# How do you say it?



## punisher73 (Nov 24, 2011)

So here's the poll.  How do you pronounce "karate"?


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## Grenadier (Nov 24, 2011)

Mostly the correct way, but when talking about it with people who aren't familiar with it, I use the Americanized version.  

For example, when I was calling information to find out the phone number of a particular dojo, I asked for the "Kah-rah-Tay" center, and got a "huh?" out of the operator.  When I said "Oh, I meant 'Kuh-RAH-tee" she understood.


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## MA-Caver (Nov 24, 2011)

*sniffs* "that's right kerotty, made my whole body a weapon"... ~Don Knotts "Ghost & Mr. Chicken"


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## Black Belt Jedi (Nov 25, 2011)

I voted for Kah-ray-tey, the Japanese pronunciation. I use the more correct pronounciation just to let people understand the roots of where the art comes from instead of using the water down westernized pronounciation. The difficult thing as an instructor of all age groups I only use the western pronounciation for the little kids exclusively.


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## Carol (Nov 25, 2011)

[SIZE=+1]&#31354; kara [/SIZE]KAH-RAH
[SIZE=+1]&#25163; te  [/SIZE]TEH


About.com has a recording of a native speaker:
http://japanese.about.com/library/bl50kanji2_karate.htm


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## punisher73 (Nov 28, 2011)

I know the pronuncition, but find myself mispronouncing it because that's what people know it by and if I say it the other way I get funny looks.  In class, I use the correct way to pronounce it though.


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## Never_A_Reflection (Nov 28, 2011)

Grenadier said:


> Mostly the correct way, but when talking about it with people who aren't familiar with it, I use the Americanized version.
> 
> For example, when I was calling information to find out the phone number of a particular dojo, I asked for the "Kah-rah-Tay" center, and got a "huh?" out of the operator.  When I said "Oh, I meant 'Kuh-RAH-tee" she understood.



This is what I do, but sometimes I will also pronounce it "kerotty" when I am talking fast, because it's just easier for me to say fast


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## Cyriacus (Nov 28, 2011)

Personally;
Kurru-tay


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## wildcat91 (Nov 28, 2011)

"Ka-rah-tay"  Just like Sponge Bob


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## Buka (Nov 28, 2011)

The proper way.


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## Steve (Dec 7, 2011)

I pronounce it krotty.


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## Blindside (Dec 7, 2011)

So far I'm the only one to admit to saying "kerotty" on the poll.   Yes, I know how to pronounce it correctly, and when I speak with my Japanese relatives,  I do so, but when I'm talking with most people in the US I just do the convenient (and understandable) term.


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## Tez3 (Dec 8, 2011)

Cyriacus said:


> Personally;
> Kurru-tay



But what people can't hear is the rising inflection at the end of the word! Not sure how you indicate that in writing lol !


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## SuperFLY (Dec 8, 2011)

considering I'm English I of course say it the proper way 

hate the American pronunciation


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## Cyriacus (Dec 8, 2011)

Tez3 said:


> But what people can't hear is the rising inflection at the end of the word! Not sure how you indicate that in writing lol !


Hm...

Kurru, t('a'. Like, when You say A, B, C; 'a'. The same way You pronounce the 'a' in aim.), and without a delay between the 't' and the 'a'. The 't' is pronounced the same as the 't' in truck. 

Does that help? Because if it doesnt, all I have left to offer You is this Emoticon of someone being kicked in the testicles. :btg:


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## Tez3 (Dec 8, 2011)

Cyriacus said:


> Hm...
> 
> Kurru, t('a'. Like, when You say A, B, C; 'a'. The same way You pronounce the 'a' in aim.), and without a delay between the 't' and the 'a'. The 't' is pronounced the same as the 't' in truck.
> 
> Does that help? Because if it doesnt, all I have left to offer You is this Emoticon of someone being kicked in the testicles. :btg:



Hey I'm the one who watches the Bondi lifeguard series just for that rising inflection! When someone is floating facedown in the sea and Kerrbox says 'that's not a good look' it sends thrills down my spine! And I'm shouting for Holly Valance in Strictly! Not so sure about Jason Donovan tho.


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## Cyriacus (Dec 8, 2011)

Tez3 said:


> Hey I'm the one who watches the Bondi lifeguard series just for that rising inflection! When someone is floating facedown in the sea and Kerrbox says 'that's not a good look' it sends thrills down my spine! And I'm shouting for Holly Valance in Strictly! Not so sure about Jason Donovan tho.


His Surname is Donovan. What more do You need to know?
...Because if You need to know more, I offer You an Emoticon of some dude petting another dudes head. One of them is Red. One of them, is Green.:s444:


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## Tez3 (Dec 8, 2011)

Cyriacus said:


> His Surname is Donovan. What more do You need to know?
> ...Because if You need to know more, I offer You an Emoticon of some dude petting another dudes head. One of them is Red. One of them, is Green.:s444:



I'm saying nothing about American pronounciations, when I asked on the MMA thread why Americans can't pronounce Bisping people got offended


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## Cyriacus (Dec 8, 2011)

Tez3 said:


> I'm saying nothing about American pronounciations, when I asked on the MMA thread why Americans can't pronounce Bisping people got offended


Im glad We understand each other.


:viking3:        ...Viking.


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## Tez3 (Dec 8, 2011)

Cyriacus said:


> Im glad We understand each other.
> 
> 
> :viking3: ...Viking.



Which is the point of proper pronounciations! For years I've watched American films and television programmes wondering what a booie was, then I was watching CSI and they hauled one up, it was a bouy! We pronounce it 'boy' so imagine the confusion that would caused in an Anglo/American  rescue Op somewhere? Agreed pronounciations are _sometimes_ very important to avoid confusion at vital times.


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## punisher73 (Dec 8, 2011)

Tez3 said:


> I'm saying nothing about American pronounciations, when I asked on the MMA thread why Americans can't pronounce Bisping people got offended



Because it was a gross misrepresentation.  I'm a midwestern American, and I have always pronounced it with the "biss" phonetic.  

Countries in general pronounce things differntly than the host countries pronunciation anyways (kind of the point of the thread).  For example, in America we pronounce many places with American phonetics and not spanish ones.  So, if I pronounce the country "Chile" we say "chill-ee" and not "chee-lay" as you would in spanish.  Is this wrong?  It's a different language.  In England, do you stress the spanish pronunciation of all spanish names, or other names that can have more than one pronunciation depending on the host country?


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## Tez3 (Dec 23, 2011)

punisher73 said:


> Because it was a gross misrepresentation. I'm a midwestern American, and I have always pronounced it with the "biss" phonetic.
> 
> Countries in general pronounce things differntly than the host countries pronunciation anyways (kind of the point of the thread). For example, in America we pronounce many places with American phonetics and not spanish ones. So, if I pronounce the country "Chile" we say "chill-ee" and not "chee-lay" as you would in spanish. Is this wrong? It's a different language. In England, do you stress the spanish pronunciation of all spanish names, or other names that can have more than one pronunciation depending on the host country?



Hardly a GROSS misreprentation and something you need to take up with your countymen who were the ones who informed me.

If you speak English why wouldn't you pronounce things in English the way they are supposed to be pronounced, we aren't talking about other languages we are talking about English.


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