Proper Pronunciation Question

Apparently ukulele is 2 words uku and lele meaning jumping flea. Although I usually say yuke (uke) a lot of people say ookoo (uku). You say potayto I say potaato...Just like I call the brand of ukes I have Kaalaa (Kala) but I saw a video of Mike talking about his company and he says Cawlaa.
 
I've learned that the safest thing to do is just not pronounce it at all, abbreviated or not.

Sure, in print I'll type "ukulele" or "uke" all day long. But in person and on videos, I just stick with "that", "it", "my instrument", "ol' Bessie", and such.

In worst-case scenarios, I'll fake a cellphone call, appendicitis attack, or Elvis sighting just to avoid having to actually say the word.

JJ
 
Hoo boy, here we go again (see previous threads listed below) . . . 1) ukulele is one word made from two hawaiian words 2) uku translates to flea or head lice, you can't play either of em 3)From the Kala website; KALA (pronounced Kah’ la). 'Nuff said on this topic.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?25126-Weird-question-about-grammar
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?12021-you-kulele-vs-oo-kulele
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?4501-Ukulele-Pronunciation
http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?982-How-do-YOU-pronounce-ukulele
 
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Apparently ukulele is 2 words uku and lele meaning jumping flea. Although I usually say yuke (uke) a lot of people say ookoo (uku). You say potayto I say potaato...Just like I call the brand of ukes I have Kaalaa (Kala) but I saw a video of Mike talking about his company and he says Cawlaa.

Ever notice that no one actually says "po-tah-to"? A bit OT I know, but still, it eats away at me like a festering wound...
 
I've learned that the safest thing to do is just not pronounce it at all, abbreviated or not.

Sure, in print I'll type "ukulele" or "uke" all day long. But in person and on videos, I just stick with "that", "it", "my instrument", "ol' Bessie", and such.

In worst-case scenarios, I'll fake a cellphone call, appendicitis attack, or Elvis sighting just to avoid having to actually say the word.

JJ

Best answer ever lol.
 
Thus far, nobody here in California has found it odd that I pronounce it as it's pronounced in Hawaii. Most of the people at the shops pronounce it that way too. At Guitar Showcase yesterday, all three haole customers also pronounced it correctly when we were talking about the instrument.

The only remark I ever got was from an enthusiastic retailer in a small town who said, "Hey! You know your instrument!"

EDIT:
Hoo boy, here we go again (see previous threads listed below) . . . 1) ukulele is one word made from two hawaiian words 2) uku translates to flea or head lice, you can't play either of em 3)From the Kala website; KALA (pronounced Kah’ la). 'Nuff said on this topic.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?25126-Weird-question-about-grammar
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?12021-you-kulele-vs-oo-kulele
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?4501-Ukulele-Pronunciation
http://ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?982-How-do-YOU-pronounce-ukulele
Boy, that last topic turned into a fight. Why does this kind of discussion turn heated? :(
 
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Ever notice that no one actually says "po-tah-to"? A bit OT I know, but still, it eats away at me like a festering wound...
Yes, but people still say "zee-brah" when it's obvious to anyone with English as their first language it's really pronounced "zeh-bra" ... you can't stop people from mispronouncing words. Let them call it ook or yuke - we all know what they mean.
 
Yes, but people still say "zee-brah" when it's obvious to anyone with English as their first language it's really pronounced "zeh-bra" ... you can't stop people from mispronouncing words. Let them call it ook or yuke - we all know what they mean.
I'm sure we'd be having that debate if zebras were as popular as ukuleles and there was a forum called Zebra Underground. :)
 
I've learned that the safest thing to do is just not pronounce it at all, abbreviated or not.

Sure, in print I'll type "ukulele" or "uke" all day long. But in person and on videos, I just stick with "that", "it", "my instrument", "ol' Bessie", and such.

In worst-case scenarios, I'll fake a cellphone call, appendicitis attack, or Elvis sighting just to avoid having to actually say the word.

JJ

LOVE THIS ANSWER!!!

I do not know if you are kidding or not. But I seriously, no kidding, avoid saying Ukulele on the phone to other people when I am doing Ukulele business with and around people who actually play that I dont know. I do not want to offend anyone and I did not realize I could offend someone until this board. Haha! I had NEVER heard it called ooo-ku-lele till this board. I come from appalachian mountains stock and the only time you saw an ukulele is in bluegrass. So it is a You-ku-lele.

Because (and I have said this before), I am from the south, culturally someone suddenly pronoucing it "right" would come off as pretentious and snobby. I guess because we have an accent, talking in my normal southern voice and then suddenly saying "Ooo-ku-lele" sounds off to me. Like when people are talking regular and suddenly pronouce a city in the accent of the country complete with rolling "r"s or the like, just sounds weird and show-offish... and this is probably a cultural thing. But then I do not want to say "You-ku-lele" and offend someone. So I prefer to say nothing to those who are "in-the-know". And it seems like "Yuke" is more safe to say because it is like a nick-name.

Ooo... I have an idea. 1 minute:

So, for the benefit of the board, I just asked the 2 customers in my shop what they thought. I asked what they would think if I called them "ooo-ku-leles" and they just looked at my funny and said "I would not know what the hell you were talking about!" Haha!

So, go with your gut and say what you want to say and what you are comfortable with! I usually just say Uke... Yook.

So I just say, say it however you are comfortable.
 
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