Ee-moo vs. Ee-mew

Last weekend, in a radio news report about a missing emu in the US, an American journalist referred to the bird as ‘ee-moo’ instead of the Australian pronunciation of ‘ee-mew’.  When this was pointed out, at first the journalist defended the pronunciation.  That led to a mix of outrage and passionate debate across the media. 

In the words of one Australian reporter:

Even though you admit that the Oxford Dictionary states that the correct pronunciation is "ee-mew", you still think you're right? You can't just rule that a word is pronounced a certain way.

Do we go around changing how to pronounce American bald eagle? No. So, lay off our national bird.

Meanwhile, in a brilliant tit-for-tat move, Tourism Australia put out this website that offers an emu’s take on pronouncing American names, places, and things.

Finally, on a discussion on Australian breakfast news, that also featured the owner of the emu, the American journalist acknowledged the possibility of change:

I have a feeling that this week we may gather together, sit in a circle and hold hands and really look into our souls and try to figure out if ‘ee-mew’ should be the proper pronunciation from this point forward.  I'm guessing, based on the reaction we have had and the fact that I don't want to cause an international rift, I think henceforth, from now on, it shall be ‘ee-mew’.

In contrast, the US embassy in Australia, which also had something to say on the matter, stated its intent for change a lot more clearly, when it tweeted this:

After much community consultation, the U.S. Mission Australia will be adopting the ee-mew pronunciation in all future emu-related alliance matters #USwithAUS

Last but not the least, the emu that went missing, and which goes by the name of Winston Charles Featherbill, has a Twitter account via which its own reaction to all of this was expressed.