Hyundai changes its pronunciation – but to what?

Hyundai has changed its pronunciation. How does that make you feel about the Korean brand – if any different?

People the world over acknowledge that South Africans have one of the strangest accents in the world.

As a result, the locally accepted, more anglicised pronunciation of Hyundai as “Hy-un-dai” might not seem strange to us, but others simply don’t get it.

HYUNDAI CHANGES ITS PRONUNCIATION: BUT TO WHAT?

Hyundai is unusual in having a name that is pronounced differently all around the world. If you’ve ever been to America, the Korean company’s number one market, you’ll know they like to pronounce it “Hun-day”.

There was even a well publicised Super Bowl advert reinforcing the mantra of “Hun-day like Sunday.” And yet, curiously, another pronunciation still persists in the US and elsewhere: “Hyun-day,” with the intonation as if its cars were hewn from a block of solid stone.

‘HYUN-DAY’ OR ‘HY-UN-DAI’?

However, as reported by CAR Magazine, the multinational would like everyone to fall inline with the global norm. A major rebranding campaign, “The birth of a new Hyundai”, kicked off late last year to change consumer behavior.

As Hyundai changes its pronunciation, the advert cleverly highlights, “If thought you knew our cars and how to say our name, it’s time to think again.”

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There is no denying, globally at least, that the company has changed immeasurably. From bland commodity cars to appealing designs, cutting-edge Ioniq electric cars and high-performance N models, some of which are sold by South African distributors.

SO, IT’S ‘HYUN-DAY’, GOT IT

The question remains, how will you choose to pronounce Hyundai? And even if you know it’s incorrect, can you force yourself to say “Hyun-day” instead of “Hy-un-dai” you’ve become so used to over the last three decades?

It won’t be easy to change customer habit. We predict a period of confusion – a fact cleverly riffed on in the advert – but we know Hyundai South Africa’s take on this is. Just as long as people keep buying our cars they can pronounce it however they want.