Porsh vs. Porsha

[Joejitsu]

Just wondering how you guys pronounce Porsche. I think the proper term is "Porsh-a" but a lot more people say "porsh."

Joe

[zymurgist]

I say "Por-sha" but I try not to be a d*ck about it. If someone else says "Porsh" (i.e., all of my non-Porsche owning friends!) it's no big deal.

[masraum]

Most people in the US live by the "if 'e' is at the end of a word it must be silent" rule. I pronounced Porsche "Porsh" for years, until I got one. But I now try to always say Porsh-a. Besides, its a family name, wouldn't most people be offended if their last name was always pronounced incorrectly?

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

So many car names are mispronounced. I have friends who refer to their small SUV as an I-ZOO-soo even though it says Isuzu right there on the tailgate. Americans cay SOO-buh-roo, and the Japanese say S'BAH-roo. We say HEE-yun-die and the Koreans call it a c'HUN-die (hard to really do that one phonetically, but that's close...). And now VW is requesting that we call their misspelled SUV a TOUR-egg, while the African nomads are in fact TWAH-regs (and spelled Tuareg). My father used to call the upscale Hondas uh-KOOR-uhs. AW-dee, MUR-suh-dees...so Porsh is just part of the tradition.

Stephan

[Tim Polzin]

And how does one pronounce Chevrolet?

[nostatic]

Chebby...or crap...depends on your point of view.

[LeeH]

The Discovery Channel show on sports cars was on last night. It's narrated by Jay Leno who uses the single syllable pronunciation. The Porsche engineer that's on the show uses a definite two syllable pronunciation. I tend to trust the German guy over Jay.

[Mike Kast]

My 5 year old says it right. I bet all of you guy's can too.

[dickster]

personally i dont give a toss, but for whats its worth theres no correct pronunciation of names, or something like that.

[Sonic dB]

Lee...Ive seen that show a few times. Its great. Yes, Leno did say "Pooorsh" and obviously as a car guy he certainly has heard both versions.

It is really supposed to be "Porscha" though...


So, do you say "Niikes" or "Nikeees"?

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

And are a pair of Adidas sneakers Adidases?

Stephan

[HarryD]

Originally posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson
And are a pair of Adidas sneakers Adidases?

Stephan

No, but one sneaker by that maker is called an Adidi.

[Carrera Sled]

Don't they say "Porsch-a" on the TV commercials? I would guess that's the way the Porsche family says it.

[CamB]

Nearest I ever see is Portia (as in Merchant of Venice). Said like Sean Connery. Haha.

I have said this before and will say it again (I was asked last night by my sister in law). I say Porsch 99.99% of the time, unless speaking to people I think care (which means at the Porsche Club).

How far do we want to take this. Porsche is German, and they say the "E".

VW should be something like Folksvagen or fow-vey (VW) if you are German.

BMW should be Bey-Emm-Vey.

Audi is not a contraction of "audio". It is more like Ow-dee.

But to me, the "anglicisation" of Porsche to Porsch is completely acceptable. Less syllables = less effort

My last name is anglicised pretty heavily. Baudinet is "Bod-ee-nay" in France, with a very short first syllable and long final syllable. Anglicised the first syllable becomes long and patrician (and shifts the D) to Bow-di-nay (short last syllable). Do I care - nope.

[Jack Olsen]

I wonder if Germans pronounce Dodge as DAHJ-uh.

My feeling is that Porsche already has a reputation with the general population for owners who are inconsiderate and self-obsessed. So if someone says 'Porsch,' I don't correct them. The Americanized pronunciation is wrong, but it's common enough so that Americans know what the mispronounced version of the word means when they hear or say it.

[CamB]

I wonder if Germans pronounce Dodge as DAHJ-uh.

Jack, you know I reckon they probably would (if they were sold there).

[Carrera Sled]

Seeing as Germans (or Austrians) might pronounce "California" as "Kallee-FOH-nya", I guess "Porsch" isn't so bad .

[GrindingGears]

I always say Porscha and when I hear others say Porsch I always corret them.

"Nice Porsch!" they say.
"What's a Porsch?" I say.

Yes, I'm a dick, but someone has to educate the masses!

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by LeeH
The Discovery Channel show on sports cars was on last night. It's narrated by Jay Leno who uses the single syllable pronunciation. The Porsche engineer that's on the show uses a definite two syllable pronunciation. I tend to trust the German guy over Jay.

I would agree, since Leno doesn't even own any Porsches...

-Wayne

[cegerer]

"Chebby .... "

LOL! Personally, I like Chopped Chebbies .......