How do you pronounce the name Kato? Is it K(A)TO or is it K(AHHH)TO?Please help so I dont sound like a moron anymore.Thanks Guys
I've heard you could pronounce it both ways, but I say K(AHHH)TO and find it more prevalent with my friends and local modelers.
You say potato... "KADO" (KAH doe or KAH toe) is correct. :thumbs_up: Although about 80% of the modelers (and shop employees) I know say "KAY toe". So even if you say it right, you're still probably gonna sound like a moron to them, relatively speaking.
watch "tracks ahead" they pronounce it at the start of every show as kato usa is a sponsor of tracks ahead.
I personal pronounce it: "Kay Toe" Long "a" and Long "o" I personaly don't care how a word is pronounced. The objective is to communicate and anyone who is not a moron will know from context what you are refering to. Most likey only a rivet counter of the worst type would correct you in a negative way. My last name is: Goodenough There are 16 legitimate phonetic pronunciations of it. Three are prevelent. Any guesses?
When I started working at Kato they answered the phone KAY-TOE. The actual Japanese pronounceation of the name is KAH -TOE. With my last name being spelled V L K I am interested a little in linguistics, and knew the correct pronunciation from being introduced to Mr. Kato senior prior to my working at Kato. I suggested that we start pronouncing it correctly and from that point on we always used the KAH-TOE pronounciation. It isn't a big deal but most people will use the correct form if they are aware of it. Charlie Vlk (closest I can get to pronouncing my own name correctly is V U L K!)
Surname pronunciation As another person who experiences widespread mispronunciation of his surname, it is only common politeness to at least attempt to pronounce the surname of Mr. Hiroshi Kato the way he prefers, "kah-toh". To say you are going to ignore his wishes and pronounce his name any way you feel like pronouncing it is beyond rudeness... :angry: It is his name and his company, after all. :embarassed:
On the other hand having a name that is mispronounced sure weeds out the telemarketers. Hardly a one gets mine right. Ben
At one of the NTRAK conventons a few years ago, I forget which one, Hiroshi got up to speak at the Manufacturer's Breakfast and introduced himself. "Hello, I am Hiroshi Kay-toe, oops I mean Kah-toe." He about brought the place down with laughter. Even he has fun with it.
I'm always reminded when I see a thread like this about a long standing discussion in the computer world about how to pronounce the name of the operating system "Linux". Those in the computer world know that the operating system was named after it's creator, a guy named Linus Torvalds. Most Americans pronounce the name Linus like the the character in the peanuts comic strip (i.e. lye-nus), as a result, the word Linux gets a long I. Mr. Torvalds actually pronounces his first name "lee-nus", so from his point of view, "Linux" is pronounced "lee-nux". But, on the other hand, Mr.Torvalds also is sometimes attributed with saying something along the lines of "I don't care how you say it, as long as everyone knows what you're talking about". And so it is with the company called Kato, as long as everyone knows what you're talking about, who cares how you pronounce it. Now, If I were talking to Mr. Kato, then pronouncing his name as he wants to hear it pronounced IS important. Paul
Someone ought to post a FAQ on manufacturer names: Athearn: ATH-urn or AH-thurn? Dremel: DREM-el or drem-EL? Marklin: MAR-klin or MER-klin? Heljan: HEL-JIN or HEL-YAN? Shinohara: SHEE-nohara or SHY-NO-hara? Tomix: TOM-mix or TOE-mix?
There was a girl named Penelope; Who rode upon an antelope; You say her name's Penelope; Then it must have been an antelope! - Ogden Nash Years ago I was TDY to Keesler AFB, Miss and there were several ANG trainees (almost all of Japanese extraction I might mention) from Hawaii on the same floor as I; one of these young airmen was introduced to me as Kay-Toe and that is how I have always pronounced it. During the winter Olympics from Japan a couple of years back they kept referring to NAW-GUH-TOE. I always heard it pronounced as NAW-GAW-TOE - that was the name of a Japanese Battleship which was sunk in the Operation Crossroads Atomic Bomb Tests in 1946. Finally the announcers tackled the issue with the explanation that either way was correct; like most nations with a large population spread out across a relatively large distance Japanese experiences dialect and Nagato could be pronounced as NAW-GUH-TOE or NAW-GAW-TOE. Whatever's your bag!!! In Germany WALTHERS is pronounced WALTHERS if you are from Hannover; however it is pronounce WALTERS if you are from Bavaria - or maybe I have that backasswards!!! The Tucson, Cornelia, and Gila Bend ran from Gila Bend to Ajo. The first time I went through the latter location I stopped for some refreshment and enquired of the girl behind the counter as to the proper pronunciation of the place. She looked incredulous that I did not know how to pronounce the name "DAY-REE-KWEEN". For those of you familiar with the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances, Hyacinth is quick to correct anyone who mispronounces her last neme: BOO-KAY; forget the fact that it is spelled BUCKET!!! So long from DAY-REE-KWEEN!!!!
My understanding is that the whole English spelling of Japanese words was imposed on Japan by the US after WWII. Kato or any other Japanese word spelled with our alphabet is a phonetic approximation of a traditional Japanese sound. I also understood that spoken Japanese has no sounds that are long "A" vowel sounds, so KAH-TOE is probably technically correct. However, I am sure Mr. Kato has heard more than one American change his name. It may bother him, but I'm glad he makes light of it.
Japanese pronunciations This is from my college Eastern Civics class. A- ah as in bravo E- ay as in May I- ee as in sheep O- oh as in home U- oo as in food So the correct Japanese pronunciation is Kah-toe.
Honoring those we value is nice but don't fry the newbies, please I can sympathize with Charlie, albeit for a different reason: my surname is one of the longer ones you'll encounter: Pfaffenberger. Count 'em. 13 letters. Properly (that is, by German speakers), it's something like 'foff-en-BEARGHHHHHH-er' (with the HHHHH standing for a glottal fricative, basically the sound you make when you hawk up some spit). Within my family, however, it's pronounced: * PAFF - enberger (Indiana) * FOFF - enberger (California) The following, however, is generally frowned upon: * Pee-FAFF-en-berger And, of course, at school, I was constantly called * CHEESE burger Which I took as a complement, actually. It could have been HAM-burger. All this is to say that it's a big, diverse world. I'm partial to the idea of honoring Mr. Kato by pronouncing his name correctly. At the same time, those who know better should not belittle or correct those who are just learning. We want to welcome people into N-Scale, not turn them off. As newcomers learn of Mr. Kato's history and the incredible contributions Kato has made to our hobby, they will take an interest in pronouncing his name (and his company's name) correctly -- to show our respect and to honor his contribution. --Bryan Pfaffenberger (I'm from the California branch, so, please, FOFF - enberger).
