Pronouncing the word "Geep"

Please excuse me if this seems petty or childish but I was very adamantly corrected this weekend by a railfan who insisted it is pronounced "Gheep". We all have our pet peeves and this one is mine, the infamous GP-series EMD locomotives, GP7-GP60 all inclusive, the General Purpose Workhorse of many a railroad, is a GEEP, pronounced JEEP.

Thank you for allowing my stupid little rant.

Dave
 

RobertInOntario

Active Member
I've actually wondered this! I've always pronounced it "JEEP" (similar to the SUV) and so I talk about "JEEP 7s" and "JEEP 18s," etc. But then I've heard other people pronounce/say the actual letters followed by the number. So I believe I'm pronouncing it correctly! Rob
 

CRed

Member
It only makes sense that you pronounce it "JEEP" since like it's WW2 namesake was built to be an general-purpose vehicle.That's my take on it and if someone doesn't like it they can kiss my behind:).

Chris
 

Pitchwife

Dreamer
Like the song says "You say tomAto, I say tomAWto." I've always pronounced it GHeep, but then I say KAyto instead of KAWto. :confused:

Of course I pronounced the software people McAAfee until I saw an ad of theirs on TV that corrected me to pronounce it MAKafee. :eek:

Perhaps the only way to settle it is to contact an official from the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors to find out. :rolleyes:
 

N Gauger

1:20.3 Train Addict
I always thought it an "age' thing.. If you're over 40 - it's Jeep... like the Army.. The young people can pronounce it any way they please...

Tomato toMAHtoe :D :D :D
 
Like the song says "You say tomAto, I say tomAWto." I've always pronounced it GHeep, but then I say KAyto instead of KAWto. :confused:

So what is the correct pronunciation of Kato? I've always wondered...

Oh, and BTW if you ever come to my house and call my GP7 a GHEEP I certainly won't correct you, I will know what you are talking about. I think what burned my butt was how this person had the "You're wrong, I'm right" attitude. Maybe I'm displaying the same attitude by posting this but I always thought it was universally known to be pronounced Jeep.

Please excuse my little rant, mods if you want you can close/delete the thread.
 

steamhead

Active Member
My $.02 worth....If I'm referring to the class as a whole, I say "Jeeps"...If I'm referring to a particular one (as in GP-20), I say GeePee twenty....
 

Pitchwife

Dreamer
So what is the correct pronunciation of Kato? I've always wondered...
The thing I learned about names is that they can be pronounced any way the person/company wants, regardless of the spelling. A person who spells their name S-M-I-T-H can pronounce it Jones of they so desire. :confused: :confused: :confused:

One of the first companies that I worked for made Business Communications products was Buscom, which they pronounced Bizcom.
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic

ghoti = fish

"gh" as in laugh,
"o" as in women,
and "ti" as in "motion"

Of course I have to take pronunciation advice from y'all south of the border with a grain of salt, since the thing on top of a house doesn't rhyme with "tough", the entry hall of a house doesn't rhyme with "lawyer"
and going further south, there's no "r" in wash or "oil" sign1
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
Oh, yes - in common railfan parlance, GP-7's, 9's etc are pronounced "jeep", and it is pronounced "Kay-tow" (you fool!).
 

brakie

Active Member
Actually it G-E-E-P pronounce Jeep.Its actually a play on words.

The story behind this is,EMD employees was forbidden to call the GP7 "Jeep" because that was a military vehicle.So,a P was added to GEE(as in GP) and pronouncing it "Geep".
And we know that Dick Dilworth's "ugly duckling" turned into a swan and the GEEP moniker lives on.
 

jbaakko

Active Member
I've never used "jeep" as I felt too many people confused it with the vehicles. But then again, I learned the terms though the internet.

I've always wondered though, if a GP is a Geep, then is an SD a Seed? sign1

Anyways, on the topic, is an SD90MAC or SD70MAC a "Mack" or "m. a. c."?
 

chooch.42

Member
jbaakko, you think like Steven Wright ! Never heard of "SeeD"s, but we called them SD80-MAC (mack),though M-A-C was understood even by NS management. On another term, "Tracks Ahead" host,Spencer Christian ALWAYS refers to Kayto (KAH-toe), if that confers authority. I always thought it was KAY-toe. Oh Well.... Bob C.
 
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