Pronunciation of "Wiki"

We were discussing the merits of buying a team collaboration tool (Confluence) today, when we were completely sidetracked by the pronouncation "wiki".

Most of the folks on the team say it's pronounced "whicky"; that's what Wikipedia calls it, Wikileaks, etc.

However, a few stalwarts insist that, since its etymology is Hawiian, it's actually pronounced "weekee". They say the "big brands" like Wikipedia who insist upon calling themselves "whicky-pee-dee-ah" don't change the fact that "wiki" is pronounced "weekee".

Anyway, given that this is a neologism, what's the proper pronuncation? Is it an accent/regional preference?

Solution 1:

I think if you were to pronounce it "weekee" you would either come off as being pedantic, or from another country with an adorable accent, or you would spend a lot of time explaining what you meant — to people who then would say, "Oh, you mean a wiki!"

I've given up on a lot of "correct" pronunciations. For example, the correct pronunciation for "acclimated" is uh•CLIMB•uh•ted, not ACK•luh•may•ted. But I've just grown weary of that discussion. And don't even get me started on American mispronunciations of Japanese words: the American SUE-moh instead of the Japanese s'MOH for sumo, harry-carry for the correct harakiri (as long as you pronounce the "r"s as soft taps of the tongue on the palate), etc.

Solution 2:

I would claim that they're two different words from two different languages. Wiki means quick. Wiki is used to refer to collaboratively edited media. They are two different things.

For the record, I live in Hawai'i and am fairly pedantic about my pronunciation, e.g. I pronounce Ho'okipa as Ho-o-kipa and not Ho-kipa as most hoales do or Hoo-kipa like the tourists do. i is definitely pronounced ee and your friends are definitely right about the Hawai'ian word. It has no bearing whatsoever. It's Wikipedia, not quick.

Solution 3:

There are plenty of words whose current pronunciation bears little or no relationship to their etymology. Personally I don't aspirate the "W" either, so I say it's "wick-ee".

Solution 4:

I think that Wiktionary is an adequate reference for this case: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wiki, http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wikipedia.