English Language Discussion Forums

dr_linguista · #1 14-Dec-2006, 14:07

How can we say it (Skype)?
Is it /skaip/ OR /skaipi/?

**Tdol** · #2 14-Dec-2006, 14:10

I say /skaip/

dr_linguista · #3 14-Dec-2006, 15:47

hmmm!!!!
I say that too...but you have heard as /skaipi/, haven't you?

**BobK** · #4 14-Dec-2006, 16:38

I haven't heard anyone pronounce the second vowel.

b

dr_linguista · #5 14-Dec-2006, 16:58

well, I have.
I was even corrected many times when I said /skaip/!

AlainK · #6 14-Dec-2006, 18:39

Hmmm...
Maybe by people who thought you were talking about sneakers / plimsols.
Joking apart, it might be a sort of "asssimilation" with the brand name.

**Tdol** · #7 15-Dec-2006, 01:51

I have heard a few people say /skaipi/, and I agree with Alain about the most likely reason.

dr_linguista · #8 15-Dec-2006, 14:03

Maybe...

boothling · #9 16-Dec-2006, 12:50

I've always said /skaipi/, and was quite surprised to hear people say /skaip/. For me it probably comes from living in Spain, where you pronounce all the letters in a word.

AlainK · #10 16-Dec-2006, 13:02

Actually, at the beginning of the success of the brand in France, most people pronounced the name /naik/ , just like "Mike" or "Spike".
A final "e" in a word is never sounded /i/, and if it had been sounded, it would have been like the Greek word for victory, nikê /nike/, in which case it would have been very awkward since it sounds exactly the same as "niqué" which is a slang word everybody understands and which means "f***ed", or "busted", depending on the context.
Not a very good name for a trade mark over here, is it?...