I have a decidedly boring first name, but it’s never been mispronounced. Being a David makes life easier when meeting new people and I’ve never had to deal with my name being butchered in an announcement. I used to think being named David was dull, but now I appreciate it when making dinner reservations.
On the other hand, Hyundai seems to have some issues with folks in the United Kingdom’s (in)ability pronounce its name and are looking to right this wrong with a new ad campaign. Per a recent release Hyundai is attempting to change “from the anglicised pronunciation of ‘Hy-un-dai’ to the global pronunciation: ‘Hyun-day’.”
“Hyundai is a young, innovative and progressive brand which has transformed with great speed. We are proudly Korean with real character and purpose. 2023 is the perfect time for us to properly reflect this in the UK,” Ashley Andrew, Hyundai Motor UK Managing Director said.
I’ve never dealt with mispronunciation issues with my decidedly dull name, but I imagine it’s a bit awkward, or after numerous incidents incredibly annoying. My wife has a unique spelling to her fist name and at this point in her life I imagine she expects it to be mispronounced by a barista at Starbucks when her beverage is ready.
“With this campaign, we want to inject a little humour and personality to our brand which we hope will encourage more people to learn more about Hyundai,” said Ashley Andrew.
As I write this post, I want to hear Liam Gallagher pronounce “Hyundai”. After years of listening to Oasis’ songs, where his interpretation on “sunshine” is closer “sun-shiiiiiine”, one can only imagine how he would gift the world with his unique take on Hyundai.
