Back in the say, the late sixties and early seventies, there was a crisis of pronunciation, when it came to the names of foreign Manufacturers. Japanese company names were particularly mis-said. I am especially reminded of two incidents that pointed to this problem.
Xerox was king of the plain paper compier for decades. Interestingly the patented process the so zealously guarded with a huge staff off corporate lawyers, had been demonstrated to all of the logical companie to deal with type on paper during the era. I am told tha they included AB Dick, Gestetner, Ditto, AM, etc.
A Japanee company circumvented Xerox patented process by using a liquid toner rather than dry. First with Ricohs technology, then with many others including Mita, Minolta, and many others. The problem was that the general public did not know how to pronounce the vowels, particularly the long or the short of the "I's." An ad campaign took place in Little Rock Arkansas that made Mita, a household word. However, the i was wrongly pronounces as a long i.
I feel sure that the power of this ad campaign was such that there are people in the Little Rock listening area, who would argue you to the wall in defense of the long "i" pronunciation of Mita. I guess it's a good thing Mita was bought out by Kyocera. I woder how they pronounce that one.
The same thing happened with camera manufacturers: Ricoh, Mamiya, Yashica. Many of the people I have discussions with about Mamiya cameras still use a long i sound, and consider you stupid if you say otherwise. This is pretty funny. And all the more so, unnecessay.
As those who study language realize, the conventions of international phonetics govern the US English pronunciation of these company names. The a sounds like saw, the e sounds like prey, the i sounds like yield, o sounds like so, u sounds like cup; this guide will get you through most proper names. Consenonts are pretty much the same. However r is usually a soft d sound. You hear this almost universally in the pronunciation of English words, by those speaking English as a scond language.
I hope this helps. Sorry it is about fifty years late.
