[GunGoBoom]

as in Heckler and...

1. Cook

2. Coke

3. Coach

4. Cock

5. Kooch

6. Kook (as in kooky)

7. Kotch (as in Ed the former NYC mayor)

8. Something else

Reply by number please, before your explanation. Thanks.

[DF357]

Koch as in Kotch

[Gunner45]

My sister inlaw who is from Dresden says it's pronounced "Coke". Just like the soft drink.

But then again I asked her that a few years ago so I might be remembering wrong. I will ask her again.

Gunner45

[GunGoBoom]

Damn, I shoulda made this a poll - can a mod edit to make it a poll if possible? Thanks. So far,

#7 - 1
#2 - 1

[Bridger]

I speak bad German, but my mom IS German. I believe it is like "coke" but rather than "ke" it is that radio-static "ch" sound, not "tch".

Hope that adds to the confusion.

Heckler und Koch :cool:

[Zundfolge]

Its pronounced similar to Coke.

http://www.hkpro.com/koch.htm (there's a link to a .wav file of the correct German pronunciation there)

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Folks from Dresden do NOT speak German! :evil:

In the German language the "ch" in "Koch" is a guttural sound similar to the Mexican pronounciation of "cojones". :D

[repsychler]

"aych and kay"

:D

[PATH]

When you say COKE not only have you said it all but you have also pronounced it correctly!;) :D

[GunGoBoom]

Bridger, so you answer is 3 (Coach)?

Let's back up everyone. The very first thing in your reply should be a NUMBER, 1-8. Thanks for trying to play. You're allowed a second turn. :)

Looks like #2 is going to "win" however.

[Das Pferd]

Its almost impossible to exlpain how to say the word if you have never heard how the "ch" is pronounced in German.

It does not sound like "coke" at all.

But everyone will know what you mean, I am sure if you said it the German way you would get more stares. Like being in Inidana and pronouncing Notre Dame the way the French say it.

[Mal H]

GunGoBoom - I gotta disagree with your premise here. There is only one correct way to pronounce a word in that word's native language which in this case is German. You can't have a poll and then declare that the correct pronunciation is whichever entry gets the most votes. Reread Krautgunner's post, he's got it right (of course). Listen to the audio link in Zundfolge's post, it will audibly verify what Krautgunner said.

This is sort of like taking a poll to see how the capital of Kentucky is pronounced. Is it:
1) Loo-iss-ville
2) Loo-eee-ville
3) Lous-ville



















































None of the above, it's Frankfort! :) (Couldn't resist that one.)

[DigMe]

like NY mayor Koch

Koch as in Kotch


Survey SAYS! BZZZZZZZZZZ

brad cook

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Reread Krautgunner's post, he's got it right (of course).

THANK YOU so much, Mal H! ;) http://www.gunboard.de/gunboard/images/smiles/lach050.gif http://www.gunboard.de/gunboard/images/smiles/icon_mrgreen.gif

O.K. GunGoBOOM listen: "Koch" = Koh-(and then that guttural German/Mexican "ch"-thing)

I am not a Kentucky native, but I'd pronounce "Louisville" Loo-eee-ville. :cool:

[CannibalCrowley]

#2 I've always pronounced it as "coke" although I rarely say it out anyway. I usually just say H&K because it's easier and saves me from pronunciation arguments.

[Gunner45]

Well I will tell my sister inlaw that she doesn't speak German after all. I am sure she will be quite distressed to find that out.

Gunner45

[GunGoBoom]

omg - that link clearly says that the answer is Coke - #2. At the very least, it is by far the closest. Therefore, everyone who knows the correct answer (as clearly several do) should have answered #2. Or, if you think that that gutteral sound is not the same as the hard "c" sound at the end of "coke", then the appropriate vote is number EIGHT, which no one chose. There's a reason why I put #8 down. In fact, not a single person answered the question in the way that I asked you to answer it, by number. No biggie I guess. Yes we have the answer - hallelujah, but I sure don't want to play golf with you guys. Gawdknows how many mulligans you'd take without me knowing. :) Anyway, thanks.

[Edited: while submitting this, crowley posted...thank you sir!!!!!!!!!!]

[stevelyn]

Hung out with a couple of Bundesgrenzschutz officers one time. They pronounced it "coke" with a soft sounding k.

[Kharn]

I have family who's last name is Koch, its German, pronouce it like it reads.
Do I win points for most utterly unhelpful post of the day? :neener:

Kharn

[LoneStranger]

Since I have known several people with that particular last name I can postively state that it is how that person was taught to say it.

I have heard it pronounced in all of the different choices. :D

[Chipperman]

Of the ones on the list, it's closest to "Coke". There is a soft throaty sound of the "K", however.

[CZ 75 BD]

you left out Lou a vul

[Bobarino]

when you call H&K's customer service number (703) 450-1900, it says "thank you for calling Heckler and Coke...."

i had a history class with a German exchange student and i asked her how it was pronounced and she said it was much like "coke" but with a with a hint of "hock a loogie" on the hard "k" sound.

Bobby

[fissionproducts]

It's number 4

[wmenorr67]

H&K:neener:

[chevrofreak]

Coke minus the hard K sound, replaced with the sound you make when coughing up flegm.

[Nando Aqui]

From www.hkpro.com > World of HK > Special Topics > How do you correctly pronounce "Koch?"
One of the most frequently asked questions to arise on the HKPRO boards is the correct pronunciation of Theodor Koch's last name. Most center around "coke" "kotch" or "kock". In actuality, there are two ways to correctly pronounce Koch. Let's call them the American version and the German version. In German, the letters "ch" do not sound like they do in English. "Church" is not a ch combination that the Germans ever pronounce. It is more of a chhhh that somewhat sounds like phlegm being summoned from the rear of the throat.

For the correct German pronunciation in a sound file, click here. (link does not appear here, but it is at http://www.hkpro.com/koch.htm)

As for the English pronunciation, the correct way is "coke." Former New York mayor Ed Koch ("Kotch") may have muddied things up, but if you get confused, you can always say, "HK."

[MP5]

Its almost impossible to exlpain how to say the word if you have never heard how the "ch" is pronounced in German.

The closest you'll find to that sound in English is probably heard in the Gaelic-English "loch," as pronounced by a Scotsman. The hard German "ch" sound is called a "voiceless velar fricative" in linguistics, and has a sort of raspy, slightly guttural "k" sound. Sort of a very mild gargling sound, for want of a better, more tasteful description :) There's a somewhat similar "soft" "ch" in German too, as in "ich" (the German word for "I").

http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/linguistics/lectures/05lect04.html
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/138/sec5/s5-poa.htm

[MarkDido]

We used Kock fittings on our parachutes/ejection seat interface and we pronounced it like Coke

[Matt G]

So you do the old Matt G trick, when introduced to some girl named. . . was it "Lauren," or "Laura?" "Howdy, Laure[mumble]."

"Hechler and Koghh[mumble]"

[Harry Tuttle]

virst ve must say:
"Klink! Ve must be in Brussels in the morning"
correctly

then ve can sagt,
Hechler und Koch

If y'all think that little word is tricky,
sagt:
Eichhornchen or Schmeterling

There is only one way to say a German word,
the correct way!
;)

[KRAUTGUNNER]

@ Harry Tuttle: VE HAFF VAYS TOO MEHK YUH TAHK! ;) :evil:

By the way, that's "Eichhörnchen und Schmetterling". :) :cool:

@Gunner45: Dresdeners speak as much German, as folks from southern Alabama speak English. ;) ;) ;)

[MP5]

Eichhornchen or Schmeterling

Genauer geschrieben, Eichhörnchen oder Schmetterling ;)

[LaVere]

Louisville is not the Capital of KY.

[KRAUTGUNNER]

The capital of KY is Frankfurt.....oops....Frankfort am Kentucky. :neener:

[Zundfolge]

If you're still having problems pronouncing "Koch" just pronounce it like so ...


Aych Kay

:neener:

[Justin]

Bonus points for correctly pronouncing Ceska Zbrojovka. :D

[stealthmode]

here is a link to a sound byte fro the hk board


http://www.hkpro.com/koch.htm


there is a link to a wav file save target as to you desktop

it sounds weird

[Zundfolge]

Bonus points for correctly pronouncing Ceska Zbrojovka. :D

CHESS-ka za-brro-YOV-ka

I usually pronounce it See Zee (I think See Zed sounds stupid ... sorry Brits :p )

[stealthmode]

http://www.hkpro.com/koch.htm

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Chess-kah Zbroh-yoff-kah :D

[PATH]

Well it looks like I got the English pronunciation correct. It is not Dresden it sounds like DReeesden. It is not Munich it is mun-chen. Yes?

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Yes!

It's Mün-chen, with that strange mutated "ü" vowel :D and the infamous Heckler & Koch "ch". :)

And Dreehs-dehn.

[Atticus]

Not only is it not the capitol ...it's Lou-a-ville or simply Lou-ville....depending on the weather. :D

[Mal H]

LaVere and Atticus, you both failed to read "the rest of the post". :D :D
I can't count the number of people I've gotten with that one.

GunGoBoom - if you think the gentleman pronouncing the word on the H&K site is saying "coke" then you're not hearing the same thing I am. The word clearly ends in a gutteral 'ch' not a hard k.

[trooper]

For the umpteenth time... :)

You can either 1.) take a good German class, 2.) follow Krautgunner's advice, or 3.) leave it at H&K.

BTW there are two "-ch" sounds in the German language. One of them (like in ich, München) is kinda soft, not guttural at all (sounds more like hissing) and is produced near the top of your mouth. This is NOT the one we're talking about in this thread.

The other one is guttural, coughing and is produced deep in your throat. That's the one you need to correctly pronounce "Koch". Don't go along with this "coke" thing; in "Koch" you have a shorter kind of o-sound, much like in "rock" (minus the -ck und plus the coughing sound :)).

I'm teaching languages for a living right now. I have an Irish student who nearly mastered that kind of stuff. The problem is that he only applies it when I remind him of it :) It took him three solid weeks to get it right, though.


Regards,

Trooper

[Atticus]

Nah Mal, I read your post, I was just following the rest of the crowd. :D

[KRAUTGUNNER]

I have an Irish student who nearly mastered that kind of stuff. The problem is that he only applies it when I remind him of it It took him three solid weeks to get it right, though.

Strange! :confused:

The Irish language is rife with coughing, hissing and wheezing sounds. :evil:

[Mal H]

Justin - "Bonus points for correctly pronouncing Ceska Zbrojovka."

A funny incident happened to me concerning that one. When I went to put a CZ 97 on order at my gun shop, the clerk said he wouldn't order one unless I could pronounce the company's name. What I said sounded something like "chess-ka sh-brov-ka". He said, "All right! Close enough, I'll put the order in right away." I know I don't pronounce it correctly. Too bad CZ doesn't have a similar soundbite like H&K does.

[roy berkeley]

FYI, the capital of Kentucky is pronounced, "Frankfort"...

[Vodka7]

The correct pronunciation of Louisville has about fourteen syllables in it, most of them vowels.

Also, one of the main streets in Lexington, Versailles, is correctly pronounced "ver-sales."

And as much as hearing ver-sales made me cringe, it taught me that the right way to pronounce something is the way that's going to let other people understand what the hell you mean :)

Heckler and Coke? That a new tactical soft drink? Kotch for me.

[Zach S]

"H n K" It works, unlike "SA," "PO," ect. Well, they work online but to actually ask for one in a gunshop...

Also, one of the main streets in Lexington, Versailles, is correctly pronounced "ver-sales." Is Versailles, as in Lincoln Versailles, pronouned the same way? I always wondered about that...

[LiquidTension]

The guys that work at the plant just say "HK."

[Third_Rail]

Heckler and Koch is pronounced Heck-lehr and Coke, last time I checked.

[4v50 Gary]

A German lady at work corrected me and told me it's "coke."

[Third_Rail]

I just found cold, hard proof that it is indeed pronounced Coke.

All HK videos released in English, even with a German as a first language person speaking, have Koch pronounced as Coke.

I think we have an answer.

[alamo]

CZ 75 BD wrote:

you left out Lou a vul

My aunt & uncle live in Louisville, that's how they pronounce it. Not ville but "vull" - Lou-ah-vull.

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Some of you guys here seem to have an unexplainable, affectionate obsession with that "coke" thing!

;) :D :neener:

[entropy]

Then there's the Osage orange tree, also known as the Bois D'Arc. I spent 30 minutes driving by Bois D'Arc St. in Plano, TX, once because I was following my nieghbor's verbal directions which were, "Y'all turn left at Bodark Street...." :) BTW, they are an SOB of a tree to cut down....:cuss:

[Treylis]

Folks from Dresden do NOT speak German!

Brother, you can say that again. Ran into some tourists from there on the street a few weeks ago... it was terrible, we just ended up speaking in English. ;-)

[trooper]

Some of you guys here seem to have an unexplainable, affectionate obsession with that "coke" thing!

Yeah, just go and see a shrink... :)

For the last time, it's like "tejas", only slightly more guttural.


Regards,

Trooper

[mussi]

trooper - did you mean to pronounce it something like 'koj' for our poor American brethrens? Sounds awful to me, and I don't even speak German as a mother tongue.

(oder was viel wahrscheinlicher ist - H&K Deutschland weiss nicht, dass man deutsche Wörter auch im Amerikanischen durchaus auf Deutsch aussprechen darf.

Wir müssen den Amis unbedingt mal Deutsch beibringen - dafür müssen wir aber ihre Muni am 'Creek verballern gehen, wenn schon ihr Bier bis auf ein, zwei Ausnahmen, nix taugt (und die, die taugen, werden von Import-Bayern oder -Tschechen gebraut))

(forget about the babble in German...) ;)

[Highpower1]

COKE

[KRAUTGUNNER]

PEPSI :evil:

...........or POOPSI?!? :confused: ;)

[45King]

HOCKER!

[Mal H]

Gott im Himmel! Was hat GunGoBoom hier begonnen?

[GunGoBoom]

Ya, that Bow-Dark is some good wood too. Hey thanks for the CZ pronuciation too - I did not know that, and am glad to learn. CHESS-Ka Zah-broy-YOV-ska, correct? Is the YOV long O or short O? I.e. Is it Yove or Yov?

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Gott im Himmel! Was hat GunGoBoom hier begonnen?

The first THR-moderators start talking German....... :what:

VEE HAFF VAYS TOO MEHK YUH TAHK ZEH GOOD TAHK!

Lo and behold!!! :evil:

[trooper]

Aw... heck, let's just create a new German sub-forum :)

[KRAUTGUNNER]

By the way Mal H, from NOW on Louisville is LUDWIGSDORF! ;) :D :neener:

[Dave Markowitz]

"Throatwarbler Mangrove"




:neener:

[trooper]

By the way Mal H, from NOW on Louisville is LUDWIGSDORF!

So how long do we have to wait for the Ludwigsdorf-Schläger?? :)

[Mal H]

:D

I suppose you want to change the name of the real capital of KY to Frankfurt, ja?

I wish I had never done the Louisville joke. Sheesh! Didn't even have a chance to win a beer with it.


Back to the H&K fiasco. I think I've got a way to show sort of how Koch sounds. Put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, leave it there while saying 'coke' in the normal manner. Not perfect, but better than the hard K some seem to want to use.

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Yes indeed Mal!

FRANKFURT AM KENTUCKY

:)

[Warbow]

entropy wrote:

BTW, they are an SOB of a tree to cut down....

Ah, but they make great bows when you can split some good staves from them!

[jefnvk]

8. Listening to the sound file, it sounded like 'caulk', except w/o the 'l'

and CZ 75 wins for Louisville

[trooper]

Listen again. The sound file is pretty crappy but you should hear a rasping sound at the end, not a clear k.


Regards,

Trooper

[Stand_Watie]

It sounded like Kawhckkkkk to me.

[Dorian]

2. Coke

:)

heckler and coke

[trooper]

Geez... I need to get a mic and record a decent sound file myself so that you can hear how Heckler & Koch is pronounced by a genuine Northern German gun nut... :)


Regards,

Trooper

[Tman]

Are we speaking Hoch Deutsch or Platt deutsch?:rolleyes:;)

[trooper]

Jo, wi snack platt!! De dat nich kann, hullt dat Muul! :)

(Sorry guys... just had to celebrate my Northern heritage...)

Actually, I'm pretty sure that the pronounciation of Heckler & Koch wouldn't really change, though.


Regards,

Trooper

[KRAUTGUNNER]

Actually, there ist quite a difference between "Koch" and "Smutje". ;) :D

[trooper]

Ik wullt di wat! Nu hett ju ons tüdelig mokt un een grote Dörnander opbringt... :neener:


Trooper

[Mal H]

What??!!

[trooper]

Um, nothing... <innocentwhistle>

Let's just call it cultural diversity :)

Seriously, in fact I just insulted my buddy Krautgunner in Low German so that no mod would realize that I misbehaved :p :D

[Mal H]

"... no mod would realize that I misbehaved"

You're right about that. ;)

[KRAUTGUNNER]

fact I just insulted my buddy Krautgunner in Low German

In fact, in ULTRALOW German. ;) ;) ;) :D

[Ironbarr]

While ya'll are rasslin with "koch" what I always wanted to know is how did the word "german" get born?

[cratz2]

'Coke' but with a growl on the end.

'Lu ah vul' even though named after King Louis.

Swarovski... that first w is a pronouced as 'v'.

And Sako is not pronounced like the watches from Japan no matter what the rednecks at the gunshop will tell you.

;)

[Mal H]

Ironbarr - "... how did the word "german" get born?"

It's derived from the Latin 'Germanus' which is the term the Romans used for the particular group now known to us as Germanic.

[Added]
Reading up on it a little, it seems that Julius Caesar was the first to call the tribes in NE Gaul "Germani" in his writings. The early Germans called themselves "duit-isc" which is the origin of the modern Deutsch.

[trooper]

I read that the term "deutsch" stems from "theodisk" which was how the germanic tribe of the Franks (to whom my most active compatriot on this board is closely related :)) called one of their languages.

Originally they spoke a tongue that was known as "frengisk". When the Franks moved the centre of their empire westward to the region that is known today as France, the western part of the population started to adopt a latin dialect that later became the origin of the French language.

In the late 9th century people in the eastern parts of the country who still spoke their native germanic language started using the term "theodisk" to distinguish themselves from their western relatives. Its origins are supposed to lay in the word "theoda" whicht means "the people".

So "deutsch" essentially means "the people who are NOT French"... :neener:

Low German (which I used above) is an old dialect still spoken in some rural areas in Northern Germany. I can't really speak it but I like it. Some old folks in my area still use it as their first language.

Interestingly, its grammar and some of its vocabulary are pretty similar to old English. You can actually see where the Angles and Saxons who conquered England when the Romans left came from.


Regards,

Trooper

[Ironbarr]

Thank you for all of that... my German side was never the strong suit.

Others: I see that this might have been better served as a new thread. My apologies.

-Andy

[MeekandMild]

#7 as in:

Brer rabbit, he done koched him a messa fish fo sure.

Now ya'll stop with all dat Hinie talk yahear! :neener:

[Shadowman]

Uh-oh, I've been saying it vulgar :eek: :what:

[Jim K]

Reminds me of the time a language expert wrote in a magazine article that the correct pronunciation of a geographical name should always be that used by the people who live there. He used the example of the capital of North Dakota, which he said should be pronounced like "peer" even though that is not the way the French would say the name.

Someone wrote in to note that the correct pronunciation of the capital of North Dakota is Bismarck, and that Pierre is the capital of South Dakota.

(If you want confusion, check the correct pronunciation of the name of the painter, Van Gogh. It doesn't sound like you think it does. In fact, it sounds like "Fon Hoeck".

Jim

[YodaVader]

My sister inlaw who is from Dresden says it's pronounced "Coke". Just like the soft drink.


When I was living in NC years ago a gun shop let me borrow their H&K factory video and the guy doing the narrative in the video pronounced it just like mentioned above - "coke". So that is good enough for me.

[Drjones]

I spoke with someone at Heckler & Coke several times, and he pronounced it the way I just spelled it.

I figure he'd have a good idea how to pronounce it. ;)

[Mal H]

I wouldn't be surprised if the gentleman in YodaVader's video and the person you talked to were both at the Sterling, VA facility. Not a valid reference for a German word.

[YodaVader]

Well, in my way of thinking , if a major manufacturer commissions a video to be produced which basically is being made to sell their product line they sure as hell would not overlook a little detail - like ensuring the company's name is being pronounced correctly in the narrative. Myself , I'll just stick with saying "H&K"
:D

[LAK]

It depends on whether you are in the north - such as Hessen - or the south as in Bayern. They have dialects over there like everywhere else.

[Locus]

Hmmm, "Coke" with softer "ch" throat sound. Ok.

Not to derail, but on a similar subject... how would you normally say "CETME", "SAR-1", and "WASR-10"? I would assume both AKs would be pronounced like any acronym, but CETME is kind of a mouthfull...