For 11 years, Hyundai will sponsor Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. Tom de Castella queries, “How do you pronounce it, though?”
Tate Modern visitors are accustomed to stumbling over obscure names. Paul Klee has a play or a plea sound in it. There is currently a fresh obstacle. Hyundai, a South Korean automaker, will begin sponsoring the gallery’s Turbine Hall in 2015 and continue for the following 11 years, introducing modern art enthusiasts to one of the most mispronounced brand names in the world. The company has played on people’s phonetic uncertainty in its own marketing. A few years ago, it aired an advertisement during the Super Bowl that depicted furious BMW and Lexus officials yelling the word Hyundai at ever-increasing volumes. A voiceover concluded: “Win one small prize, and all of a sudden everyone knows your name. Like Sunday, it’s a Hyundai.”
But is it? Jo Kim, a linguist and Korean expert at the BBC Pronunciation Unit, says it depends on where you are. The pronunciation in its native Korean is most similar to HYUN-day (-hy as in Hugh, -u as in bun, -ay as in day, stressed syllables shown in upper case). Hyundai UK uses a distinct pronunciation, high-UUN-digh, in all of their advertisements (-igh as in high, -uu as in book, British anglicisation).
According to Hyundai UK press representative Laura King, this is the conventional British way to phrase it. However, she continues, you’ll hear two separate versions utilized in the UK HQ. The anglicized sound will be used by those who deal with the domestic market. Employees working on international business, however, will use the Korean version. According to the Super Bowl commercial, Hyundai’s US unit pronounces its name as HUN-day (-h as in hot, -u as in bun, -ay as in day, US anglicisation). However, there is another variant that sounds much like Han-die in a Spanish-language advertisement for a Californian car dealership.
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Hyundai
With its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Hyundai is a global automaker. The Hyundai Motor Company also owns Kia Motors and Genesis Motor, its premium vehicle subsidiary, which was established in 2015. These two entities are in addition to the Hyundai brand. Hyundai, which has a production capacity of 1.6 million vehicles annually, or one every ten seconds, was the third-biggest automaker in the world in 2019. The company also possesses the largest integrated auto manufacturing facility in the world.
The Korean word hyeondae, which in English is translated as “modernity,” is the source of the name Hyundai and symbolizes the company’s commitment to ongoing innovation.
The first letter of Hyundai’s brand, the letter “H,” is represented in the company’s logo, but it also has another meaning. The two stylised guys shaking hands in the logo stand in for a company representative and a happy client.
English speakers frequently mispronounce the word Hyundai. This is because a lot of Hyundai’s commercials modify the brand name to make it easier for locals to pronounce. As a result, a lot of people pronounce Hyundai as high-un-day or hun-day.
Hyundai’s first syllable contains a pronounced “y” rather than a silent letter. The “n” comes next, which is followed by the “u,” which is pronounced like a very open “oh.” Hyundai’s “ai” is pronounced as a “eh,” not as “day,” for the second syllable. In other words, you pronounce Hyundai as hyohn-deh since the final consonant is actually pronounced as -deh.
What does the Korean word Hyundai mean?
The name “Hyundai,” which roughly translates to “modernity” in Korean, was adopted in 1947 when Hyundai Construction, a South Korean business, was created. When it became a separate brand, it changed its tagline to “New thinking, new possibilities” to reflect what the new brand stood for.
Do you know how to say Hyundai’s Y?
Toyota, Honda, Lexus, and Mazda are all well known, and Americans have even grown accustomed to multisyllabic names like Mitsubishi, but some people still have trouble pronouncing Hyundai. Chung Ju-yung established Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. in South Korea in 1947, and in 1967 it launched an automotive division. The word “modernity” in Korean is transliterated into the name. It is pronounced “hyeondae” with the “y” being spoken clearly when spoken by Koreans. However, the company’s official stance for the Americas is that it’s “Hyundai like Sunday.”
The model names haven’t gotten too complicated, at least. Hyundai has long preferred naming their cars after short, simple English terms, starting with the Hyundai Excel in the past and continuing with the contemporary Sonata, Accent, Palisade, and Santa Fe. The lone exception may be Veloster, a three-syllable name that is frequently mispronounced as the four-syllable phrase “Velociter.”
Regarding the business and brand name, choose Hyundai because Sunday is my pleasant day and the day when I don’t have to run.
What does the Korean word Kia mean?
Etymology. The name “Kia” means “Rising from (East) Asia,” and it is derived from the Sino-Korean characters Qi (ki, “to arise”) and Ya (a, which stands for Ya Xi Ya(asea), “Asia,” according to the corporation.
How do you say Hyundai in Canada?
Best Response. It is wrongly pronounced “Hun-day” by Americans and Canadians. However, the correct way to say it is “Hy-un-die,” and everyone else does as well.
Are Hyundai employees Japanese?
Contrary to what many people think, Hyundai cars are not made in Japan. In truth, the Hyundai Motor Company is a Korean-made car that is gaining enormous success and gaining more recognition outside in the automotive sector.
How do you say Hyundai in Australia?
Like humans, language also travels, and many terms in the English language have their origins in French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Latin, and Latin. Because English phonetics cannot be used, pronunciation can be challenging. Consider Kath and Kim’s Kim, an Australian comedic legend, trying to pronounce chardonnay. Alternatively, some of our favorite foreign brand names that nobody can quite pronounce.
IKEA, which is frequently pronounced “eye-key-yah,” is really pronounced “ee-kay-uh” or “ih-key-yah.” Or perhaps the German luxury automobile manufacturer Porsche, whose brand name is pronounced “por-sha,” grew so fed up with customers pronouncing it incorrectly that they produced a how-to video?
Some businesses have simply given up and changed their brand’s pronunciation to fit the local phonetics. Hyundai, a Korean automaker that is marketed as “Hun-day” in the USA but as “High-uuun-di” in Britain and Australia, is pronounced “Hi-un-day” in Korea.
A word’s lengthy history, as well as our increasingly diverse society, can all have an impact on how people pronounce it. Along with more travel and immigration, the flow of American TV shows, movies, music, and even Siri and Alexa is progressively changing how we pronounce words in Australia. Think about the distinction between the terms “advertize-ment” and “ad-vertis-ment,” or “schedule” and “she-dule.”
Australian English is typically more similar to British English, however Dr. Shokouhi notes that certain of our pronunciation has become more similar to American English and less like its British roots.
Where is the origin of Hyundai?
We are all aware that Hyundai Motor Company introduced its brand formally in 1967, but the company’s roots actually date back to South Korea’s post-war period. It all began in 1947 when businessman Chung Ju-Yung established a startup company called Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company.
The meaning of the Hyundai logo
Actually, the original Hyundai logo had two meanings. It serves as a straightforward “H” to represent the Hyundai brand at first. The silhouette also depicts two figures shaking hands, though. The corporation and the customer are depicted by this silhouette as being in a cooperative relationship.
What is the tagline for Hyundai?
Hyundai Definition Furthermore, even though the name “Hyundai” was decided upon in 1947, the concept of modernism still plays a part in the brand’s identity. To represent this forward-thinking mindset, the current catchphrase is “New Thinking, New Possibilities,” and the numerous new electric and hybrid models put this catchphrase to use.
How should BMW be pronounced?
One thousand drivers in the UK participated in the survey, which asked them to correctly pronounce the names of 10 different car brands.
None of the ten brands’ names could be accurately pronounced by a single person.
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revised on:
Many people find it difficult to pronounce automobile brand names, especially when they come from Germany or France. But by any stretch of the imagination, is BMW impossible to say? One might question how three letters can be pronounced incorrectly. But a survey done at Select Car Leasing found that about 95% of individuals pronounce the name of the German automaker inaccurately.
Since “BMW” is only a three-letter word, many people pronounce it that way: “bee em double yoo.” The English pronunciation, however, is incorrect because the brand is German. So, “bee em vee” is the only pronunciation that is totally correct.
What distinguishes a Hyundai from a Kia?
In 1998, Hyundai Motor Group made the decision to buy the automaker in order to keep it viable. Although Kia and the Hyundai Motor Group are separate companies, Kia Motors is a subsidiary of Hyundai. The distinction between Kia and Hyundai is that each company has its own brand ideologies to build its vehicles in a distinctive way.
Is Hyundai superior than Kia?
The conclusion is that, despite the similarity of the vehicles offered by Hyundai and Kia, Kia models offer greater value and better quality, as well as bolder style and a more engaging driving experience. Simply put, no matter what you value most in a car, Kia automobiles are better overall. Of course, it is ultimately up to you to decide. We recognize that purchasing a new car is a significant investment. We advise you to test drive both brands since we are certain that you will ultimately decide on a Kia. Any way you look at it, it’s unquestionably the better option. Please forgive me, Hyundai.
What does the Korean word Elantra mean?
Where Did the Names of Hyundai Models Come From? Elantra. derives from the word “elation” and refers to the car’s capacity to make you happy when you drive it.
How should I say Nguyen?
The true Vietnamese pronunciation of Nguyen is audible here and is written with diacritical marks.
However, there are various acceptable ways for foreigners to pronounce Nguyen because Vietnamese tones are specific to the language (and therefore challenging for non-native speakers to pronounce):
- Silent Ng won and when.
- One syllable, N’win/Ng’win. The closest pronunciation for Vietnamese is Ng’win.
- Two-syllable noo-yen/ngoo-yen
- Three syllables, nuh-goo-yen. Because of the inaccurate harsh G sound, avoid this one.