Even if you have an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and know all the details about cool lifestyle brands, what good is it if you have no idea how to pronounce the names correctly? Don’t feel bad, lots of us mangle names, but this list will help you get them right.
- Ikea - Americans know it’s tough to pronounce the names of Ikea’s products, but it turns out, we’re not saying the name of the store the same way they do in Sweden either. Instead of the [[eye-KEY-uh]] we’re used to, the store’s home country actually says it [[ee-KAY-uh]].
- Princess Eugenie - She’s set to get married this Friday and we think her name is pronounced [[you-JEAN-knee]] or [[you-JEN-knee]], but the granddaughter of the queen’s name is actually [[YOU-juh-knee]].
- Chrissy Teigen - The model and author admits she gave up trying to correct people about her name a long time ago. We all say her last name [[TEE-gen]], but she says it’s really [[TIE-gen]]. And even she says it the “wrong” way, so how would we know?
- Ariana Grande - If you assume the pop star’s last name is pronounced [[GRAN-day]], you’re not alone. But it turns out, it’s supposed to be [[Gran-DEE]].
- Nutella - That chocolate-hazelnut spread you love is actually [[NEW-tell-uh]], not [[NUH-tell-uh]].
- Sriracha - People commonly call this popular chili sauce [[sree-ROTCH-ah]], but it’s really supposed to be [[SEE-rah-cha]] because it’s named after a coastal town where the sauce comes from in Thailand, Si Racha.
- Porsche - In the U.S. we tend to call the luxury German car brand [[PORSH]] with just one syllable, but the company is named for its founder, Ferdinand Porsche, and his last name has two syllables: [[POOR-sha]]. And now we know.
Source: New York Post