How do you pronounce "ukulele"?

BTW, 'uku means small, and also lice or flea. So names like UkuFred or UkuJoe invariably make me LMAO. No offense intended to anyone.

Thanks for making that point. Pronounce it either way that people around you will recognize without further explanation. But please, NEVER call it an UKU! I crack up every time someone here talks about the "ukus" they have or want. I can just imagine them scratching their heads furiously! We do have plenty of ukus here but it's not really something you want or go around telling people about. :)
 
The way people pronounce many words are truly determined by which point of longitude and latitude they inhabit.
 
BTW, 'uku means small, and also lice or flea. So names like UkuFred or UkuJoe invariably make me LMAO. No offense intended to anyone.

But please, NEVER call it an UKU! I crack up every time someone here talks about the "ukus" they have or want. I can just imagine them scratching their heads furiously! We do have plenty of ukus here but it's not really something you want or go around telling people about. :)

That's always made me laugh. There's a woman in my part of town with a license plate, UKULADY, and I've been asked from time to time if the car is mine. Um... no. No 'uku on this lady!
 
You-ka-lee-lee
that's how people in greece usually pronounce it :p
 
The way people pronounce many words are truly determined by which point of longitude and latitude they inhabit.

This does seem to be the takeaway. As a great prophet once said, "Changes in latitude, changes in attitude, nothing remains quite the same..." :)
 
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Just to throw even more fun into this lively discussion, in Tahiti, which is a Polynesian culture colonized by the French, they call ukuleles "Kamakas" :D
Kind of like Kleenex, where a single brand ends up being the go-to term for the item itself.

Tell you what, I will bring it up (etymology, is the `okina present or not, etc.) at the next Ukulele Guild of Hawaii meeting I attend. I have a feeling the Guild will know. The meetings are held at the Bishop Museum, so plenty of research materials nearby to corroborate. As a board member myself, it is important for me to know for sure.
 
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