International thoughts

Today I saw a colleague standing in line at a restaurant at lunch today, and when I mentioned to him later that I'd seen him at "Restaurant X," he didn't understand me and was confused. Why? Because I pronounced the name of the restaurant correctly instead of using the common, Americanized pronunciation.

Thus we have the topic of today's rant: American ignorance about common foreign word pronunciations.

Many Americans can't seem to deal with common food words from Romance languages such as Italian and French. Considering that well over a third of English comes from French (thank William the Conqueror in 1066), I find that perplexing. Yes, I know it may be a losing battle, but I'm well known for tilting at windmills in support of propriety.

Some words we have mastered. Everyone knows that we order out for "PEET-zah," not "PIH-zah." We understand that that bunch of flowers we give our beloved is not a "BOW-ket," it's a "boo-KAY." We've managed to learn enough Spanish to know that a tilde--the squiggly line over some Ns, as in ñ--makes an N sound like an "ny" and we also know that Js are pronounced like Hs, so some of us eat "hal-a-PAIN-yos" instead of "jal-a-PEE-nos."

So, it's really just not that hard. We just have to take the time to avoid ignorance and learn the pronunciation of those words.

Here is a list of my 2006 ten most immediate culinary pronunciation pet peeves.

1. Espresso. You know, that strong stuff you get at Starbucks in the little cups. Please note that there is no X in the word. Therefore, it is "ess-PRESS-so" (don't forget the double S).

2. Bruschetta. In Italian, a "ch" before an E is pronounced like a K, so don't say "brew-shet-uh," say "bruce-KET-tah."

3. Panini. A sandwich in Italy is called a "panino." Words that end in O are made plural by changing the O to an I, not by adding an S to the end of the word. Thus, if you want only one sandwich, order a panino. If you want two sandwiches, order two panini (puh-KNEE-knee). Never, ever order two paninis!

4. Guacamole. The green stuff is properly called "HWAH-kah-moh-lay." No G. And, before arguing with me about different Spanish national dialects, let me point out that the name "guacamole" comes from Mexican Spanish via the Nahuatl (Aztec language) ahuacamOlli, from ahuacatl (="avocado") + mOlli (="sauce").

5. Croque monsiuer. This delicious ham and cheese sandwich is a "croak miss-SURE," not "CROW-kay MON-sewer!"

6. Au jus. When asking the chef to put a little of the natural juices on your prime rib, please don't ask for "ow juice sauce." It is "oh ZHEW," and you needn't say sauce.

7. Dom Perignon. I will always remember the scene (amongst many others!) in the movie Misery where Kathy Bates tells the captive James Caan that she has brought him his favorite champagne, "dahm per-RIG-non." When I'm at a nice restaurant, I'll order "dome pear-in-YOHN" (although I really do prefer Perrier-Jouet Fleur).

8. Crêpe. One of those fancy, thin, French pancakes is not a "krayp." It's a "krehp." Further, whether there's one or two, the plural crêpes is still pronounced "krehp."

9. The restaurant chain Così, according to the company's own Web site, takes its name from the Mozart opera Così Fan Tutte. That means we use the Italian pronunciation of così, which makes the S a Z sound. Thus, we eat at "co-ZEE."

10. The bakery chain Au Bon Pain is not "ow bone pain!" It's French, which means the phrase is said "oh boh PAY," with a touch of nasality on "pay."

Finally, please be aware of double consonants in Italian words, and always pronounce them! There is a big difference between pera (pear) and perra (whore) and between anno (year) and ano (anus)!

I hope that this little rant will help all of you become more erudite and cosmopolitan, thus avoiding any future faux pas (foe PAW), etc. (ET SET-er-ah). I now hope that we can adjourn this cyberclass sine die (SEE-nay DEE-ay).

Bone swarr!