AE 1076 - Can You Say These Japanese Brands in Three Accents? | Reaction

Learn Australian English in this episode of the Aussie English podcast where I go over Asagi's video on how to say Japanese brand names.

In today's episode...

Hey guys, how's it going?

I got another recommended YouTube video here from Japan life vlogger Asagi's Life | No BS Japan -- don't forget to check her out!

In this video, she tells us 10 Japanese brand names that non-Japanese people pronounce quite differently.

Now, when you go out and eat in a Japanese restaurant, you will now remember the name of the expensive beef they serve!

Is there anything you want to ask me? Drop in your questions here: https://aussieenglish.com.au/askpete

** Want to wear the kookaburra shirt? **
Get yours here at https://aussieenglish.com.au/shirt 

Improve your listening skills today – listen, play, & pause this episode – and start speaking like a native English speaker!

Watch & listen to the convo!

Transcript of AE 1076 - Can You Say These Japanese Brands in Three Accents? | Reaction

G'day, you mob. So, there I was the other day getting my daily fix of YouTube cat videos. Who the hell owns a cat like that, man? Get one with fur, Jesus. Anyway, so I came across this video that was suggested to me 10 Japanese brand names that you pronounce wrong. And you know what I discovered, guys, Japanese people don't realise they're pronouncing these brands wrong.

It's a joke.

So, today I'm here to set the record straight and show you how to pronounce these brands like an Australian. Let's go.

Asagi, have you had cars from Toyota? Eh? What? Toyota? Toyota cars, you're supposed to know that you're Japanese. I see. I see. That's (bleep).

Okay. So, before we get into it, this is Asagi's Life (No BS Japan), go check out her channel and give it a subscribe. Let's continue.

Japan with no bull****. So, there are a lot of Japanese brands going over...

I already like this chick.

...Seas and operating their businesses in your country. But I see so many English speakers pronouncing those brand names very differently that almost makes it harder for us to recognise them, and I find it very interesting. In this video I'm going to share ten Japanese brands you're pronouncing wrong, which I mean brand names that non-Japanese people pronounce differently.

This is true. So, in Australia, we have loads of different Japanese brands, a huge number of car brands for example, and we definitely pronounce them differently from the Japanese and even from Americans and other people around the world, too. So, anyway, I hope you enjoy this video.

Number one, Kobe Beef. Kobe beef has been always famous among foreigners and it's one of the greatest basket players in history. Kobe Bryant was named after this brand because his father was a big fan of it.

Really?

However people here had no idea it was inspired...

Wait, what? Holy****! Kobe Bryant's named after Kobe beef from Japan, had no idea. Geez.

...By a Japanese word because we pronounce it Kow-bay, not Kow-bee.

I'd say Kobe. Kow-bee, not Kow-bay.

So, when you refer to the beef brand, Kobe, Kobe Beef is correct.

Kobe Beef.

Kobe Beef is established in the city called Kobe as the city was used to be the major trading port after Japan opened its border in Meiji period. At that time, Japanese beef shipped from Kobe by foreign merchants while all named Kobe beef. And that was when Kobe beef became popular in other countries.

Calpico. I think you already know that Calpico is called Kah-ru-pee-su in Japan. Because it sounds like cow piss, they used the name Calpico when they sell it in the US, Canada and Indonesia.

So, I don't know this brand, but that's a really interesting story. Instead of calling it Calpis, which sounds like cow piss, they turned it into Calpico, Calpico. And I would say Cal-pee-ko, Calpico,

Toyota.

I'd say Toyota, Toy-ow-tuh.

This brand is probably the best-known Japanese brand in the world, and of course, every Japanese person knows this brand. However, I got so confused when my host mother in California said, I love Toyota cars. Because it sounded so different to me.

Japanese people pronounce it Toyota.

Toyota, yeah, I'd say Toyota. So, we're emphasising the Y, Toyota or that syllable "yo" instead of "ta". Toyota. Toyota.

Uniqlo.

Uniqlo.

This brand is famous for their less expensive growth with a great quality and simple design. I mean, I can still understand, recognise it when you say Uniqlo, but it still sounds a little bit odd to me. Uniqlo, that's our pronunciation.

Uniqlo. So, we say yoo-nee-klow and they say Uniqlo.

Their name Uniqlo is an abbreviation for the unique clothing warehouse...

That's so crazy. So, they've taken English words, given it a Japanese name based on those English words and then we have this English version of it and they hear it and say, we're mispronouncing it. God, I love languages.

So, how you pronounce it is probably right, but I'm just sharing the difference. Okay. Number six, Asics.

Oh, so I pronounce this as Asics, Asics. Americans, I think would say Asics, but I'd say Asics.

Among all the sports brand in the world, Asics has the seventh biggest share, so I think you probably know them. But Japanese people probably don't recognise it when you say Asics because we pronounce it Asics.

Asics, Asics. Yeah, I'd say Asics.

Asics comes from the Latin words "anima sana in corpore sano"...

Wow. Again. So, they've taken the first letters of all these different words in Latin, turned it into a brand, given it a Japanese pronunciation, and then English has taken it from there and mispronounced it again. So, wow, interesting.

...From which Asics is derived. So, I don't think there is a certain pronunciation that is correct. So, if your Japanese friend is making a confused face like this, try to pronounce it Asics...

Asics.

...The confusion.

Asics.

Number seven...

Oh, Nikon, I would say Ni-kon. I think Americans would say Nikon, Nai-kaan.

Nikon.

Nailed it.

Japan is famous for its high-quality cameras and one of the top brands is this. I believe many people pronounce it correctly, but I sometimes hear people say Nikon.

Maybe they say Nikon just like us.

But, you know, this is not correct. Yes, we pronounce it Nikon.

Yes, go Aussies.

...Is originally named Nippon Kogaku, that means Japan optic.

I wonder if I can say that. Nippon Kogaku. Nippon Kogaku.

Then eventually they shortened their name to Nikon. Nippon Kogaku.

Nippon Kogaku to Nikko...

...Nikon.

...Nikon.

In English...

Nikon.

..."ni" is pronounced as /nai/, but this name comes from Nippon, so this should be pronounced as /ni/.

The funny thing is that I would pronounce Nike with the /ɑe/ sound, but Nikon with the /ɪ/ sound, and I think Americans would probably say Nike, Nike.

Number eight, Casio.

Ooh, Casio, Casio.

Casio Computer has a wide variety of electric products, such as instruments and watches. They named the company after the founder's family name Kashio...

Kashio.

...Japan we call them Kashio...

Kashio.

...They set their logo as Casio because they were planning to expand their business in overseas from the beginning.

You could have probably used Kashio, would have been fine, but yeah, Casio.

Number nine...

Oh, Yakult. Well, some people may say Ya-kult in Australia. I think I'd say Yakult, Yakult.

Yakult.

Yakult. Weird.

For some reason it sounds like German when you say it. Yakult. Yakult. In Japan we say it, Yakuruto.

Yakuruto. Interesting. Yakult or Yakult.

The name Yakuruto comes from yoghurt, the Esperanto language.

Wow, it comes from Esperanto. Never knew that.

That means yoghurt.

Yoghurt in Esperanto.

...Is Esperanto?

Crazy. Oh, and the last one my favourite.

Pokemon.

I'd totally say Pokemon as well. Pow-kee-mon or Pow-kuh-mon. But I think that she's going to say Po-keh-mon.

Pokemon is, of course, ichiban famous anime in the world. However, non-Japanese people pronounce it something like Pokemon or Pokemon. No, no, no, no. Its Po-keh-mon...

Ah, they say Pokemon. I would say Pokemon or Pokemon. Pokémon.

Pokémon is a shortened word for Pocket monster.

Again, interesting that it comes from English, they've taken pocket monster, made it pocke-mon, Pokemon, and then they've changed the pronunciation, made it a Japanese word. It's come back into English, and we then mispronounce it, even though it originally comes from English. Interesting.

To be honest, Pokémon is so popular, so many Japanese people still would understand that even when you say it with English pronunciation. But maybe Japanese kids still laugh at you.

All those brutal Japanese kids making fun of us. Anyway, guys, I hope you enjoyed this video. Make sure to go and check out this one if you're learning Australian English, and I will see you next time. Bye.