It’s time to focus again on the blatant, ongoing mispronunciation of three common Japanese words/names.
Broadcasters – on radio, TV, you name it – don’t properly pronounce three common Japanese terms or names:
- Honda, the car.
- Tokyo, the city.
- Panko, the breadcrumbs favored by chefs.
I have friends named Honda; it’s a valid surname here and in Japan. They say it this way: “Hohn-da.” Yep, there is the Honda car brand. Media announcers unknowingly utter it as “Hahn-da.” “Hohn” and “Hahn” are not one and the same. FHI , one of the original founders of the Honda vehicle is Soichiro Honda, whose business was Honda Motor Company. No ifs, ands or buts. To reiterate, it’s “Hohn-da.”
Then there’s the city of Tokyo. It’s a two-syllable name, “Toh-kyo,” if pronounced properly. However, you unilaterally hear it as a three-syllable name, “Toh-kee-yo.” Uh, uh, it’s “Toh-kyo.” If it were a three syllable name, it would have to be spelled “To-ki-yo.”
Then there’s that product now universally utilized by chefs and home cooks. In Hawaii, locals know “Panko” well, an integral ingredient for tonkatsu or tempura. It’s properly pronounced “Pahn-ko,” but elsewhere, folks say it as “Pann-ko,” like in “frying pan.”
In 2021, I discussed this dilemma, but it still persists.
Then there’s yet other badly, frequently mispronounced word. It’s karaoke. Perhaps fodder for another time…
Honolulu is mispronounced all the time especialsly by flight attendants.
Its not Hah-no-lu-lu
its: Hoh-no-lu-lu
Then there’s Karate, Jewelry, Realtor … but the most egregious is the name Honolulu. It makes my skin crawl to hear broadcasters, politicians and even the Hawaiian Air recorded announcements (on-board and at the terminal) say… Hah-na-lu-lu!
What’s alarming is the lack of oversight, esp among major media, which preserve these faults in audio, video, and in cinama.
Honolulu, indeed, is slammed.
Just as bad as harakiri, the Japanese word for self-inflected woud via katana (sword). It’s always “Harry Carey.”
When I mention karaoke the correct way to mainland friends, they have no idea what I’m talking about, so I sometimes have to say it incorrectly, but it really bothers me!!