AAJA and ABC Tangle Over Pronunciation of "Sikh"

Sept. 12, 2008

After research with the Sikh community and scholars, AAJA apologizes to Mr. Burkett and advises members to pronounce the word "sickh."

Sept. 8, 2008

N.J. Burkett, Correspondent, Eyewitness News, WABC-TV, responds to AAJA in a letter, indicating that his pronunciation is correct and demanding an apology from AAJA.

August 22, 2008

AAJA National President Jeanne Mariani-Belding sent the following letter informing the television station on errors made during a specific broadcast.

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August 12, 2008

N.J. Burkett
WABC-TV
7 Lincoln Square
New York, NY 10023-6201

Dear Mr. Burkett:

It has come to our attention here at the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) that in your broadcast Friday night (August 8, 2008) involving the man found dead on a New York street, you mispronounced an important part of the story, the word "Sikh," which represented the victim's religious background. Some viewers felt that your mispronunciation of the word "Sikh" as "sick," rather than "seek," was inappropriate.

We do not believe you intended anything negative at all. But, we feel that in covering minority ethnic, religious and racial communities, we as journalists should be extra careful to properly pronounce important words that are pertinent to the story.

Properly pronouncing words not only shows respect to the community you are covering, but it also does a public service by informing the viewers and conveying to them the correct way to pronounce terms.

Again, we only offer this as an informational note—if you have any questions on pronunciation of Asian names or words for future reports, AAJA would be more than happy to serve as a resource.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Mariani-Belding
AAJA National President

CC:
Rebecca Campbell, President and General Manager
Kenny Plotnik, ABC News Director