jjs

Last night on Monday night football the announcers were talking about Porsches because of the similarity between the Ravens’ logo and the Porsche crest. Dan ended the talk with a little joke:

“What’s the difference between Porsche (poor’ sh) and Porsche (poor’ sh-a)…” his answer was “when you own a Porsche it’s a (poor’ sh-a)”.

So, what is the consensus, fellow Porsche owners? I’ve only owned mine for about a year and still call it a (poor’ sh)… no ‘a’. What do they call them in Germany? And what do you guys call’em?

adrial

I call it both...around friends usually Porsche. Around people I want to impress or rub something it in their face..Porsche-ah.
Sometimes Porsche-ah just naturally comes out though. I was raised to say Porsche-ah.
Both of my parents immigrated from Romania when they were around 18. So in europe, its called a Porsche-ah.

Tom

I'd rather have people compliment my Porsch then insult my Porschuh. I believe the two syllable pronunciation is correct although I believe I have heard real Germans say the one syllable pronunciation (probably like New Englanders and Texans). To correct someone seems a bit pretentious.

Operator

uh oh not this again

basically the sound that saying the name Porsche makes in German is just not a sound we non-Germans can naturally make. see, to them Porsche (porsh-ah) is one syllable because at the end of the word they can make this strange raspy/gargling/end-ah sound. To us, its two syllable to say Porsche as porsh-ah so of course we just take the shortcut and call it a Porsh.

i think thats basically the story on that, if you're still concerned, try calling the 10 nearest Porsche dealerships near your house and see what the receptionist says when she picks up the phone

Renntag

Agreed, That is how I have allways heard it pronounced. I lived in europe for a while as well. That is how I heard it there.

Agreed again...I dont care how you say it..let Ferry get upset. As long as they dont insult my family, I dont care what they say about my car...I know I can probably out drive em anyway.

Also, Dont name your kid Porsche.

Lemon Yellow 87 n/a

I used to pronounce it Porsche (no "a") on occasion, but since I got the car and have been more into the scene, I have been influenced to say Porsche

Super Dave

It is a funny thing. For the last 18 to 20 years since I was in highschool and wanted one of these German Machines I called it a Porsche (no a). It was a snappy way of saying it and I liked it. But after having one for a year I find myself putting in the "a sound". It takes longer to say,it is a attention grabber in conversation, and it strokes my ego, hehehe. But after all its just a car (a really fun car) and cars come and go....at
least till I get my 911.......


David M
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justin

When I talk to people who don't know the difference,I say Porsche,but when I talk to other people like owners,pca members,dealerships,my dad I say Porsche-a

Dave

Two syllables is correct. Correct pronunciation shows respect for the marque, and for the family whose name it carries.

Brian Wilson

As a Porsch'AH owner in Germany, I would like to throw in my cents (euro cents).

The e one the end makes the ah sound.

So here is my view on it. We are trying to pronouce it as the Germans would, right? Then why don't we say BMV instead of BMW or Fau-V instead of VW or FalksVagon instead of Volkswagon???

As long as you don't know, don't care. I'm sure there are lots of other words that we say incorrectly. As far as I'm concerned, in english, pronouce the word as if you were reading it in english.

Anyone?

jim968

Just to add another log to the fire, a few years ago, someone postd to alt.autos.porsche that the original Dr. Porsche (of VW fame), being of Austrian, not German, origin, pronounced it "Porsch" (no trailing 'a'). This is supposedly found in the book "Excellence Was Expected".

To further confuse matters, I used to date a gal from a local family that spelled their last name "Porsche"... been here in the mountains for generations. She insisted on the pronunciation "Por-shay".

I tend towards the Americam "no 'a'" myself; I'm not European, it sounds less pretentious, and is more easily accepted by others.

Now, if mine cost over $50K, I might tend towards "Porsch-a"....

Jim, "Where at's mah gold neck chain & Rolex?"

pete944

A "Porsh" is on the front of a house, a" Porsch-e" is in front of other cars.

Pete

Brian Wilson

Good call Jim.

But... what language do they speak in Austria??? You may pronounce your last name one way, but if thousands of other German speaking peoples say it a different way...

jim968

Jonathan, I've never actually seen the book that the guy was making reference to, so I can't confirm it. But I figure we owe it to the original Dr. Porsche to try to say it the way he did; the company's named after him, not after thousands of German speaking people ...

But I honestly tend to put this 'un in the "personal preference" column, since there's so much evidence both ways....and it really matters so very little in the great scheme of the universe.

Jim, kinda like litre vs. liter, color vs. colour, etc....

Manning

Jim,

I don't think it sound pretentious to pronounce it with the "ah" sound. I do think it goes over the top to correct people if they mis-pronounce it, even though I did so when I was younger.

Oscar Wilde (wild)
Wildebeest (will dah)

It does really depend on the dialect as you pointed out. Maybe not so much as "you guys", "youz guyz" or "y'all" I guess.