The Answer to the Nikon Question

How do you correctly pronounce Nikon? Turns out that Eamon, who used to work for Nikon, knew the answer.

Quoth he:

Aaaargggghhhhh!! This "debate" drives me insane. There is no debate. It's settled. Zero room for disagreement. Nikon Corporation (that's Nikon Japan) officially and consciously blesses all regional pronunciations of their company name.

This is policy, agreed upon decades ago—likely in the 1950s—in some meeting room somewhere in Tokyo. Nee'kon is correct. Neye-kon is correct. Nick-on is correct. Many others are correct.

This was explained to me when I was a Nikon employee by the Executive Vice President of Nikon Inc. himself, in the flesh. I can still picture the conversation, 25 years later. And to anticipate the usual objections: Nikon Corp. is the ONLY, the SOLE, the UNITARY authority on this question. "Nikon" is not a natural word in the Japanese language. The company that is now Nikon (then Nippon Kogaku, K.K.) made it up. It's a brand name—like Kodak or Xerox. A neologism, and maybe even a portmanteau (that's debated). It was likely first conceived in the Latin alphabet, not in Kanji. Nikon Corp. gave birth to this name, and they own it. They get to make the rules about it. And their rule is clear: all regional pronunciations are equally correct. If you doubt this, just listen to their own regional advertising, produced by the company's various subsidiaries around the world. You'll hear several different, completely official, pronunciations. Oy. I feel better now.

Addendum: Of course, it goes without saying that however they pronounce it in Scotland is wrong.

It was news to me, so I learned something today as well. So now we all know, and it's official: all regional pronunciations of "Nikon" are correct! I like it.

And now we need a few Scottish readers to post videos of themselves saying "Nikon."

Mike
(Thanks to E.H.)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
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Comments

[David Goldenberg]

I believe that, early on, Nippon Kogaku was sued by Zeiss over the use of the name Nikon for its cameras, because they (Zeiss) though that it was too close to Ikon, which may well have been the intent. As a result the cameras were, for a time, sold without the Nikon name in Europe. (I think that the name Nikkor may have been used, but I can't put my finger on that detail).

Is Ikon ever pronounced "Ickon" or "Eyekon"?

David

[Alan]

I’m not actually in Scotland but I’m close enough to hear then chanting FOO-JEE!

[Eolake]

Eamon, LOL, well done.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Don't know how Scots pronounce Nikon, but we do know how they pronounce "eleven" in an elevator. Wrong! ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMS2VnDveP8

[John Camp]

When I was working on archeological digs in Israel, we could get only one English-language television station, and during the Tour de France, the tour was the only thing on. The commentator was some Scottish guy, and when things got exciting, he'd start shouting in the Scots version of English, which nobody understood, except, maybe, another Scot -- but we didn't have nay of those on the digs. So I know all about bicycle racing except the exciting parts.

[Dave Van de Mark]

Oh no - mystery solved? What fun is that? Or perhaps the larger picture is that of the world against Scotland! I once worked an event of Scottish games and fantastic bagpipe playing and was near many participants and rarely could understand a word.

[RayC]

I really don't care how you pronounce Nikon, however this column was worth reading just for introducing me to the word portmanteau!

[bokeh]

Popular Photography published a list of camera company pronunciations back in the 1970's. I wonder how they listed it at the time. The most controversial at the time was "Minolta" (or the most tongue-in-cheek).

[Nicholas Von Staden]

LOL

[Al C.]

Would love to hear an Austroylian say it. NOY-cun, perhaps?

[Robert Lewis]

I wonder if Eamon has ever heard of the terms "honne" and "tatemae"...

[Adam Richardson]

And what about "Zee" vs "Zed"?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Yp2L6c2KM

[Earl Dunbar]

“If it’s nae Scottish, it’s craaaap!”

[Ian Goodrick]

I'm Scottish, born and bred! Sadly I will be of no use in providing a sound file as I am cursed by having almost no accent.

No accent to a British ear that is.

For a few years while I was working as a commercial photographer I got in with a client who had Language schools as clients. We had many days working together, and we got into a habit it of getting the people I was photographing to guess where I came from. It was a great ice breaker and gave everyone a laugh when they found out I should speak with the accent of Billy Connoly. That was until the day we came up against a native German speaker who was teaching at a school. She said please just talk to me for a bit. She listened, though for a moment and said "The structure of your language points to you coming from the West of Scotland"

I was gobsmacked, and to this day I am still not sure how she managed to pinpoint my home, when no British person can!