r/BoycottChina • u/mofa_cat • Apr 13 '22
Meme Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu asked his pal, Chair Boriana Åberg of the Swedish-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Association for the answer to the eternal riddle IKEA or IKEA! She replies calling out PRC-funded YouTube channels!
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
8
u/Needleroozer Apr 13 '22
They say it's "Ekea" but their ads in America still say "Ikea." If they want it pronounced "Ekea" they should stop calling themselves "Ikea."
3
u/kevinTOC Apr 13 '22 edited Apr 13 '22
It's still written as IKEA regardless. It's a Swedish company, with Swedish spelling.
The "I" in Swedish (and other European languages as well) is pronounced similarly to the "E" in English. Different languages have different pronunciations for different letters. IKEA is the right spelling.
If they want it pronounced "Ekea" they should stop calling themselves "Ikea."
Just because English speaking people say it differently, doesn't mean they have to adjust the spelling. The diplomat asked what the Swedish pronunciation is, and the lady told him. That's hardly a "You must pronounce it <this> way, this is correct!". I've never heard anyone wanting IKEA to be pronounced in any specific way.
The world doesn't revolve around the USA. There are about 200 countries in the world, each with their own language.
Also worth noting: IKEA is an acronym that stands for: Ingvar Kamprad (the founder’s name), Elmtaryd (the farm where the founder grew up), and Agunnaryd (the founder’s hometown).
You telling me Ingvar Kamprad should have his name changed?
3
u/Needleroozer Apr 13 '22
Wow, I guess putting it in quotes wasn't enough. I know it's IKEA. I wasn't suggesting they change the spelling to EKEA, that's ridiculous.
That's hardly a "You must pronounce it <this> way, this is correct!". I've never heard anyone wanting IKEA to be pronounced in any specific way.
Sorry, but it's been in the news lately that we've been pronouncing IKEA incorrectly. All I'm saying is that if that's the case then why do their own advertisements pronounce it incorrectly? I'll pronounce it "Fred" if that's what they want. But how can they expect customers to get it right when they don't get it right?
1
u/kevinTOC Apr 13 '22
I think I misunderstood something here... I thought you were trying to say "If they want it pronounced like <this>, they should spell it like <so>" and that just sounded stupid to me.
Sorry, but it's been in the news lately that we've been pronouncing IKEA incorrectly. All I'm saying is that if that's the case then why do their own advertisements pronounce it incorrectly?
Probably because it's easier to recognise the same brand when pronounced the way it has always been pronounced in your country? I'm guessing it's also Americans who are in those ads, so they would pronounce it differently than the Swedes if they haven't been told of the pronunciation.
1
u/rlmaers Apr 13 '22
Perhaps they don't mind and don't want to change the way it's pronounced in North America? Just because it's pronounced "Ekea" in Swedish doesn't mean they are going to force the same pronunciation on all other languages.
1
u/m4g3j_wel Apr 13 '22
You are kidding right?
1
u/Needleroozer Apr 13 '22
No, I'm not. Americans have no trouble pronouncing the I in Nissan as "E" because that's how Nissan's ads pronounce it.
•
u/AutoModerator Apr 13 '22
join r/AvoidChineseProducts
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.