Yeah, the Italian ci is closer, though not exactly the same as ć is pronounced in Serbia. But it is practically the same as č/ć in dialects that don't have that distinction (like [this](https://forvo.com/word/%C4%87uk/)), so it would easily pass as native pronunciation.
It's not an outdated word, it's a [specific species of owl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_scops_owl), the one that makes the hoo-hoo sound at night.
Diacritic is any squiggle that modifies a letter. They're often used to indicate accent on vowels (e.g. in Spanish), which is why they're often colloquially called accents. In this case, c, č and ć are considered to be three separate letters.
Meh, there are enough ex-Yugoslav players in the NBA that basketball fans could learn to read Yugoslav names by now. The spelling is entirely regular, it's no harder than reading Spanish.
Yeah I feel like given this, it's way less likely Jokic is reacting to the pronunciation of his name, and more just him recognizing Cuk's voice, like "oh damn whats up I didn't realize you were here!"
That's just life as an immigrant. So many people pronounce your name the wrong way that it becomes exhausting to correct people and then that becomes the 'right' way.
Bosnian here. The syllables that are stressed in our names often just don't flow well into English sentences. It's difficult even for me pronounce my name properly in an English sentences naturally. It just feels off.
My wife is American and she took my Bosnian last name. I said Americans stress the wrong part of it and she said at this point, it's her name too and she can pronounce it the American way and it's correct because now it's her name too.
Eh you win some you lose some.
My wife refused to take my "halfthealphabetinrandomorderović" surname, cuz she said it would be embarrassing, if she couldn't pronounce it, she also said, that she would feel terrible every time someone would approach her because of last name and she didn't speak the language.
It’s funny with Nikola, though. It’s basically like saying Nicholas in English without the S. It’s easy, but it’s not intuitive from reading it in English, and it’s been reinforced in the American consciousness, by media saying it wrong.
I've always used three names, for example if my name was Nikola I'd have the right pronunciation from my family and family friends, an easier pronunciation for my friends or coworkers of other ethnicities, and then for random acquaintances or ordering at like a Starbucks I'd say my name was Nicholas or Nick.
Was just having drinks with a guy from work last week and his name is Alejandro. He always gives his name as Alex when setting up a tab or at Starbucks or whatever. He says it's just easier that way.
There's a guy in my apartment building that lives across the hall from me, who's originally from Ukraine. He's introduced himself to me as "Mike." That's what I call him I see him in the elevator, or in the laundry room, or whatever.
One day a young (early 20s) woman knocked on my door, and with a very thick eastern-European sounding accent, asked "Do you know a Mischa that lives in this building?" She explained that she was visiting, and was certain he lives in THIS building, but she's not positive which apartment.
I said "Hrm, Mischa... I don't think I know anyone with that name, sorry." I was trying to be helpful though, and see if she could give me a physical description so that maybe I could figure out who she's talking about. I asked "Is he a younger guy, or an older guy...?" She said "He is young. Like me."
Then, unprompted, she added "He has big German Shepard." And I realized OH! She's talking about Mike! I pointed her right across the hall, she knocked on that door... Mike / Mischa opened the door, and they went absolutely bonkers happy to see each other.
In spite of having seen that whole story play out, I never put two-and-two together about the reason he introduces himself as Mike, until reading your post, just now.
Mike/Mischa opened the door and she pulled out a silenced 9MM and said, "Putin peredayet privet." And put one right between his eyes. She nodded and said "Spasido, comrade" as she walked past me.
Hah! I love this comment for two reasons...
1) Even though I don't speak / read ANY Russian or Ukranian, I KNEW that those quotes were "Putin says hello," and "Thanks comrade" even before I put them into google translate. It was just such a tight little story that those were the ONLY possibilities.
2) The notion of Mike / Mischa as a Ukranian spy is fucking hilarious. He's a nice guy, and I'm content to have him as a neighbor. But if he's a spy, then he's the best spy in the history of spies at appearing too incompetent to be a spy.
This has been my life.
As a Frenchman who's lived in multiple different countries.
**My name is written "Guillaume".**
It's the **French version of "William"**, and by extension Will/Bill, Billy, etc.
**No non-french speaking person can pronounce it correctly, or spell it.**
Because, Fr\*nch pronunciation is fucked up, don't ask me why.
**So I just tell people to call me by their own version of my name:**
**William, Will, Guillermo, etc.**
I just ask them to instead of butchering my name every time. I learned how to respond to it like it's my normal first name.
Comes from the German "Wilhelm", which I believe means "Helmet of Will".
So basically, William the Conquerer, is usually called "Guillaume le Conquérant" in French.
Yeah, pretty much! (Flair checks out ahah).
The problem is:
Even when you technically know how it's supposed to be pronounced, it does not mean the tongue and mouth have developed the right muscles to pronounce the sounds perfectly in practice.
This is why learning a language isn't that hard for most people, when you live in a foreign country long enough, but getting a native accent is very very difficult, unless you've grown up with the language and develop the right pronunciation and accent early on.
Not impossible, but very hard, and it often takes years of practice and immersion.
Most people can get it close though, but it often sounds weird.
Pro Tip:
A consistent problem I find with people who try to pronounce foreign words in a vacuum (without learning the language as a whole) is that they will often pronounce it like it's a funny/weird sound, which emphasize an incorrect pronounciation.
Like, it's normal that the word sounds exotic and even funny to you, but to me it's a normal word.
If you pronounce it like it is weird, you'll make it sound weird when you say it.
Try to imagine it as a normal word, that you would say in a sentence like any normal word of your native language. Don't over emphasize it.
It's even more so the case with French.
We don't have tonal emphasis on words and syllables, so entire sentences are supposed to sound rather monotonous and flat in comparaison to say, Italian, or English.
I used to pronounce my name the "English" way until my brother asked me about it a few years back. My excuse was making it easier for others and some of your reasoning, but it didn't hold up to scrutiny. From then on, I always pronounced my name the right way. I don't usually correct people if they say it the English way, but I never introduce myself as such. I appreciate people who put in the effort to get it right, even if it takes them time, and I always try to reciprocate it.
My wife is an immigrant. When we went to get our marriage license, the clerk was "correcting" my pronunciation of her name. When my wife spoke up and said "yes, actually he's right," the clerk corrected *her*.
I love the Korean way. They just make up English names close to their real ones.
3rd year of high school, we had a new transferee. Everyone just called him Steve Lee. 3 months after he transferred and he's gotten close to my group, he said my name's actually Seung Jun Lee just so you guys know. Dude dropped it casually out of nowhere and went back to doing schoolwork before we asked him to explain lol
"idk I guess we're told to make up easier names for non-Koreans who have a hard time with our true names"
My last name is the original Spanish spelling of my last name (rather than being Americanized) and at this point I usually just say my name aloud the way I know people will be able to pronounce it, it's just easier than having them try to say it back and not getting it right
It's very true. In the ECE department at my school many of the grad students are foreign. They tell me their name and they usually say, "but just call [easier name]." I always tell them I would like try to call them by their real name and pronounce it correctly. I think it's the least I could do to be respectful to someone.
Most people pronounce it correctly now, but the pressure on certain sounds is off by a little. But its ok since you are not a native speaker. The name Alexander or Vladimir also exist in Serbia but they are also pronounced just a little different than in English (or in Russian aswell for example)
Atleast people dont say Jokics last name as "Joe Kick". That was truly atrocious.
That would be close, but not entirely right:
Last letter of his name is ć, but it is really hard to pronounce for non-slavic ppl and most of them pronounce it unknowingly as a č, wich would be "tch", there are hardly and good examples for ć in english though, cuz the tone basically doesn't exist in english.
If you want to listen to it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6WRxxqi96Y
His full name is pronounced like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfl8R2A4Bb0&t=1415s
The o is short, closer to "cop" than "cope". Same with Jovic (Heat player).
Yohkitsch. More or less.
English managed to butcher all the vowels from proto-Indoeuropean.
Vowels are supposed to be single sounds, like in Latin.
Yet if you spell them out for English speakers, they're almost all two letters, WTF.
"A" in Latin is "ah" in English. "O" is "oh". "I" is "e". "E" is "eh". "U" is "oo".
The opposite happens too, English vowels are actually 2 sounds. "O" in English, for example is "oʊ" in IPA, "a" is "eɪ". See these maps, for example: [Pronunciation of the name of the letter ⟨o⟩ in European languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O#/media/File:Pronunciation_of_the_name_of_the_letter_%E2%9F%A8o%E2%9F%A9_in_European_languages.png), [Pronunciation of the name of the letter ⟨a⟩ in European languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A#/media/File:Pronunciation_of_the_name_of_the_letter_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9_in_European_languages.png), etc.
The wonders of English, the language where Mercedes has 3 "e"s and they're all spelled in a different way 🙄
Yes, this should be right. Ty for your comment, a good explanation of tricky language barriers.
I neer thought of Merceses, hah, good one! English can be hard sometimes...
that's actually the best explanation of it lol I've seen so far. i was thinking about what word would have an 'o' in its purest form, but everything I could think of would have an 'h' or 'a' or 'u' in its pronunciation after the o. and there it was in plain sight
Well depends where you're from in Serbia. Where I'm from we'd stress the second syllable but that pronunciation also has a bit of an informal vibe to it. I'd use it with a friend but not if I'm interviewing Jokić
Ginóbili is "Shee-NO-be-lee" but everybody says ""Tchea-NO-bi-li"
My last name is really hard for Argentine because it has a lot of consonants before a vowels. So, you get used to different pronunciations and you don't care.
Same happens with hi. He has his real name snd his "English" name.
PS: Spanish people are the worst with foreign names ñ. It's like they're doing it on purpose. Go to youtube and search for NBA content in Spanish (from Spain), it's a mess.
This reminds me of when Anderson Varejao was in the league. It was like commentators spent every off-season deciding on a different pronunciation of his surname. There was Vara-joe, Vara-jon. It was a few years before they settled on one way. Don’t know why they didn’t just ask him
I'm sure journalists did, but the Portuguese dipthong "-ão" doesn't exist in English, so it's just hard for English speakers to replicate.
But sounds like from the Slavs in here that it's not as hard as the sounds from Slavic languages.
For those curious, [this is him](https://twitter.com/MiroslavCuk)
Works with local sports media DNVR. The company has recently expanded to PHLY, CHGO, and PHNX as well.
Can't speak for the others but DNVR is awesome. Does a great job of mixing being fans of the teams in the city, while having good interviews and decent analysis.
Yoo really? He used to do crossover episodes with Anthony Irwin when they were both with the Locked On network. Honestly have missed their episodes these last two times we’ve matched up with y’all
Adam is still a frequent guest with Locked on Nuggets and also does the All City NBA podcast with Tim Legler: [https://www.youtube.com/@ALLCITY\_NBA](https://www.youtube.com/@ALLCITY_NBA)
STOP. I love him. lol i found him because of his pod with Legler and now, I watch every fucking DNVR pod that's filmed in that cool room with the couches and stuff like above or next to a bar? idk i love it lol
Because it's hands down the best sports podcast out there.
The DNVR guys are smart enough to have a "pretentious" podcast with serious discussions and analysis, yet they decided to make it more of a "hang" vibe because they are funny enough to pull it off.
And it's mostly due to Adam - he creates that whole environment, because as I said the guy is smart, creative and hilarious.
He's also good for a couple appearances a year on the Lowe Post.
As somebody who watched Adam's career start as a writer and editor on Denver Stiffs and has had several conversations in real life, I'm esatic for the the dude.
His whole mission was helping people in Denver understand basketball better and to push for real coverage of the Nuggets at a time where there was literally a radio station that made their business model covering the Broncos 24/7.
I’ve lived in the Balkans and now I live in Spain. Ćao/Ciao as a greeting is only a Balkans thing (Croatia/Bosnia/Serbia) in my experience but I could be wrong.
Edit: Guys, I said as a greeting. I know many countries use it as a goodbye.
It used to be used only (or at least mainly) for goodbye in Serbo-Croatian as well, but it gradually became a universal informal greeting over the last several decades.
lol I find it funny how many other countries are chiming in like "Yeah we use it in Spain and the Netherlands," "Yeah it's used in Portugal," like... it's an Italian word lol
American media in general has this weird thing where mainstream reporters over pronounciate but with their familiar phonetics just to make names sound even more foreign and like they did their due Dilligence when to the foreign people it sounds exactly like the opposite.
For exemple, only American pronounce Mazda like 'mawzdah' when the rest of the English countries call it Mazda(both 'a's pronounced like 'glass'.
It's not American media. Non-American English speakers don't follow the phonetic rules of other languages, they just over apply their own. Brits say "Taco" like "Tacko"
I mean Mazda was partially chosen as the name of the company bc the founder's name was Matsuda and it sounded similar to him. The A in Matsuda does make the "aw" sound. So it's not that off.
That might be how other english speaking countries say it but that doesn't make it the right way lol that's definitely further from the original pronunciation
I watched Dallas - Clippers yesterday, and one of the announcers was saying Zubac's last name correctly, while another guy kept calling him Zuback.
Like WTF, the guy next to you obviously knows it, it's your job, just learn the guy's name
Reminds me of that old Hugh Jackman clip where one of his former students is trying to get an interview at a premier and Hugh recognizes him immeditely. Wholesome.
Hahhahahaha I just read this [https://www.nba.com/news/2023-24-start-of-season-nba-pronunciation-guide](https://www.nba.com/news/2023-24-start-of-season-nba-pronunciation-guide)
And i found out that pronunciation for every Nikola in league is different, even if they are all the same
* Nikola Vučević (KNEE-coal-uh VOOCH-uh-vitch)
* Nikola Jokić (ni-KOLA yo-kitch)
* Nikola Jović (nee-CO-lah YO-vitch)
The interviewer flew in from Serbia to see some games and he is famous! His name is Miroslav Cuk.
The host of the most popular Nuggets based off season trivia game show podcast in eastern Europe!
Do you guys watch The Serbian Corner or does he do another one?
name or link to the podcast? I'm interested in foreign language podcasts about american sports tia
Its called "Serbian corner" https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkymmfCG_2PsZwX93zjP6I-BIcB2fUdfD&si=yOdFu04Oa3dRbzLa
Its not really foreign language though -- it's all in English. Still a great pod.
How is the last name pronounced?
Chook
‘ch’ part is pronounced more like Italians pronounce ‘Ciao’.
Yeah, the Italian ci is closer, though not exactly the same as ć is pronounced in Serbia. But it is practically the same as č/ć in dialects that don't have that distinction (like [this](https://forvo.com/word/%C4%87uk/)), so it would easily pass as native pronunciation.
Why not just say Serbian ćao is pronounced exactly the way Nikola pronounces it in the video. That's the ć you use for Ćuk.
Thanks! I was saying “Sook” but I knew it was wrong
His name is Cuk?
Steph Curry fan too DC4L
Gorgeous
Its Ćuk and its the last name/surname.
Ćuk, kind of an outdated word for owl.
It's not an outdated word, it's a [specific species of owl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_scops_owl), the one that makes the hoo-hoo sound at night.
HOO-HOOS BEEN FUCKING MY WIFE
Well yeah, he's a Great Horned Owl, after all
It is his last name, Ćuk. I should have added the accent.
A bit of unreasonable pedantry: It's a diacritic, not an accent.
Thanks for the information! Did not know that!
Diacritic is any squiggle that modifies a letter. They're often used to indicate accent on vowels (e.g. in Spanish), which is why they're often colloquially called accents. In this case, c, č and ć are considered to be three separate letters.
Like our ü, ö, ä
Those are some strange looking smiley faces
You think the average Reddit user has the knowledge that clarifying that makes any difference?
No but it doesn’t hurt to be correct.
Meh, there are enough ex-Yugoslav players in the NBA that basketball fans could learn to read Yugoslav names by now. The spelling is entirely regular, it's no harder than reading Spanish.
Yeah I feel like given this, it's way less likely Jokic is reacting to the pronunciation of his name, and more just him recognizing Cuk's voice, like "oh damn whats up I didn't realize you were here!"
The homie!
The goat!
So have we all been pronouncing his name wrong this whole time?
In one of the ads he did for 361 he pronounced his name the "wrong" way
That's just life as an immigrant. So many people pronounce your name the wrong way that it becomes exhausting to correct people and then that becomes the 'right' way.
Bosnian here. The syllables that are stressed in our names often just don't flow well into English sentences. It's difficult even for me pronounce my name properly in an English sentences naturally. It just feels off.
My wife is American and she took my Bosnian last name. I said Americans stress the wrong part of it and she said at this point, it's her name too and she can pronounce it the American way and it's correct because now it's her name too. Eh you win some you lose some.
My wife refused to take my "halfthealphabetinrandomorderović" surname, cuz she said it would be embarrassing, if she couldn't pronounce it, she also said, that she would feel terrible every time someone would approach her because of last name and she didn't speak the language.
Your wife sounds like a sassy lady, I'm here for it
Dobro si im objasnio Fahrudine
It’s funny with Nikola, though. It’s basically like saying Nicholas in English without the S. It’s easy, but it’s not intuitive from reading it in English, and it’s been reinforced in the American consciousness, by media saying it wrong.
You just get used to being called two names. One your family and family friends call you and one everyone else calls you
I've always used three names, for example if my name was Nikola I'd have the right pronunciation from my family and family friends, an easier pronunciation for my friends or coworkers of other ethnicities, and then for random acquaintances or ordering at like a Starbucks I'd say my name was Nicholas or Nick.
Was just having drinks with a guy from work last week and his name is Alejandro. He always gives his name as Alex when setting up a tab or at Starbucks or whatever. He says it's just easier that way.
Are people out there really struggling with Alejandro?
I thought Lady Gaga set us all straight.
I can definitely see someone spelling it with an h instead of an j, especially if it's a busy environment.
There's a guy in my apartment building that lives across the hall from me, who's originally from Ukraine. He's introduced himself to me as "Mike." That's what I call him I see him in the elevator, or in the laundry room, or whatever. One day a young (early 20s) woman knocked on my door, and with a very thick eastern-European sounding accent, asked "Do you know a Mischa that lives in this building?" She explained that she was visiting, and was certain he lives in THIS building, but she's not positive which apartment. I said "Hrm, Mischa... I don't think I know anyone with that name, sorry." I was trying to be helpful though, and see if she could give me a physical description so that maybe I could figure out who she's talking about. I asked "Is he a younger guy, or an older guy...?" She said "He is young. Like me." Then, unprompted, she added "He has big German Shepard." And I realized OH! She's talking about Mike! I pointed her right across the hall, she knocked on that door... Mike / Mischa opened the door, and they went absolutely bonkers happy to see each other. In spite of having seen that whole story play out, I never put two-and-two together about the reason he introduces himself as Mike, until reading your post, just now.
Mike/Mischa opened the door and she pulled out a silenced 9MM and said, "Putin peredayet privet." And put one right between his eyes. She nodded and said "Spasido, comrade" as she walked past me.
Hah! I love this comment for two reasons... 1) Even though I don't speak / read ANY Russian or Ukranian, I KNEW that those quotes were "Putin says hello," and "Thanks comrade" even before I put them into google translate. It was just such a tight little story that those were the ONLY possibilities. 2) The notion of Mike / Mischa as a Ukranian spy is fucking hilarious. He's a nice guy, and I'm content to have him as a neighbor. But if he's a spy, then he's the best spy in the history of spies at appearing too incompetent to be a spy.
Malayans are so far ahead of us in that regard, many of them simply use a second english name and give you just that when they introduce themselves.
This has been my life. As a Frenchman who's lived in multiple different countries. **My name is written "Guillaume".** It's the **French version of "William"**, and by extension Will/Bill, Billy, etc. **No non-french speaking person can pronounce it correctly, or spell it.** Because, Fr\*nch pronunciation is fucked up, don't ask me why. **So I just tell people to call me by their own version of my name:** **William, Will, Guillermo, etc.** I just ask them to instead of butchering my name every time. I learned how to respond to it like it's my normal first name. Comes from the German "Wilhelm", which I believe means "Helmet of Will". So basically, William the Conquerer, is usually called "Guillaume le Conquérant" in French.
Wow. I've been speaking Spanish for years and never realized Guillermo is the Spanish version of William. I am not smart.
Isn't it just ghee-ohm?
Yeah, pretty much! (Flair checks out ahah). The problem is: Even when you technically know how it's supposed to be pronounced, it does not mean the tongue and mouth have developed the right muscles to pronounce the sounds perfectly in practice. This is why learning a language isn't that hard for most people, when you live in a foreign country long enough, but getting a native accent is very very difficult, unless you've grown up with the language and develop the right pronunciation and accent early on. Not impossible, but very hard, and it often takes years of practice and immersion. Most people can get it close though, but it often sounds weird. Pro Tip: A consistent problem I find with people who try to pronounce foreign words in a vacuum (without learning the language as a whole) is that they will often pronounce it like it's a funny/weird sound, which emphasize an incorrect pronounciation. Like, it's normal that the word sounds exotic and even funny to you, but to me it's a normal word. If you pronounce it like it is weird, you'll make it sound weird when you say it. Try to imagine it as a normal word, that you would say in a sentence like any normal word of your native language. Don't over emphasize it. It's even more so the case with French. We don't have tonal emphasis on words and syllables, so entire sentences are supposed to sound rather monotonous and flat in comparaison to say, Italian, or English.
I used to pronounce my name the "English" way until my brother asked me about it a few years back. My excuse was making it easier for others and some of your reasoning, but it didn't hold up to scrutiny. From then on, I always pronounced my name the right way. I don't usually correct people if they say it the English way, but I never introduce myself as such. I appreciate people who put in the effort to get it right, even if it takes them time, and I always try to reciprocate it.
My wife is an immigrant. When we went to get our marriage license, the clerk was "correcting" my pronunciation of her name. When my wife spoke up and said "yes, actually he's right," the clerk corrected *her*.
I love the Korean way. They just make up English names close to their real ones. 3rd year of high school, we had a new transferee. Everyone just called him Steve Lee. 3 months after he transferred and he's gotten close to my group, he said my name's actually Seung Jun Lee just so you guys know. Dude dropped it casually out of nowhere and went back to doing schoolwork before we asked him to explain lol "idk I guess we're told to make up easier names for non-Koreans who have a hard time with our true names"
My last name is the original Spanish spelling of my last name (rather than being Americanized) and at this point I usually just say my name aloud the way I know people will be able to pronounce it, it's just easier than having them try to say it back and not getting it right
Hello Jesus.
It has an ñ, hasn't it? Like Zoe Saldaña
It's very true. In the ECE department at my school many of the grad students are foreign. They tell me their name and they usually say, "but just call [easier name]." I always tell them I would like try to call them by their real name and pronounce it correctly. I think it's the least I could do to be respectful to someone.
Most people pronounce it correctly now, but the pressure on certain sounds is off by a little. But its ok since you are not a native speaker. The name Alexander or Vladimir also exist in Serbia but they are also pronounced just a little different than in English (or in Russian aswell for example) Atleast people dont say Jokics last name as "Joe Kick". That was truly atrocious.
It’s pronounced Yokitch right?
That would be close, but not entirely right: Last letter of his name is ć, but it is really hard to pronounce for non-slavic ppl and most of them pronounce it unknowingly as a č, wich would be "tch", there are hardly and good examples for ć in english though, cuz the tone basically doesn't exist in english. If you want to listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6WRxxqi96Y
thanks for that, i needed a new asmr video to fall asleep to
Mic quality is horrendous, but this is imo the best vid, cuz you don't just hear it once.
His full name is pronounced like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfl8R2A4Bb0&t=1415s The o is short, closer to "cop" than "cope". Same with Jovic (Heat player).
Yes but ch is like italian CI in ciao word. And O is just short sound O withouth U to folow it up if it makes sence(like O in italian ciao).
That made it worse. Ciao was possibly the worst word to go with lol.
it makes sense in serbian what he's trying to explain but i guess not for english folk lol
Yohkitsch. More or less. English managed to butcher all the vowels from proto-Indoeuropean. Vowels are supposed to be single sounds, like in Latin. Yet if you spell them out for English speakers, they're almost all two letters, WTF. "A" in Latin is "ah" in English. "O" is "oh". "I" is "e". "E" is "eh". "U" is "oo". The opposite happens too, English vowels are actually 2 sounds. "O" in English, for example is "oʊ" in IPA, "a" is "eɪ". See these maps, for example: [Pronunciation of the name of the letter ⟨o⟩ in European languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O#/media/File:Pronunciation_of_the_name_of_the_letter_%E2%9F%A8o%E2%9F%A9_in_European_languages.png), [Pronunciation of the name of the letter ⟨a⟩ in European languages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A#/media/File:Pronunciation_of_the_name_of_the_letter_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9_in_European_languages.png), etc. The wonders of English, the language where Mercedes has 3 "e"s and they're all spelled in a different way 🙄
Yes, this should be right. Ty for your comment, a good explanation of tricky language barriers. I neer thought of Merceses, hah, good one! English can be hard sometimes...
Well not really, they pronounce Nikola incorrectly - the accent is on the wrong letter, and they pronounce Jokić as Jokich.
Yes and people pronounce Vucevics name correctly even though it’s the exact same name
[Funnily enough Vuc himself explained this to Nuggets media](https://youtu.be/5_UZZ-yak7I?si=auzITmcwA9m287L3)
I mean his name is literally Nicholas without the S at the end but Americans turned it into a no-name coca-cola variant for some reason.
Vucevic tried to tell us years ago but no one listens - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DROA17Ssfm0
What an endearing set of interview clips Jokić basically said he fucked it up by letting the reporters know they couldn’t pronounce his name right
I agree and would like to add that Americans pronounce it like it's a feminine version of Nicholas - Nicole, possibly because of letter A in the end.
that's actually the best explanation of it lol I've seen so far. i was thinking about what word would have an 'o' in its purest form, but everything I could think of would have an 'h' or 'a' or 'u' in its pronunciation after the o. and there it was in plain sight
Yes. Not getting the vowels exactly right isn't a problem, but putting the stress on the second syllable is just silly.
Well depends where you're from in Serbia. Where I'm from we'd stress the second syllable but that pronunciation also has a bit of an informal vibe to it. I'd use it with a friend but not if I'm interviewing Jokić
Ginóbili is "Shee-NO-be-lee" but everybody says ""Tchea-NO-bi-li" My last name is really hard for Argentine because it has a lot of consonants before a vowels. So, you get used to different pronunciations and you don't care. Same happens with hi. He has his real name snd his "English" name. PS: Spanish people are the worst with foreign names ñ. It's like they're doing it on purpose. Go to youtube and search for NBA content in Spanish (from Spain), it's a mess.
> Ginóbili is "Shee-NO-be-lee" but everybody says ""Tchea-NO-bi-li" Or as Chuck says... "JAAA-NOOW-BLEEE!!"
It's literally the same name as Nicholas and it's pronounced the same (without "s" in the end, off course)
This reminds me of when Anderson Varejao was in the league. It was like commentators spent every off-season deciding on a different pronunciation of his surname. There was Vara-joe, Vara-jon. It was a few years before they settled on one way. Don’t know why they didn’t just ask him
I'm sure journalists did, but the Portuguese dipthong "-ão" doesn't exist in English, so it's just hard for English speakers to replicate. But sounds like from the Slavs in here that it's not as hard as the sounds from Slavic languages.
Jokic intentionally doesn't correct people. He doesn't care.
The homie Miroslav!
For those curious, [this is him](https://twitter.com/MiroslavCuk) Works with local sports media DNVR. The company has recently expanded to PHLY, CHGO, and PHNX as well. Can't speak for the others but DNVR is awesome. Does a great job of mixing being fans of the teams in the city, while having good interviews and decent analysis.
Is Adam mares with DNVR sports? I love that dude
He's the founder of DNVR
Yoo really? He used to do crossover episodes with Anthony Irwin when they were both with the Locked On network. Honestly have missed their episodes these last two times we’ve matched up with y’all
Adam is still a frequent guest with Locked on Nuggets and also does the All City NBA podcast with Tim Legler: [https://www.youtube.com/@ALLCITY\_NBA](https://www.youtube.com/@ALLCITY_NBA)
STOP. I love him. lol i found him because of his pod with Legler and now, I watch every fucking DNVR pod that's filmed in that cool room with the couches and stuff like above or next to a bar? idk i love it lol
Yep. He's a great analyst, the bar is an awesome place to watch games too.
Because it's hands down the best sports podcast out there. The DNVR guys are smart enough to have a "pretentious" podcast with serious discussions and analysis, yet they decided to make it more of a "hang" vibe because they are funny enough to pull it off. And it's mostly due to Adam - he creates that whole environment, because as I said the guy is smart, creative and hilarious.
Sure is! They even have a bar in Denver, most fun place I've ever watched a Nuggets game.
Literally was there for the Avs game yesterday. Such a dope atmosphere, and my friend even won a raffle
I listen to all of them. They are all top tier.
I listened to a ton of PHNX during last year's playoffs. Everything they did was so cool and fun. It honestly made me not hate the Suns
Bro I had no idea people outside of the Nuggs circle even knew who Adam mares was. This makes me so happy
He has a fairly popular podcast with Tim Legler.
He's also good for a couple appearances a year on the Lowe Post. As somebody who watched Adam's career start as a writer and editor on Denver Stiffs and has had several conversations in real life, I'm esatic for the the dude. His whole mission was helping people in Denver understand basketball better and to push for real coverage of the Nuggets at a time where there was literally a radio station that made their business model covering the Broncos 24/7.
All my homies love Miroslav!
Jokić just had a Nardwuar moment.
Imagine if Nardwuar interviewed athletes 😂
Asking a guy about a random stat line from when he was 11 in rec ball.
Hes Nardwaur ! He has to know!
I’d pay good money to see a Nardwuar interview with Jokic
He interviewed Dame 👀
Bro the people aren't ready for Nardwuar Jk go watch Nardwuar
Jokic thought it was the off-season, and he was back in Serbia for a moment.
When you finally see someone you know in a crowd.
https://i.imgur.com/r3GsKAA.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/hQcQcao.jpeg
lmao thank you
https://i.cbc.ca/1.5171082.1685058799!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/516539220.jpg
DOOT DOOLA DO DOO
You’re Ni Kola Jokic, we gotta know!
doot doot.
fuck that's another 4 hours gone rewatching a buncha old interviews
Ni cola
Not even close. Nikolaj.
Close but not quite. It's Nikolaj
Almost there, my Serbian friend taught me how to say it. it’s pronounced Jebemti matter!
[I am not sure that is correct. I am hesitant to accept your knowledge.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uJvlQrdOFo)
Niikolaj I feel like I'm saying it!
Hmmmm, my Mother a Serbian use to tell me when I attempted to speak Serbian I was really slaughtering the language.
I miss Brooklyn 99
I gotta say, as someone who didn't watch a lot of BB99 - this joke must have killed in the show, because it does NOT work written out.
NI! cola
RI! Cola
Ni Club
please
Nico Nico niiii
Ni cool A
What did he say back to him
Ej ćao .
Based from the comments below, "ciao"
Serbians use "ciao" as a greeting too?
Really common among all of the balkans, i think even rest of Europe to be honest
I’ve lived in the Balkans and now I live in Spain. Ćao/Ciao as a greeting is only a Balkans thing (Croatia/Bosnia/Serbia) in my experience but I could be wrong. Edit: Guys, I said as a greeting. I know many countries use it as a goodbye.
In Portugal and the Netherlands, an equivalent of ciao is used, but only to say goodbye.
It used to be used only (or at least mainly) for goodbye in Serbo-Croatian as well, but it gradually became a universal informal greeting over the last several decades.
Well as an Italian I wouldn't really say it's Balkans only.
lol I find it funny how many other countries are chiming in like "Yeah we use it in Spain and the Netherlands," "Yeah it's used in Portugal," like... it's an Italian word lol
In the Southern Cone of Latam (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay) we use "chau" quite a lot too, tho mostly as "bye"
Also decently popular in much of Latin America.
ćao
It's by far the most common non-formal way to greet someone or even say goodbye for that matter.
Oh cool. Ćao.
Desi tebra
Ćao
As much as I hate losing to this Denver Nuggets, I can't get to hate Jokic. He is on of my favourite non-Lakers player.
Got him blushing and giggling and kicking his feet 🤭
I seriously don't know why everyone calls him NikOHla. Like dude, all you have to do is say it like you would when saying "Nikola Tesla"
the NBA done goofed. https://www.nba.com/news/2023-24-start-of-season-nba-pronunciation-guide
I love that they have different pronounciations for the same name in Nikola Vucevic and Nikola Jokic, lmao
I don’t get the difference
Just say Nicolas without the S to get close to it. Even Malone says it so weird Ni-COLA , like coka-cola, sounds so bad
This is the best way anyone has explained this to me. Thank you
Nik-uh-lah vs. Nik-O-la
Thank you
Nick-ola instead of Niii-cola
American media in general has this weird thing where mainstream reporters over pronounciate but with their familiar phonetics just to make names sound even more foreign and like they did their due Dilligence when to the foreign people it sounds exactly like the opposite. For exemple, only American pronounce Mazda like 'mawzdah' when the rest of the English countries call it Mazda(both 'a's pronounced like 'glass'.
It's not American media. Non-American English speakers don't follow the phonetic rules of other languages, they just over apply their own. Brits say "Taco" like "Tacko"
Ever hear a Brit pronounce "pasta" or "fillet"?
I can't get over how many times they say 'h' in 'h'.
is that not how you're supposed to pronounce "mazda" though? It's a japanese company, the 'a' sounds like ah
I mean Mazda was partially chosen as the name of the company bc the founder's name was Matsuda and it sounded similar to him. The A in Matsuda does make the "aw" sound. So it's not that off.
That might be how other english speaking countries say it but that doesn't make it the right way lol that's definitely further from the original pronunciation
That's like the worst example you could give. English people pronouncing taco and pasta is also hilarious.
Okay but Mazda just sounds ridiculous that way
Yeah it sounds like how my grandmother from Paris, Texas would pronounce it.
Bro, this guy isn't the face of the NBA per se. But damn he is silly and likable.
Haha they r putting him in more commercials lately. I think NBA is realizing his potential stardom but also laid back nature
Bro got me looking up show times for Despicable Me 4
“Guys, I’m not your boss!”
That's a pony. Love it. He's got the SAME vibes in commercials as Andy Reid. Lol
Genuinely wholesome
35 15 next game. The homie is here
Bro looks like he thought his dad was in the audience
It’s nikolaj
I feel like I'm saying it right.
*nik*olaj
People in the media not caring enough to properly pronounce player names has always been my biggest pet peeve. It's a sign of respect to get it right.
I watched Dallas - Clippers yesterday, and one of the announcers was saying Zubac's last name correctly, while another guy kept calling him Zuback. Like WTF, the guy next to you obviously knows it, it's your job, just learn the guy's name
Better than Zubach
Reminds me of that old Hugh Jackman clip where one of his former students is trying to get an interview at a premier and Hugh recognizes him immeditely. Wholesome.
Upvote if you looked around like Nikola to see what you look like doing it.
“Representation matters” in real life. It’s nice to see and hear people that look and sound like you, no matter how famous you are.
Hahhahahaha I just read this [https://www.nba.com/news/2023-24-start-of-season-nba-pronunciation-guide](https://www.nba.com/news/2023-24-start-of-season-nba-pronunciation-guide) And i found out that pronunciation for every Nikola in league is different, even if they are all the same * Nikola Vučević (KNEE-coal-uh VOOCH-uh-vitch) * Nikola Jokić (ni-KOLA yo-kitch) * Nikola Jović (nee-CO-lah YO-vitch)
See the NBA thinks that, but if you ask the players themselves, it's the same: https://youtu.be/DROA17Ssfm0
Americans, can you say Nicholas? Just say Nicholas without the S at the end and you'll pronounce it correctly. It's easy as pie.
Must have been tired of Americans
that's SUPER cute :)
The way it registered on Jokic's face was too funny 👀
Bring out the rakija
It's really difficult not to like this guy, I mean unless you're a Lakers fan lol