RJM
Don't Worry, Be Happy!
As for Nikon, I've heard Japanese checking in for a flight talking about their "N-eye-kons" but also their "Nih-kor" lenses. Apparently the double consanant after the vowel makes is short when translated to American/English. But then.....toe-may-toe, toe-mah-toe....
I suspect you either overheard an Asian you thought was Japanese or a clever Japanese using the "American" pronuciation so he could be understood.
The Japanese language is syllabic and as such spelling mistakes are rare if not impossible (though there are hundreds of characters that can be misread!). Nikon (knee-kon) is written in Japanese with 3 characters representing ni-ko-n. The American pronunciation would require to be written as n-a-i-ko-n, which is nonsensical in Japanese.
The US education system just inparts the use of long vowels while most of the world uses short vowels. Even the Brits get it almost right with nik-kon but put their characteristic accent on it.
happy new year!
Rick