history.htm

Over here is US, people normally pronounce it as "Nai-kon". I still call it "Nee-kon" and so far people I talk to have no problem knowing what I was referring to.