Why do we pronounce Ford Capri and Capri Sun differently?

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BECKYISHERE@reddit

i pronounce them the same both are capree

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Boris_Johnsons_Pubes@reddit

Same here, ford capree and a capree sun, I don’t see how you can pronounce either differently

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pmabz@reddit

How did they pronounce Ford Capri in Italy?

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I definitely don't, in line with the OP. Emphasis on the first syllable for CAPree Sun, on the second syllable for Ford Capri ("Kuh-pree"). I think it's because the way that the 'pree' could run into 'sun' to produce a pronunciation that is more like 'Kuh preeson'.

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Jaraxo@reddit

Yep, and there's evidence it's this way as well. [Caprisun advert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StWhtQ-kes4) [Ford Capri advert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy6okYyoAx8)

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ambadawn@reddit

'evidence' being advertising by a large corporation? I think the people from Capri might have something to say about that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capri

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Jaraxo@reddit

Nah I'm sorry. If we're talking about the place fair enough, but even we sat Pariss not Paree, Munich not Munchen etc. The company owning the brand dictates their branding.

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ambadawn@reddit

Disagree. I'm not taking orders on how to talk from a corporation /r/HailCorporate

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Jaraxo@reddit

Yay for linguistic prescriptivism.

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ambadawn@reddit

Yay for education and knowledge on how to speak.

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Jaraxo@reddit

Talk about pigeons playing chess.

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bonkerz1888@reddit

So you extend the 'ahh' sound on Capri Sun compared to Ford Capri?

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TheStatMan2@reddit

Only on the all too rare occasion that I'm drinking one at the point of release.

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Milky_Finger@reddit

It's a goofy ahh ngl

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BECKYISHERE@reddit

no they're exactly the same

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bonkerz1888@reddit

Coolio, must be an accent thing.

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Leifang666@reddit

Same. I didn't realise they were meant to be pronounced differently.

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Ok_Cow_3431@reddit

same, but I have a habit of mis-pronouncing words so I'm probably not the best example.

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CoffeeandaTwix@reddit

If I said *Ford Capri*, I would pronounce it 'Cuh Pree' But if I said *It's a Capri Ghia*, I would pronounce it 'Cap ree' So, for me it's just whether it's the first word in a pair or not... doesn't matter if it's the car, drink or island.

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pmabz@reddit

It's the rhythm of the syllables; one flows, the other way doesn't . Wish I knew what the technical terms for this are.

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Healthy_Pilot_6358@reddit

Ps if anyone reading this has a ford capri sat in their barn that they are willing to sell for peanuts, please message me. It’s my fav car and I want one!

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TheZZ9@reddit

You could have had Bodie and Doyle's cars. https://silodrome.com/ford-capri-the-professionals/

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northernbloke@reddit

*Checks barn* *Realises I live in a 3 bed semi and don't have a barn* Sorry mate, all out of Capris

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Healthy_Pilot_6358@reddit

Haha thank for checking though

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themcsame@reddit

Because English. We could always ask the Polish to give our brains a polish and get us on the rights axes, while Anya watches over her collection of axes, that is to say her bass guitars. The Polish woman was now about to polish a bass for dinner while admiring her bass guitars. Then somewhere off in the distance a man with a bow, took a bow at the bow of the ship, just as the captain was getting close, he remembered he didn't close the door to his locker. Meanwhile, Jon Bon Jovi was playing at a concert the night before, while young Jenny had to concert all her energy to stay awake after a long day. Jeremy on the other hand was watching a group of does. His friends always wondered 'how does he always manage to get so close to them? Especially with all those funky hair does he has' English is weird like that and there's a hell of a lot of examples. We call them heteronyms. Basically, two words spelt the same with different meanings and pronunciations. Bow (to bow) and bow (bow of a ship), being pronounced the same, would be homonyms.

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ScottOld@reddit

Capree for both

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robertodurian@reddit

Because language isn’t logical

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Zerocoolx1@reddit

Slough, through, thought , trough, plough.

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TheStatMan2@reddit

The water in Majorca don't taste like what it ought to.

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partywithanf@reddit

I don’t get it.

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TheStatMan2@reddit

I can live with that.

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therealdan0@reddit

Sloo, throo, thoot, troo, ploo. Checkmate English language.

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Metric_Pacifist@reddit

Are you Scottish?

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trysca@reddit

Boring - pronunciation of these words has changed over time but was originally consistent

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Plastic804@reddit

It can be understood through thorough thought though.

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DisorderOfLeitbur@reddit

I think there might actually be a logical reason for this one. English generally has a stressed-unstressed-sressed-unstressed pattern. So after you stress Ford it sounds slightly more natural to continue FORD-ca-PRI. But in Capri Sun it sounds a bit better to put stress on Sun, giving you CA-pri-SUN. This is only a weakeffect, which would explain why thi pronunciation is common but not universal.

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mcbeef89@reddit

Michelin tyres and Michelin starred restaurants are usually pronounced differently in the UK despite both referencing the exact same company

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takeagamble@reddit

I think they're pronounced the same?

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mcbeef89@reddit

In 50 years of life I have never heard anyone say 'mee-sha-lan' tyres

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takeagamble@reddit

Did you mean they're pronounced differently to how french people say the company name?

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mcbeef89@reddit

Yes, it was a very long time indeed before I realised that 'the Mitchell-inn man' and 'the Michelin guide' were both creations of the same firm.

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SeraphKrom@reddit

Never heard anyone pronounce the starred restaurants like that either.

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Playful-Net4958@reddit

I've never heard anyone pronounce the restaurant stars like that...

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Qyro@reddit

I am today years old when I realised restaurants aren’t “mitch-ell-in” rated

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Gaoler86@reddit

I pronounce both mish-a-lin

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dbltax@reddit

I've always pronounced both as mi-shuh-lan.

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Apprehensive-Top-311@reddit

The only person I know that pronounces it differently when talking about a restaurant being Michelin starred is hilariously pretentious (he gives it a very over stressed French accent - Mee-sha-lun) everyone else I know pronounces them both the same

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wholesomechunk@reddit

Ah mangetout!

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blainy-o@reddit

Chateuneuf-du-Pape!

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imminentmailing463@reddit

I mostly hear them pronounced the same tbh. Both aglicised.

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AirHead4761@reddit

Why do we pronounce "tear" and "tear" differently?

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RaspberryWonderful16@reddit (OP)

Tear and tear are two different words. Capri is the name of an island, and is only one word

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MikeSizemore@reddit

Because Bodie and Doyle were never in hot pursuit of villains driving a Capri Sun.

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

Because language is based not just on spelling but pronunciation (among other factors). The same way that I may plan to **read** a book once I have **read** my current one.

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RaspberryWonderful16@reddit (OP)

But Capri is the name of an island in Italy. The pronunciation should always be the same surely?

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tyger2020@reddit

>But Capri is the name of an island in Italy. The pronunciation should always be the same surely? Ibiza.

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benjymous@reddit

Also Paris. We quite commonly invent new ways of saying the names of foreign places. If we don't give them new replacement names entirely.

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tyger2020@reddit

It also just entirely depends on how you (personally) pronounce words. Some people say it Mel-bourne and some say it Mel-burn etc.

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Loud_Fisherman_5878@reddit

I think this is like Leicester being pronounced Lester or Ley-chester, that is only the first is correct but the second is how foreign people (I’ve heard Americans do this) would try and say it. Australians always say Melbun and I got laughed at when I moved there and said Mel-bourne!

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Broric@reddit

and yet the locals pronounce is Lesta...

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Mscienc3@reddit

Fun fact, people from Leicester, Massachusets pronounce it correctl, Lester. Of course, those of us from Leicester UK pronounce is Les-tah

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cmzraxsn@reddit

Massachusetts is traditionally non-rhotic too, there's a stereotype of Bostonians saying "pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd". Of course it's been partially subsumed by Standard US English ("general american") now. (And phonetically it's different from non-rhotic accents from England) But I'm willing to bet there's a significant contingent of people from Leicester, MA who will insist that they do indeed say Les-tah.

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dth300@reddit

In one of his Books Bill Bryson talks about Norwich, Vermont, near where he was living at the time. He noticed an old boy pronouncing Norrich, but newcomers called it Nor-witch

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Loud_Fisherman_5878@reddit

Oh yes, I did mean ‘Lestah’ as a pronunciation, I forget that the letter R is pronounced in other accents so to me Lestah and Lester are the same although they’re not really!

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trysca@reddit

Cester and Chester are both from cæstre - about 1500y ago - hardly surprising that pronunciation has changed - 500y earlier it was castrum and we spoke Latin, 500 y before that we spoke Brittonic

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Charlie-Bell@reddit

Also true of the previous example of Paris

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GrumpyOik@reddit

A pronunciation we Britisg always get wrong apparently (Tourists use the Ford way, when it should be closer to the drink). The word also means "goats" in Italian.

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bonkerz1888@reddit

Just discovered this YouTube channel this weekend and he covers loads of wee linguistics quirks like this. Can't recommend it enough as I've spent a few hours over the past few days watching a lot of his videos. https://youtube.com/@DrGeoffLindsey

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amacadabra@reddit

Well yes, and that pronunciation is ... ?

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glenman1882@reddit

Belfast pronounced differently by people who live here. Most people call it Bell-fast Posh people call it Bulfast, but say the fast really quickly lol 😆

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Tarot650@reddit

There are posh people in Belfast?

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glenman1882@reddit

Yeah shot load. Malone roads full of the cunts lol

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00332200@reddit

KAH-pree

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

Place names are not immune from this. For example have you ever heard a French person pronounce Paris (*pah-ree*)? Place names having different pronunciations is massively common. Hell I can think of 3 different ways the name of my local town is pronounced depending on which set of surrounding villages the person is from.

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Woffingshire@reddit

read and read are different words with different meanings though. They're spelled the same way so are pronounced differently as differentiation of which one you're saying.  Capri in Ford Capri and Capri in Capri Sun are literally the same word

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

I merely went with an obvious example people could use, if we're going to nitpick lets use *Ibiza* then instead.

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Woffingshire@reddit

People also tend to pronounce Ibiza the same way. *different* people pronounce it differently, but individuals tend to have one consistent way of saying it.  I pronounce it "a-bee-tha" and that's how I always pronounce it. You might pronounce it differently but always pronounce it the same way.  With Capri, as the post points out, on a ford Capri it's "Cap-ri" but on Capri Sun it's "Ca-pree" even though it is the same word and should be pronounced the same in both.

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Ambitious-Ad3131@reddit

I’d say it’s about rhythm - the emphasised syllables in each pairing are separated by the middle syllable. CAPri SUN … FORD caPRI

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Rubberfootman@reddit

What’s this “we” thing? Normal people pronounce both of them the same.

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jimbobsqrpants@reddit

Is this a North South thing? To my mind they are both either the same or at least very similar. The only difference would come from the inflection of having a word follow the Capri. But the Ford Capri Lazer. Definitely sounds the same as a Ford Capri Sun.

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

In my near 50 years on this planet I have never heard them pronounced the same.

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OrangeBeast01@reddit

I pronounce them the same but also heard then pronounced differently. You're obviously just around weirdos.

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Rubberfootman@reddit

Near 50 here too - where are we all hearing the second one being pronounced? Is there a big advertising campaign going on? I think I’ve only even seen it on packaging.

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

*Cap-ri* Sun was a "trendy" drink when I was a kid and so the name was used very often. The Ford *Cah-pree* on the other hand was a cool as fuck council estate sports car nearing the end of its run.

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Rubberfootman@reddit

Even though you’ve spelled them out differently for me, both words make the same sound when they hit my brain. I think I’m a lost cause on this one.

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Cheese-n-Opinion@reddit

The difference is whether the stress is on the first or second syllable.

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ayeayefitlike@reddit

It’s just which syllable is stressed. CAP-ri Sun, versus a Ford Ca-PREE. Try changing the stress and you’ll see how the two get pronounced differently.

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tenthcat@reddit

Cap Ree for the drink, Ka Pree for the car. The difference is where the bounce goes

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Rubberfootman@reddit

It’s been too long now, it would be like trying to change the emphasis on my name.

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

I have an inkling that this is going to be one of those topics where there are two firm camps both of which cannot fathom that the other exists! 🙂 Such as the sit vs stand to wipe debate that comes around every few months.

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ARK_Redeemer@reddit

I say "Kuh-pree" for the Ford and CAPree for Caprisun

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cmzraxsn@reddit

Prob something to do with compound word stress. Capri Sun is interpreted as a compound word which attracts stress to the first constituent word/syllable, Ford Capri is not. Mind you we have a lot of ppl in the thread saying Caprí Sun rather than Cápri Sun so it's not consistent at all.

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brit_motown@reddit

I always pronounced the Capri Crapi not a fan can tolerate a MK1 but the hatch back version yuck

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Keeks73@reddit

I pronounce both (and the place they’re named for) the same way - c’pree

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Grillenium-Falcon@reddit

It is [actually pronounced different](https://youtu.be/StWhtQ-kes4). Same as Ikea is _i-key-a_ and not _eye-key-a_

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Pitiful-Schedule-244@reddit

I and eye are the same, so what the hell are you trying to say?

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Grillenium-Falcon@reddit

_i_ not _I_

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Midniteman86@reddit

Ik ear

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Jaraxo@reddit

Glad there's video evidence here because this thread was driving me mad. The drink has always been *CA-pree* with the stress on the *ca* while the car was always *k-PREE* with the stress on the *pree*.

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Vauccis@reddit

I'm pretty sure it's since the Capri in Ford Capri is the "standard" american way to pronounce Capri, and Ford is an american make. Capri Sun is however not american.

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myblankpages@reddit

However the name, and pronunciation, came from an earlier car designed and made by Ford UK: the two-door Consul Capri. (And the Capri isn't American, it was built by Ford Europe.)

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Jaraxo@reddit

Aye but brands localise pronunciation all the time. Until recently Hyundai, Skoda, Ikea, Peugeot and probably more were all pronounced in an English way not in the language they were written, before you even start thinking about the fact we say Munich not Munchen, Pariss not Paree, or countless other examples.

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Vegetable-Tale-6653@reddit

In the place I used to work, there was a regular customer who pronounced that as *eye-eee-ka*, not sure how he got to that one.

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Freebornaiden@reddit

It's so we can catch the spys within our midst.

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dabassmonsta@reddit

Scones have entered the chat.

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andercode@reddit

Language is whacked. "Im reading a book in Reading."

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Pitiful-Schedule-244@reddit

I was born in Reading, but I never learned to read a book while I lived there. Now I'm reading a book about Reading which my dad gave me after he'd read it.

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SoggyWotsits@reddit

And once you read it, you’ll have read it!

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Cultural_Legend@reddit

Call it Redding Railroad to maximise Monopoly games gone bad.

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paolog@reddit

The name of the island of Capri is pronounced with the stress on "pri", so you might think that settles it. But to add to the confusion, in the original Italian, the stress is on "Ca". So "Ford Capri" goes with the English pronunciation and "Capri Sun" is more like the Italian.

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Chrisf1bcn@reddit

Ha mad question but I’m actually from the island of Capri and this drives me insane!!!! Yes CapriSun is the closest correct pronunciation almost. More like Caaaapri it should sound like

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OldManChino@reddit

I wish i still drove my ford capri :'(

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Hope2_win@reddit

I pronounce them both the same .

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Banditofbingofame@reddit

The UK doesn't even pronounce the word 'the' uniformly so I don't know what people were expecting

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bonkerz1888@reddit

Adidas enters the chat.

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frankchester@reddit

This one drives me mad. It's his name for god's sake, there's only one way to say it.

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bonkerz1888@reddit

Now say Mount Everest.

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frankchester@reddit

Yup, another commonly known mispronunciation. Should be Eve-Rest. I would tend towards Ev-rest, dropping the central E, even though that's technically incorrect it's still halfway there. Adidas however is still a functioning company and therefore has adverts telling you exactly how to say it, so there's no reason to get it wrong.

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northernbloke@reddit

Adolf Dassler...so how we pronouncing it?

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frankchester@reddit

His nickname is Adi. So you say Adi like a nickname for Adolf, and Das like the beginning of Dassler. Adi-Das. As opposed to the incorrect common pronunciation (typically by Americans) of Uh-DEE-Dus. You’d never call someone nicknamed Adi “UhDEE”.

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Healthy_Pilot_6358@reddit

Yeah but which one is it? Adidas or adidas?

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liquid_profane@reddit

Have always pronounced them the same.

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steveinstow@reddit

Both the same.

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discombobulated38x@reddit

Shawn yawns, but Sean bean yeans.

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_Nymphology_@reddit

Ahh, you mean the old Cap-Ree Ghia?

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SoggyWotsits@reddit

The pratmobile?!

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No-Decision1581@reddit

I don't. Capree sun. Ford capree

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JLB_cleanshirt@reddit

Although I love Ford Capri's and owned several, I don't think many people are saying Ford Capri these days, are they?

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floodflash@reddit

Mercedes. The letter e three times, each pronounced differently

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SoggyWotsits@reddit

For the same reason we pronounce read and read differently. Or lead and lead…!

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heyyouupinthesky@reddit

I was reading this in Reading and wondered the same...

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Vauccis@reddit

I'm pretty sure it's since the Capri in Ford Capri is the "standard" american way to pronounce Capri, and Ford is an american make. Capri Sun is however not american.

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midnightbandit-@reddit

Because one has a sun at the end

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W_squeaks@reddit

Speak for yourself, they are the same.

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Calm_Bodybuilder_843@reddit

Different contexts.

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HashDefTrueFalse@reddit

Because spoken language is just a way to associate meaning with sound. People tend to parrot the sound they hear for certain meanings and it becomes the used and accepted way of pronouncing something in a certain context etc. I say those same as you, never really thought about it.

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Mscienc3@reddit

I would pronounce it Ford Ca-PREE and CA-pre sun (CA like in cat) But my wife pronounces both as Ca-PREE

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Enigma_Green@reddit

I guess it's like the location Reading and Reading a book

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thattallbrit@reddit

Are you reading this in reading ?

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GamerHumphrey@reddit

Loughborough.

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mozzamo@reddit

Do we?

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Sattaman6@reddit

They’re the same word! They’re pronounced exactly the same.

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antman700@reddit

I’ve had many sleepless nights thinking about this.

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takeagamble@reddit

For all the do we? comments It's for ca-pre and cap-ri sun

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Fair-Revolution-3629@reddit

Because marketing

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Unacceptable_Wolf@reddit

Do we?

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Bertybassett99@reddit

Ford Capri is pronounced incorrectly. Its pronounced the way we do in the UK something to do with English people struggling to pronounce it the correct way, so its pronounced differently from how it should.

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KingKhram@reddit

We don't

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ActivatedBiscuit@reddit

I don't

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imminentmailing463@reddit

Language is weird. Especially when it's a word imported from another language. If I had to guess, I'd imagine the stress is different on the two to make it for more with English cadence.

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pencilrain99@reddit

I pronounce them the same

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tyger2020@reddit

Me too

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