Dan, either way, the English refuse to use the French pronunciation...
Driving on I-80 through Western Pennsylvania, my wife and I stopped in DuBois for the night. While eating dinner in the next town down the road, the friendly waitress asked where we were staying. In Doo-Bwah, we replied. She stared at us quizzically for several seconds, then said, "Oh, you mean da-boyzee?".
The locals get to call it what they want.
Charley
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
Not to mention Venn-iss and Floor-rinse!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
Hell, we not only pronounce them differently, we often spell them differently.
One man's Mede is another man's Persian.
I'm from the southeastern United (yeah, right) States, so I always assume my pronunciation is in error. For the record, when I asked Jim at Midwest Photo about a SIGH-mar S he didn't bat an eye but sold me a SIGH-roh-nar N. Its my understanding that he is a really nice guy, though. I forget who exactly I asked about a RISE tripod, but he laughed and laughed.
Then there are those who pronounce Munich as if it were a German word, with a teutonic 'ichhhhh'.
Niepce always gives me problems. Even after quizzing various native French speakers, I can't help thinking of 'neeps', the word used in Scotland for swedes. Or should that be rutabagas? Snaggers? Brassica Napus? In any case, I grew up eating the holy trio of Tatis, Mince and Niepce, and it's hard to shake the association.
I use both See-nar and Sigh-nar. The latter in English, the former in Germanic tongues. Nikon however is always, religiously, Nick-on.
If I ever set up a camera manufactury, it will be in Kircudbrightshire, with investment from the Chomondley estates. Name? Syzygy Optyka.
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