[Nagoyankee]

I have to mention why nicknames have been necessary for 'McDonald's' in Japan.

While it's only a 3-syllable word to all of you English speakers, it becomes a 6-syllable one when uttered within the Japanese sound system, which is Ma-ku-do-na-ru-do. As you can imagine, that is way too long a name to call a burger joint with all the time.

So the Kanto people shortened it to Makku, and the Kansai folks created Makudo. Why the difference? Well, if you speak enough Japanese ,you will know that each nickname can blend in better with its "mother" dialect. I know Makku sounds pretty curt to the Kansai ear, and Makudo sounds very foreign in Tokyo with the way it's pronounced in Kansai with the accent on the 'ku'.