Lol

How to say ukulele ?

  • Ukulele

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Youkulele

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Who Cares

    Votes: 2 100.0%

  • Total voters
    2
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First time I heard a ukulele, I never even knew it was from Hawaii.
Tiny Tim wasn't from there, was he? :biglaugh:

bratsche
 
I was in a grocery store somewhere in the southeast years ago when the cashier asked me if I had, "any Cubans". I was all like, "I don't smoke cigars". She was saying "coupons".

Similarly, I was at a work camp once when another crewmember (from Georgia) asked if I, "done it yet". My reply was,"done what?". This went back and forth a while before he very clearly asked, "have - you - eaten - yet". We both got a big laugh out of that.

As for the uke, I agree with the guy a few pages back that said it can sound pretentious on the mainland when you're not talking to another player. And shoot, just last month when I was on Kauai one of the locals lamented how even people living there are starting to pronounce "w" as a "w" and not a "v" and are similarly not making the glottal stop when pronouncing Po'ipu.

I wish I could incorporate "howzit" into my day-to-day vocabulary, since my standard greeting is already 'how's it going" but I think I would get weird looks.
 
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I wish I could incorporate "howzit" into my day-to-day vocabulary, since my standard greeting is already 'how's it going" but I think I would get weird looks.

A true linguistic frontiersman is able to shrug off weird looks and charge boldly ahead into the jungle of potential unintelligibility!

Some intrepid explorer had to be the first to use "uke" in place of "ukulele." You think that guy was concerned with getting funny looks? I think not. Just look at where this brave man's footsteps have led all of us today! We can use "uke" with abandon, free of fear! Free of social stigma! Free of the possibility of being misunderstood!

Be strong! Stand up and expose the world to your unique linguistic sensibilities! Lead the charge! Be the change!
 
I let people pronounce it how they pronounce it. I prefer to use the Hawaiian pronunciation, but I don't correct anyone if they say it differently.
I'm not really even a fan of the term "uke" but whatever, that's just me.
I don't roll my r's when I order a burrito at Taco Bell either, but I would if I were ordering a burrito in México.
I also happen to speak French, but when I order a croissant at a coffee shop here I don't say the word in French - chances are I would just have to repeat myself using an American pronunciation.
You cannot force usage - that's why it is called usage - it is what people do.
Is it correct? Probably not.
Is it accepted? Depends who you ask.
Bottom line - if people know what you are talking about, you are not saying it wrong FOR THEM.
If you choose to use the Hawaiian pronunciation though, be sure you say it correctly.

What really bothers me is how many people on a daily basis I hear say "Honolulu" incorrectly.
To go back to the Honda discussion, Honolulu does NOT start out like Honda.
It is HO NO LU LU not HON-A-LU-LU
Drives me nuts.
But do I go around correcting people? No.
I just keep a mental note of those who take the time to learn how to say things correctly and those who cannot be bothered to learn. :D
 
I believe most of the English speaking people know what a Uke is, it's just the pronunciation police that get all anal about it.
 
Ukulele is just the name of our instrument, but it’s hardly used now for strumming under the waving palm trees accompanied by the waves breaking on the shore.

People are playing Classical and Rock and Souza Marches and Fandangos and God only knows what else on it. It is no longer tuned only in “My dog has fleas,” but also in fifths and low G and open tuning and other tunings.

What does tuba mean? Or oboe? Or recorder? Or guitar? Piano means soft even if it plays FFFF!

So “Ukulele” simply means the musical instrument that we UUers love to buy and sell and change strings on. Sometimes we even enjoy playing a little ditty, and crooning to it if we’re able.

So, as the bard said, “What’s in a name?” Would a Uke be more fun if it was called an Ook? So, wail baby! :eek:ld:
 
wow this thread took off while I was gone. LOL. honeslty I like yukulele, or even you ka lei lee.

for beginners it alright to call it whatever you want, its actually very cute/adorable seeing a beginner calling it youkulele.

but I just found it hilarouls that a builder who sells ukulele for a business for many years or even make customs for thousands of dollars, don't even know how to say it properly. I just love it.

still brings me joy/laughter when I here another luthier say youkulele,, but please continue the love and building of the youkulele.

even Hawaii Is pronounced Havaee, but who cares how you pronounce it.
 
...but I just found it hilarouls that a builder who sells ukulele for a business for many years or even make customs for thousands of dollars, don't even know how to say it properly. I just love it...

Deriving joy from witnessing the ignorance, pain or misery of others is not a welcome trait by polite people.

You might want to look into losing this appreciation for such ridicule.
 
wow this thread took off while I was gone. LOL. honeslty I like yukulele, or even you ka lei lee.

for beginners it alright to call it whatever you want, its actually very cute/adorable seeing a beginner calling it youkulele.

but I just found it hilarouls that a builder who sells ukulele for a business for many years or even make customs for thousands of dollars, don't even know how to say it properly. I just love it.

still brings me joy/laughter when I here another luthier say youkulele,, but please continue the love and building of the youkulele.

even Hawaii Is pronounced Havaee, but who cares how you pronounce it.

Jolly decent of you to be so understanding Mr Komode. I think it has been well established that we can call it anything we want.
PS. Perhaps the builder of which you speak is having the last laugh. :D
 
wow this thread took off while I was gone. LOL. honeslty I like yukulele, or even you ka lei lee.

for beginners it alright to call it whatever you want, its actually very cute/adorable seeing a beginner calling it youkulele.

but I just found it hilarouls that a builder who sells ukulele for a business for many years or even make customs for thousands of dollars, don't even know how to say it properly. I just love it.

still brings me joy/laughter when I here another luthier say youkulele,, but please continue the love and building of the youkulele.

even Hawaii Is pronounced Havaee, but who cares how you pronounce it.

You know, you sound like you have a bone to pick with someone about more that just a pronunciation.

As a school teacher, should I find it cute/hilarious that you seem to be picking on someone else for their pronunciation of a word, and yet you have started all of your sentences without capital letters, used the word "don't" when it should be "doesn't" and misspelled the word "honestly" and "hilarious"? There are a couple of other errors, but I don't want to be picky . . .

Sorry, but something doesn't add up if we are trying to make sure everyone does everything correctly.
 
I've read this whole thread through twice now and best I can tell the OP is just engaging in poor quality trolling. It's at someone's expense, make no mistake, but none of us are in on the "joke". I'm proud of UU for not even asking who this is about. Doesn't matter. "Another builder" who doesn't pronounce ukulele the "right" way? It comes off as a very thinly veiled attack on a "fellow" builder for the smallest and pettiest of imagined infractions.

I appreciate the high road taken by this community.

It's taken all my strength to resist pointing out the numerous spelling errors in the OPs posts. Hmm, guess I failed. Glass houses, OP.... LOL
 
I've read this whole thread through twice now and best I can tell the OP is just engaging in poor quality trolling. It's at someone's expense, make no mistake, but none of us are in on the "joke". I'm proud of UU for not even asking who this is about. Doesn't matter. "Another builder" who doesn't pronounce ukulele the "right" way? It comes off as a very thinly veiled attack on a "fellow" builder for the smallest and pettiest of imagined infractions.

I appreciate the high road taken by this community.

It's taken all my strength to resist pointing out the numerous spelling errors in the OPs posts. Hmm, guess I failed. Glass houses, OP.... LOL

I, too, was delighted by how quickly everyone had a bit of fun and didn't take the bait!
 
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