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0x0@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

Your argument is a descriptivist one, but how do you determine which is the ‘right’ pronunciation if both ways of pronouncing a thing are commonly used?

If the vast majority is wrong it doesn’t make them right.
Hyundai is correctly pronounced how the hell ever koreans pronounce it.
One not being korean, it’s acceptable to approximate.

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Wolf@lemmy.today ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

If the vast majority is wrong it doesn’t make them right.

Sure, but who decides which one is right and which one is wrong? In the case of .Gif the people who made it said that it should be pronounced Jif, like the peanut butter, but a lot of people have an issue with that.

Koreans pronounce Hyundai as “Hai-un-dai”, but if you say that or Volkswagen the ‘right’ way in America people look at you like you are crazy.

One not being korean, it’s acceptable to approximate.

Ok, but it’s not hard do say “Hai-un-dai”, even though most Americans say “Hun-day”, even in official TV commercials from Hyundai themselves.

In Japan they pronounce sandwich, like Sandoichi. Is it acceptable for them to approximate? Does it being acceptable equate to it being ‘correct’?

These are all very questions.

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