How do you pronounce it?

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Sako
Everyone seems to say ˈseıkoʊ (Say-Co), but i say it like the Finnish word it is, ˈsɑko (Sah-Co, short Ah, short O).

Sig Sauer
SIG is an acronym, so say it as it's spelled for all i care. I like to think it was formed to resemble the word Sieg, German for victory. Sauer is like Sour, but with a Z if you like.

Oehler
If it's German, then ˈeːlɚ (Ay-Ler) or ˈøːlɚ if you can manage.

Heckler & Koch
I sometimes avoid the whole thing by saying Hecker and Cough, or Heckler and Cock or Cohh when i'm serious. If it were Cotch, it would be spelled Kotsch. Coke is spoken with an oʊ diphthong, whence an older oː long vowel, whereas Koch is spoken with a short o. Cook is an interesting way, since that's what Koch means. I like it.

Lapua
ˈlɑpwə (Lahp-wuh), i think.

vihtavuori
I'll go with ˈvıhtəvwɔrı (Vihhta-Vworry)

Geschossgeschwindigkeit-messgera[e]t
Ga-Shoss Ga-shvindizh-kite Mesga-Ret
Heh, it's 'shot-swindiness mete-rede', if i anglish it.
ETA: Now i prefer Ga-Shoss Ga-shvindig-kite Messga-Ret

Baikal
BY-Cull? By-CALL?

Póg Mo Thóin :)
poːg mə hoːnʲ

According to SAKO, it is pronounce "socko". A rep for the company said (para-phrased)" Seiko (Say-ko)is a watch,we make rifles"
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Right on, lol.

Und Koch (sounds like clearing your throat of nasty mucus)
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:rolleyes:
 
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As a former employee of Leupold receiving a monthly pension check, I can confirm that the family name is Lew-pold, or as spelled above, Loo-pold. It is not, nor ever has been Lea-pold.

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It's always interesting to watch how people spell words that are not even near their native languages, almost like watching football. Happily the THR is a multi-national and multi-lingual community, so someone still gets it right.

Sako, Lapua, Saiga, Izhevs, CZ, vihtavuori are piece of cakes, also as is Tarkka-Ampujakilta :)

What's really interesting to say for a non-native is jäääärne (yep, same vocal, 4 times in a row) or trööst or õlu. Try.

On the other hand, when I was learning english it took a bit time to actually get accustomed to the way that the words are nor spelled like their written, take choir for example.

But when people say Leupold I always think first to that:

88aa05506d6f86d1bc4bc464658e1dc1.jpg


:)
 
Now i've got a few

How does one speak the following?

Diemaco
Sellier & Bellot (it looks French)
·prvi partizan·
 
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when I buy S&B I just say gimme czech ammo, please. Otherwise as written.

A sidethought, how to spell Swarovsky or Zeiss - ex-pen-sive
 
HKpro.com used to have an audio file which pronounced H&K as Heckler und "Coughh"..
 
the correct finnish pronunciation is as follows:
sako--sa' (like in saw but no w)-ko (as in cold)

lapua--la' (as in la di da)-poo-a' (no h sounds as there is no h)

vihtavuori--veeh'-ta-voo'-o(long) -ree' (it is a 5 syllable word but can be slurred together
in finnish the accent is always on the first, then 3rd,5th, etc syllable. finnish and vowels is like polish and consonants.
they do make nice guns.. i love my tikkas (teek-ka)
 
Heckler and Koch

German is spoken with the lips, cheeks, and tongue "tensed up," as opposed to English, which is spoken with the lips, cheeks, and tongue relaxed. So, when you're speaking German--"get tense." (pun intended).

Heckler is not pronounced a lot differently in German than it is in English. Just remember that an "r" at the end of a word in German (or, for that matter, at the end of a syllable) is pronounced something like the folks in Georgia or other parts of the Deep South would pronounce it, e.g., "dollar" becomes "dollah."

"Koch" presents a problem for us non-native speakers of German (and a few other languages) because the "ch" at the end is a sound we don't have in English. It is called a "fricative." It is produced by placing the tongue very close to the roof of the mouth and pushing the air between the two. What part of the tongue is placed near the roof of the mouth depends on the preceding vowel. With the "o" in "Koch," it's pretty near the mid-point of the tongue. Also, to pronounce the "o" correctly, you have to constrict your throat when doing so.

If I'm speaking to a German I would try to pronounce it as nearly correctly as I can. Otherwise I'm too lazy (and who cares anyway?) and I just say "Coke.":D

Tequila Jake
 
Wanna have some more fun? Ask a dozen people how to pronounce Heckler & Koch.

The first part is easy...
Click to expand...

How you pronounce it depends on what you think of their product and attitude toward civilian ownership ;) The way I'd pronounce it isn't very "high road" :rolleyes:
 
I was watching American Rifleman today and they pronounced Heckler and Koch, "Heckler and Coke." Being a speaker of German this was sort of like nails on a chalkboard but then i realized that its annoying when someone injects their foreignisms into a conversation.
 
"Koch" presents a problem for us non-native speakers of German (and a few other languages) because the "ch" at the end is a sound we don't have in English. It is called a "fricative."
Click to expand...

To take this further with a comparison, we have many fricatives in English. A few of these are F, V, Th (hard) and Th (soft). These are like P, B, T and D, but rather than blocking the flow of air, you let it through and get F, V, and the THs. Apply this idea to other consonants and you can pronounce Koch (fricative K as the ending consonant) and Agua (frivative G) and whatnot.
 
LOOP-OLD is the best pronunciation of the name, and Mr. Leupold will tell you the same. People get this wrong all the time, and it's really annoying.
Also, numbers, in Smith and Wesson revolvers, are the numbers themselves (this is probably only in my head)
Example: Six-Two-Nine and "dash" is "TACK" so the 629-5 revolver is the Six-Two-Nine-Tack-Five.
I'm probable way off on the numbers, but the LOOP OLD thing is a family name, and they can't stand it when people get it wrong all the time.
 
Leupold-- LEW-pold
Hoppes--HOP-eez
Garand--GAHR-and
Sako-SOCK-oh
Sig Sauer--SIG Sour
Swarovski--SWAR-ov-ski
Oehler--OH-ler
Glaser--GLAZE-rr

Ogive--OH-jive
Meplat--ME-plat
Sabot--SAY-bow

The acronyms are mostly sounded out as they are spelled.

FAL is FAH-l
CETME is SET-me
AUG is AW-g
And so on, with one noteable exception--BAR is B.A.R.

As noted, the closest English translation for Koch is "Coke." Maybe it is because my family is heavily German, but I have no problems making the raspy sound. Just most American's ask if you need a Kleenex, which, BTW, I pronounce CLEAN-ex...

when I buy S&B I just say gimme czech ammo, please. Otherwise as written.
Click to expand...

Me too. I always refer to it as "S and B" without even trying to pronounce it. Same with "CZ," the firearms manufacture...

I guess I won't be taking that language up any time soon. It confuses me deeply. I don't know if I can even put those sounds together as they are written.
 
Just recalled that back when the make was rarer and more exotic here the P-210 was always the "Ess Aye Gee" IIRC, it was the acronym for "Switzereische Industrie Gesellschafte" or something very similar. Based or manufactured in Neuhausen, Switzerland at the time, IIRC.

Partnered/merged with Sauer in then-West Germany back in the '80's, I believe. Anyway, I still call it "Ess Aye Gee Sour" and folks seem to know who I mean.
 
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