Pronunciation - why oh why?!

[Depot Denizen]

I work at a college computer store, and also as phone consultantant for the computer helpdesk. At least once a week without fail I get people either in person or on the phone who cannot pronounce the very thing they are talking about.

Vista - the mother of all mispronounced words. "Veeeesta" or even worse, "Vysta".

MacBook - Usually heard pronounced "McBook" like it's a burger from McDonalds. McProBook is another one I hear often.

Inspiron - we don't sell it, but people still want it... "Inspyron" and "Inspirion" are common.

Depot - people call it "The Depott".

Other phrases just mangled -

Microsoft Windows 2007 (mainly just that one)

What do you guys have?

[Shabo]

I know I've said this before... but "Endora". You know, just flip the "u" upside down. It doesn't matter.

Also Mawzilla. Thunderfox. There's so many more. Oh, Windows Word (or other office application suite).

I would actually like to hear "netscappai"... like how Dory pronounces "escape" in finding nemo.

[chops]

Microsoft Windows 2007 (mainly just that one)

Ten years ago as what would become Windows 98 took shape, I'd actually see products that were "Designed for Windows 97."

Back on topic:
• VST (former maker of Mac accessories and external hard drives) would become "Vist" or "Vista"
• The company that bought it, SmartDisk, would become "SuperDisk" (further complicated by the fact that we did, in fact, sell SuperDisk aka LS-120 drives) or my personal favorite, "SmartDick"
• SanDisk most often became "ScanDisk" (that one bugged the high holy hell out of me)

There are others, I'm sure, but that's all that come to mind at the moment.

[technical.angel]

My main one is Firefox becoming Foxfire.

[Chanlin]

I have a few from the cellphone industry... these are just plain annoying.

Audiovox - Becomes Audiovax or Add - I - Oh - volks (pronounced like folks)

Kyocera - Becomes Ki or key okera

Motorola - becomes Mo trola

LG - becomes Lig - this one is rare most people realize you are supposed to say the letters seperately for this one

Qualcomm - becomes Quail comm or Quail cam

Pantech - becomes Pen Tech (I wonder if they hunt down supernaturals...) or Pan Tesh

And the most annoying because it happens most often

Authenticate - becomes Authentify, Authorize, or Authentificate whats worse about this one is these mispronounciations are after they have heard a prerecorded message say the word properly.

[sld72382]

Lenmark. (Lexmark)

Linkski. (Linksys)

Compact. (Compaq)

Those are just some.

Oh, and I got docked on an audit one time for correcting a client that it's "Linksys," not "Linkski." It wasn't enough to fail, but still.

[CancelMyService]

Oh man, I almost wore my teeth down to nubs when I worked at Circuit City from grinding them when some older (and it was almost always older) person would come in, ad in hand, and ask to see the CAWM-PACK computer featured therein.

The whole Hewlett-Packard/Packard Bell thing was a neverending ball of fun. I'm sure that's what prompted the former to switch to the "HP" branding, since Packard Bell computers were the biggest pieces of poop ever foisted on the computer buying public and half the people coming in the store seemed to think they were the same company.

[Teh_Chrons]

The company that I do tech support for has a seperate computer to communicate between the tills and the office computer. The proper name for it is the Communications Management Unit, abbreviated CMU. I don't know what gets to me more, the people who call and say they have a message about their SMU or their CUM.

Also, along the lines of the authenticate mispronunciations come the peple who get messages asking them to authorize this or that. Usually these people have deep southern accents and names like Aquanetta (your mom really liked her hairspray?) and will come up with authorisize or just add some completely random syllable in the word.

[chops]

Compact. (Compaq)

How could I have forgotten that one? In my podunk IT days, my boss (not an IT person by any means) would constantly say that.

[Knightmare]

I have a few from the cellphone industry... these are just plain annoying.

You work in cellphones and you forgot Nokia? I have heard Nokia pronounced as:

No-koy-a,
Nee-kee-a,
No-kee-oh,
Noy-yo-ko

and my personal favorite: Neo-koo-koo

[Gurndigarn]

Vista - the mother of all mispronounced words. "Veeeesta" or even worse, "Vysta".

Tha's what MicroSloth gets for using a spanish word. Even if it means the same thing in english.

[Chanlin]

You work in cellphones and you forgot Nokia?

How could I forget No-ky-ah or lets not for get no-kee or my personal favorite No... nok... nisan?

[Impetrix]

Not exactly tech, but my mom keeps calling sudoku "soduku". Drives me flippin' batty, and then SHE goes crazy when I correct her.

[CancelMyService]

My mom still calls Nintendo "Nun-tun-do". I'm about 75% sure she does it now just to get a reaction from me, but it used to drive me up a wall when I was 7-8 years old and the NES was everywhere. I mean come on, how could someone not know how Nintendo was pronounced in 1985?

[Broomjockey]

Again, not exactly techie, but my ex-friend called them "bamfas" instead of "banthas." Drove me up the fracking WALL, over the ceiling, down the other wall, and out the door.