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"T"ota or "Toy"ota?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by willow, Dec 20, 2005.

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  1. willow

    willow New Member

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    In connection with the upcoming delivery of our new silver "06 Prius, our salesman continues to refer to its parent company with a sharp pronounciation on the "T" in Toyota. He says, " 'T'ota, not 'Toy'ota" when speaking of the auto maker. Really!I mean, the guy sells other Toyota products too... and seemingly for a number of years. Should we just blow it off, gently correct him or (God forbid) have we been mispronouncing it all these years?
     
    #1 willow, Dec 20, 2005
  2. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    we noticed they don't pronounce the 'yo' in toyota when we moved down south...

    :lol:
     
    #2 galaxee, Dec 20, 2005
  3. LaughingMan

    LaughingMan Active Member

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    to...ta?
    :huh:
     
    #3 LaughingMan, Dec 20, 2005
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    yep. ask any southerner.

    tota.
     
    #4 galaxee, Dec 20, 2005
  5. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    So, Dorothy's little black dog was really called toyoto?

    Or was it "yo, toto?" :D
     
    #5 hyo silver, Dec 20, 2005
  6. 2Hybrids

    2Hybrids New Member

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    my neighbor drives me nuts when he says "Teeyota"
     
    #6 2Hybrids, Dec 20, 2005
  7. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    time to take some Japanese classes.
    I think we (Americans in general) are known for bastardizing a lot of foreign names, places etc. or simplify them however it suits us.
    I hear this a lot, so what's your name? My name is Bjorn. hmm, OK I'll call you Barney.
     
    #7 maggieddd, Dec 20, 2005
  8. willow

    willow New Member

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    Indeed, as a Southern gal myself I've heard references to this "Tota" or that Tota" from time to time. Guess one just gets use to the vernacular when you're around it all the time. Ya'll have a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah or great Kwanzaa -- whichever applies...
     
    #8 willow, Dec 20, 2005
  9. naterprius

    naterprius Senior Member

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    Who knows? People always sound stupid when they mispronounce things. Either they aren't very observant or don't feel like putting forth the effort.

    Like George W. Bush, for example. Every time he stumbles over a word I'm embarrased.

    My neighbor loves her "t-AHH-da" as well.

    Nate
     
    #9 naterprius, Dec 20, 2005
  10. Jack 06

    Jack 06 New Member

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    You can be counted upon. :rolleyes:
     
    #10 Jack 06, Dec 20, 2005
  11. TidelandAZ

    TidelandAZ New Member

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    Here's a fun little linguistics quiz if you're up for it:

    http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html
     
    #11 TidelandAZ, Dec 20, 2005
  12. heliotropehead

    heliotropehead New Member

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    lmao! I do NOT say "tota"... I say Toyyyyyota!

    From the quiz: 73% (Dixie). Your neck must be at least pink! :lol:
     
    #12 heliotropehead, Dec 20, 2005
  13. NuShrike

    NuShrike Active Member

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    Of course we all know the correct pronunciation is:

    TO - YO - ta

    right? ;)

    I pronounce it to-YO-ta.
     
    #13 NuShrike, Dec 20, 2005
  14. wilco

    wilco New Member

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    Yep... To'ta or tow'ta... I could see that. I'm from Chicago, and lived in New Orleans for a while when I was a kid. I called it New-or-leens, but New Orleans natives called it N'or'lns. I live in Canada now, and they call it New-or-lee-ans... exactly as it's spelled.
     
    #14 wilco, Dec 20, 2005
  15. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    Anyone want to go for "Matsushita"? :lol:
     
    #15 tag, Dec 20, 2005
  16. maggieddd

    maggieddd Senior Member

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    it's pronounced the way it's spelled
     
    #16 maggieddd, Dec 20, 2005
  17. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    I would think so! :D

    But then these customer service folks at Panasonic have this nasty habit of saying "Maht-soosh'-da". :huh:
     
    #17 tag, Dec 20, 2005
  18. jpeachman

    jpeachman Junior Member

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    Actually, that's a pretty good transliteration of the way it's pronounced in Japanese (the "i" in Matsushita is what's called a voiceless vowel).

    Joe
     
    #18 jpeachman, Dec 21, 2005
  19. Oxo

    Oxo New Member

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    Seems to be Toyota with the emphasis on Toy...at least in northern Europe. Notice whether the salesman makes Prius rhyme with "See us" or "Try us" and then tell him you're puzzled as there is some controversy on this. Then lead the conversation generally into pronunciation and you can steer it into "Tota".
     
    #19 Oxo, Dec 21, 2005
  20. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    Interesting. Thanks for the explanation. I didn't really believe customer service reps would be mispronouncing the name of the company without being corrected by management.
     
    #20 tag, Dec 21, 2005
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