Learn English – Does everyone in the U.S. (and beyond?) pronounce “Buick” with the Spanish B/V, or is this a regional thing

pronunciation

There's a long and dry story to this, so I'll just get to the point and ask the question:

Does everyone in the U.S. (and beyond?) pronounce the beginnng of the word "Buick" with the "Spanish" combination B/V sound, or is this a regional thing?

That is, when I hear people mention this make of car, it sounds as if they begin the word with a sound that is a cross between the letters B and V, so that you could just as easily think the person were saying either "View-ick" or "Byoo-
ick" but you're not sure which one they intend.

This is the only "English" (?) word I've ever noticed with its "B" being pronounced in the Spanish ("B = V = B", or "B = BV") fashion.

Is this a common anomaly (IOW, is it pronounced that way throughout the US or even the world)? If not, what is the usual way of pronouncing it? If what I've heard is a regionalism, how wide is that region (perhaps limited to northern
California)?

Best Answer

I've always heard it pronounced "Byoo-ick." Without exception. This also seems to agree: http://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/buick