Prius pronunciation

[FROSTYBALLS]

As in 'pre', 'preen', etc

[PeteB]

ok, so here's one you can actually hear - a YouTube of a Toyota person, set to start just before he says "Prius".  

Ever since I saw TV programmes like Tomorrow's World in the late 1990s discussing the then forthcoming Prius, I've only heard Toyota people on TV and those I met when I was a Prius Fleet Manager pronounce it this way.

https://youtu.be/13fFY5Z5Bk8?t=107

 

[TonyHSD]

Yes, that’s the correct one P r i u s , but either way people always understand we talk about Toyota. 

[kithmo]

I've been pronouncing it wrong for 10 years 😦 

 

[Mick F]

On 7/14/2020 at 10:51 AM, FROSTYBALLS said:

Response from Toyota GB:

" Hello Mike,

Thank you for your email.

The correct pronunciation of the 'Prius' would be pronounced as 'Pre'.

I hope this helps and thanks for contacting Toyota Customer Support.

Kind regards

Joseph Coke
Customer Support
Toyota (GB) PLC "

That's sorted then ...................... except I'm still going to pronounce it pry-uss. LOL!

Mick.

[Mick F]

Been thinking ......................
Price Prior Pride Prise Prize Private Primary Primus Primordial .....................etc etc etc etc

Why pronounce Prius with an E?

Are there any other words beginning Pri that are pronounced with an E?
 

Mick.

[Stivino]

3 minutes ago, Mick F said:

Why pronounce Prius with an E?

Do you mean eh, or ee?

[Dancing Badger]

2 hours ago, Mick F said:

Been thinking ......................
Price Prior Pride Prise Prize Private Primary Primus Primordial icitona.....................etc etc etc etc

Why pronounce Prius with an E?

Are there any other words beginning Pri that are pronounced with an E?
 

Mick.

Not many, priest and primo are two examples. But prig, prism and prince demonstrate that the vowel sound of the pri syllable doesn't uniformly rhyme with the examples you gave. There is one obscure word which contains the letters priu, and that's proprium. This is pronounced pro pree um in British English. But I don't think anybody should fear a visit from the pronunciation police for pronouncing it any other way. Probably best not to buy a Ford Ka as second car though. 

Qualifications, grade 6 Latin 'O' level (that's near as dammit a fail), speak a bit of French and am learning Spanish.  So no qualifications at all, really.  

Has the plural of Prius been discussed by the way?  

[FROSTYBALLS]

Back in 2011, in the US Toyota ran a vote on what the plural should be and the result was:

https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-announces-the-plural-of-prius/

[Dancing Badger]

5 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Back in 2011, in the US Toyota ran a vote on what the plural should be and the result was:

https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-announces-the-plural-of-prius/

Ooh, that's a bit niche.  Think I'll stick with Priuses. But there's something quite comforting in the fact that more than 1.8 million people cared enough to cast a vote on the matter.

[Ancient Nerd]

If the vote was in the UK, it would probably be Priusy McPriusfaces. Which would then be totally ignored - this is Toyota GB after all. 

Not based on my grade 2 Latin O-level 🤔

[Stivino]

25 minutes ago, Ancient Nerd said:

If the vote was in the UK, it would probably be Priusy McPriusfaces. Which would then be totally ignored - this is Toyota GB after all. 

Not based on my grade 2 Latin O-level 🤔

You have written the words but, how are you proposing that they pronounced?

[Ancient Nerd]

29 minutes ago, Stivino said:

You have written the words but, how are you proposing that they pronounced?

Pronunciation, spelling. Is there a difference? 😁🤣😅🤨 

Do we really care?

[Stivino]

39 minutes ago, Ancient Nerd said:

Pronunciation, spelling. Is there a difference? 😁🤣😅🤨 

Do we really care?

Of course there is a difference and, yes we really care.  After all, isn't that the whole point of this topic?

If nobody cared, this wouldn't be the 63rd reply in this thread.

I take it from your reply that, you don't know the difference between spelling and pronunciation.

[Ancient Nerd]

55 minutes ago, Stivino said:

Of course there is a difference and, yes we really care.  After all, isn't that the whole point of this topic?

If nobody cared, this wouldn't be the 63rd reply in this thread.

I take it from your reply that, you don't know the difference between spelling and pronunciation.

My grovelling apologies. I had thought the string of emojis after that comment might have indicated the possibility that my comment was not entirely serious, addressing a topic that was probably not intended to be taken too seriously. 

I most seriously apologise for the confusion that I may have caused those non-Prius (pronounce as you feel inclined) owners who might not understand this.

And yes, I do understand the difference  between spelling and pronunciation. 

I shall head off immediately to have my sense of humour excised, before my statue (if only) is dragged of its plinth and consigned to the murky depths.

[Mick F]

The name of the car will forever be Pry-uss for me and and millions of others I would suggest.

Pree-uss pronunciation is just"wrong" !!

Prius, private, primeval, primordial, prime, pride.

Mick.

[Joseph D]

On 7/22/2020 at 7:17 AM, Mick F said:

...   and and millions of others I would suggest.

In all honesty, I have only ever heard it pronounced Pry-iss by Jeremy Clarkson.

Feel free to follow whatever you believe.

[Ten Ninety]

On 7/21/2020 at 8:17 PM, Mick F said:

The name of the car will forever be Pry-uss for me and and millions of others I would suggest.

Pree-uss pronunciation is just"wrong" !!

Prius, private, primeval, primordial, prime, pride.

Mick.

Prius is a made-up name. Comparing it to other words in the English language and applying logical deduction is an exercise in futility. Names have their own rules that don't follow logic. Witness Ralph being pronounced Rayf, or Wymondham in Norfolk being pronounced Windham.

It seems like the majority view on this thread, supported by an official response from Toyota, is that Prius is pree-us.

[Ancient Nerd]

2 hours ago, Ten Ninety said:

 Names have their own rules that don't follow logic. Witness Ralph being pronounced Rayf, or Wymondham in Norfolk being pronounced Windham.

Staying off topic, my favourite is Trottiscliffe in Kent, pronounced Trosley. All in all, a bit ghoti-y. 

Pree-us is quite conservative by those standards. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

.... or the Americans pronouncing Nissan as Neessaan - but they're a law to themselves anyway.

[Joseph D]

On 7/25/2020 at 4:32 AM, FROSTYBALLS said:

.... or the Americans pronouncing Nissan as Neessaan ...

Nee-saan is actually the correct Japanese pronunciation.  Nih-son/Nih-sin is the anglicised (mis)pronunciation.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The American pronounce Nissan with a longer 'a'.

Back to Prius ....

[Parts-King]

On 7/24/2020 at 5:32 PM, FROSTYBALLS said:

.... or the Americans pronouncing Nissan as Neessaan - but they're a law to themselves anyway.

It was much easier when it was called Datsun

[QuantumFireball]

On 7/27/2020 at 2:54 PM, Joseph D said:

Nee-saan is actually the correct Japanese pronunciation.  Nih-son/Nih-sin is the anglicised (mis)pronunciation.

Consonant length is distinctive in Japanese, and the double consonant "ss" in Nissan is an important part and voiced quite differently to how "Nisan" would be. You can see in the video example above, there is a difference in weight between the "ni-" and "-ssan" syllables. The typical American pronunciation fails at this.

[Mick F]

2 hours ago, QuantumFireball said:

Consonant length is distinctive in Japanese, and the double consonant "ss" in Nissan is an important part and voiced quite differently to how "Nisan" would be. You can see in the video example above, there is a difference in weight between the "ni-" and "-ssan" syllables. The typical American pronunciation fails at this.

............ but did they not know this?

Did they not know that selling cars all over the world, that the languages and accents would pronounce Japanese things in a non-Japanese way?  Did they think that using a Latin word would be pronounced differently?

Of course they did!!!!!

Mick.