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How to pronounce Primark… it’s a question that keeps many people up late into the night.
Whether or not you shop there, no one can deny the ubiquity of Primark. The chain underwent an explosive expansion in the mid-2000s and now they own 334 stores in Europe and eight in the US.
However, it seems that some people have struggled with the pronunciation of the brand’s name. Is it Pry-mark or ‘Pree-mark’?
All I've thought about for the past 2 days is that there are actually people in the world who pronounce Primark "Pree-mark" and I just cba
— laÅ«ra (@lauracolpitts) August 15, 2017
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By GlobalDataFolk that say "preemark" canny read
— Anna (@annacxt) August 15, 2017
First all all, in Ireland Primark is pronounced Penneys. But seriously, who says Pree-mark? x CM #penneys #primark #thegreatdebateofourage
— TMCM_Ireland (@TMCM_Ireland) August 15, 2017
I didn't even know this was a thing.. Who on Earth has been saying Preemark? pic.twitter.com/iHM6WRbdue
— â„•ikki Louise ? (@prettynorthern) August 15, 2017
Well, the budget fashion brand have set the record straight today with their official ruling on the issue.
In a new post on their official website’s Q&A section, Primark have made things clear:
So that settles it. If you’re saying “pree-mark” you are wrong. Stop it at once.
But Primark are hardly the first, nor will their be the last brand to have their name butchered by the punters.
Here are some other brand names you might have been getting wrong over the years
IKEA
In it’s native Sweden, people say “ee-kay-uh” rather than “eye-key-uh” as most UK people pronounce it.
Then again, if the latest TV adverts are to be believed, it should be “ih-kee-ah” so who can say?
The name is made up of the founder’s initials and the name of the village he grew up in.
Rather fittingly for a sports brand, Nike is named after the Greek goddess of victory. Therefore, it is supposed to be pronounced “Nyk-ee” not “Nike” as in “like”.
Asos
As Seen On Screen’s shortened form tends to confuse people. Is it ‘Ah-sos’, ‘Ay-sos’, or ‘Ace-oss’? Well, apparently it’s the last of those three, though, to be fair, that sounds pretty similar to the middle option. Whoever is calling is ‘ah-sos’ though is all wrong.
Porsche
Most people pronounce the luxury car brand ‘Porsh’ but it actually has two syllables: ‘por-sha’.
Hoegaarden
If you’ve been calling this beer ‘ho-garden’ for a while, you’re about to feel pretty silly. Think of the TARDIS and say “who-gar-den”. Sure, it loses much of its bawdy humour, but that’s what they’re going with.
Nutella
Ferrero had fans gagging after it announced in 2015 on its official US website that Nutella is supposed to be pronounced ‘new-tell-uh’.
People were horrified.
After all, a squirrel eats nuts, not newts, right? Thankfully, order has been restored to the world after Buzzfeed pressed Nutella to explain.
The brand’s UK outlet confirmed that “new-tell-uh” applies only to the USA.
In a statement they confirmed:
Ferrero aren’t trying to encourage a common worldwide pronunciation on this. In the UK we call and pronounce it ‘Nutella’ as do consumers. The US pronunciation is just for them.
Thank goodness!
Lidl
To be fair, with a word like ‘Lidl’ its pretty difficult to say which pronunciation is correct. However, if we follow the original German, it should be ‘lee-dell’ not ‘lid-ull’.
Hyundai
“Hun-day”. Only two syllables.
Hermès
To be fair, this one is confusing because the Greek god Hermes, and the name of the delivery company are both “Her-meez”.
However, if you’re buying luxury fashion accessories it should be “air-mez”.
That accent is all-important!
Moschino
Again, there are numerous ways people pronounce this one. Is it “mo-chee-no” or “moss-chee-no”?
Trick question. It’s actually neither. Instead say “moss-key-no”!
Balmain
“Bal-mayn”, right? Wrong. “Bal-mah”.
Givenchy
You’re never going to get a life like Andy’s in The Devil Wears Prada if you keep pronouncing it “giv-en-chee”. It’s “zhee-von-she”, and you better not forget it!
Have you been getting these correct or completely wrong?