Máistir Nádúraí: How do you pronounce it?

6.28.2009

How do you pronounce it?

I use a Swarovski AT80 HD spotting scope for digiscoping and a Swarovski 8x32 EL as my primary birding binocular. Working at Eagle Optics for nearly a decade, I thought I would share some of the ways I've heard 'swarovski' mispronounced over the years. The variety seems almost endless and perhaps it contributes something to the mystique of Swarovski in the optics and crystal markets. It's probably easiest to break down these offenses by syllable mispronunciations, but I'm sure I haven't covered the full realm. One of the most bizarre ways I've heard 'swarovski' mispronounced is 'swarovstika.' This is awful because it's actually a Polish name, though the company is headquartered in Austria.

1st syllable (rhymes with):

Sah - la

Zah - la

Sha - la

Svar - bar
Swar - bar

Zwar -bar

Swarv -bar

Svarv - bar

Shwar - bar

Skar - bar

Shar - bar

Shore - or

Swore - or

Shwor - or

2st syllable rhyme (sometimes omitted!):

Ov - of

Oh - owe

Voh - owe

Aw - draw

Ah - la

Var - car

Off - cough

Koff - cough

3rd syllable rhyme (least amount of variants):

Skee - knee

Skees - knees

Combining the three syllables, we get examples like:

Shore • var • skee

Sha • var • skee

Shwar • koff • skee

Zah • var • skee

Zwar • voh • skee

Shar • ov • skee

Swar • skees (second syllable omitted)

Shore • skee (second syllable omitted)

Bio:

Mike McDowell has been documenting southern Wisconsin’s flora and fauna since 1987 and began leading field trips in 2002. Prolific at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, other highlighted natural areas include Pope Farm Conservancy, Spring Green Preserve, and the Baraboo Hills. His nature photography has appeared in various publications, newspapers, magazines and was even featured on a Wisconsin Endangered Resources license plate, a Capital Brewery beer label, and a National Geographic publication. He began journaling nature observations on this blog in 2005. He's the recipient of the 2012 Bronze Passenger Pigeon Award from the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their local communities or state to promote the field of ornithology. He was a finalist in Swarovski’s Digiscoper of the Year photography contest several times. His other interests include insect macro-photography (especially tiger beetles, treehoppers, and robber flies), fossil collecting, amateur astronomy, botany, natural history, and marksmanship with long-range rifles. Once a gigging musician, collecting Fender Stratocasters is a recently revived interest—most prized being a 1957 Vintage Custom Shop 'Mary Kaye' White Blonde. A former IT Professional, he's spent the last 24 years employed in the sport optics industry.