English Pronunciation of Non-English Things
Discussion
I caught an advert about authentic Indian food, and the guy doing the voice-over threw in a [something] ma-car-nee.
Makhani is derived from Makhan (which translates to buttermilk). Makhan is pronounced, 'mukhun'. Therefore, makhani is pronounced 'mukhunee', such as butter chicken.
The same goes for samosa. It's not a samosa; it's a s'm-oss-ah.
English speakers also often mispronounce bruschetta because they pronounce the "sch" sound as "sh", as is typical of the English language. In Italian the "ch" always produces a "k" sound. Therefore, the correct pronunciation of bruschetta in Italian is broo-skett-ah.
There are many other examples. I suppose it helps if you speak the language? If not, perhaps a little effort into learning correct pronunciation? We seem to have managed to master je ne sais quoi without sounding like a complete idiot, as we have mangetout without sounding like Del Boy.
Indian and Italian words (especially in food) are fairly common. Should we be making more of an effort to pronounce them authentically/correctly? Then again, it does throw you off a bit when someone speaking perfect English mentions an Italian village (or dish) but does so authentically.
The 'macarney' thing has annoyed me. So now we have people ordering or cooking 'Indian' macarnies and not one 'authentic' Indian has any idea what it is.
By nature, we usually mimic our subjects, so why aren't we coping with better pronunciation of daal makhani, bruschetta, croissant et al?
Makhani is derived from Makhan (which translates to buttermilk). Makhan is pronounced, 'mukhun'. Therefore, makhani is pronounced 'mukhunee', such as butter chicken.
The same goes for samosa. It's not a samosa; it's a s'm-oss-ah.
English speakers also often mispronounce bruschetta because they pronounce the "sch" sound as "sh", as is typical of the English language. In Italian the "ch" always produces a "k" sound. Therefore, the correct pronunciation of bruschetta in Italian is broo-skett-ah.
There are many other examples. I suppose it helps if you speak the language? If not, perhaps a little effort into learning correct pronunciation? We seem to have managed to master je ne sais quoi without sounding like a complete idiot, as we have mangetout without sounding like Del Boy.
Indian and Italian words (especially in food) are fairly common. Should we be making more of an effort to pronounce them authentically/correctly? Then again, it does throw you off a bit when someone speaking perfect English mentions an Italian village (or dish) but does so authentically.
The 'macarney' thing has annoyed me. So now we have people ordering or cooking 'Indian' macarnies and not one 'authentic' Indian has any idea what it is.
By nature, we usually mimic our subjects, so why aren't we coping with better pronunciation of daal makhani, bruschetta, croissant et al?
Paella. Pronounced pah-EH-yah, this is how I ordered it in a gastro pub recently. The waitress looked at me as if I had grown a second nose, I pointed on the menu and she said "Oh you mean pah:ELL:ah!" No dear, that's not what I meant at all but please just bring me my food. Muscles were overdone and mushy and the rest tasted like a packet mix, really wish I hadn't bothered 
Glassman said:
Should we be making more of an effort to pronounce them authentically/correctly?
In short no.When I go abroad, or speak to foreigners they pronounce my name completely different. Especially the French. They know they are changing my name, but prefer to pronounce it in their tongue. That's fine with me, it's their voice, their interpretation.
Speak to an America, ask them how to pronounce Aluminium. What about a Jaguar? Not everybody has to speak the same,. How boring would that be.
Let individuals speak words that sits well with their accent pallet.
I remember hearing a random brummy on a train throw a very very French "Pain-au-chocolat" into his sentence and it just came across as pretentious to me. Again, his voice, he can do as he pleases.
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