to be really annoyed by this - yes I am but no more silly than the "tescos" issue

[vezzie]

I cannot bear it when a certain kind of person uses a horrible stylised very English "European" pronunciation of a single randomly isolated sound within a borrowed word

EG people who say "resterONG" in the most utterly English accent - either say "restront" like it's a normal English word (which it is) or use a proper French accent (which you can't because you are so posh and xenophobic your hearing is atrophied when it comes to picking up or reproducing linguistic nuances).

Similarly, "conchairto". Either say it in English or Italian, don't stick a random vowel in the middle of the word like greasy sundried tomatoes in a limp-lettuce-and-boiled-egg salad that are somehow supposed to make the whole thing magically Tuscan, or something.

That is all.

[RambleOn]

Par don?

[MadameDefarge]

eh?

not feelng very inclusive of variety in the English language tonight, are we?

[onebatmother]

snigger at your brio, esp the sundried/lettuce/egg combo.

lol at conchairto which is indeed vile.
My personal favourite is dooble ontonder..

but, a propos of resterong, au contraire - that's just wrong, surely? More like restauron with a quiet n?

[DollyPardonme]

ee-ueyoi-eh?

Pardong moi de la spiking.

[Scorpette]

Erm, you are very misguided. Restaurant is a FRENCH word, not an English one (although I presume you mean that it has become totally anglicised) and 'restront' is the wrong pronunciation in both English AND French! There are 3 syllables in there: 'Resterornt' with an English accent, 'rrresterauhn' with a French one. Pronouncing it 'resterornt' or 'resterong', as you spell it, is actually a much more correct and standard pronunciation than 'restront'.

And many Italians pronounce concerto as 'concheeairtow' or 'consheeairtow'.

Sorry, but you've dropped a clanger on this one.

[DollyPardonme]

tres seriouse, n'est-pas, Scorpet?

[MadameDefarge]

well said, scorpette.

[MadameDefarge]

moi, I find it most annoying when zeez Eeenglish pense zat zey own the beoootiful words us French gave to you....tiens! ca m'en fiche!

[DollyPardonme]

ok then enjoy "le weekend", MDF

[MadameDefarge]

I am with the Acadamie Francaise on this one, Mme Dolly, the bastardisation of the La Langue Francaise with these excrable anglicisms... sacre bleu!

[bumsrush]

Oh weel I annoyingly pronounce random pastas in an Italian accent.

[MadameDefarge]

That is only polite, in my book!

[bumsrush]

I can't say tortelloni in a scottish accent .

[MadameDefarge]

I was brought up to speak French with a Belfast accent. My mother had a warped sense of humour. Joke is, I can still do it, but can't speak English like that anymore!

[MadameDefarge]

I do believe that the scots accent and the french and italian accents have many cadences in common

[DollyPardonme]

oh, quelle 'orreur.

[bumsrush]

And they all love us scots ;P

[MadameDefarge]

ahem, wanders, even

[MadameDefarge]

has the OP deserted this fascinating debate on European language usage?

[Scorpette]

Dolly Pardonne, I am, 'ow you say... 'ze massive pedant'.

I restrained myself earlier today when I was in a supermarket I've never been to before and I asked if they had any tortillas (tor-teeyas). The girl replied, 'it's pronounced TOR-tiller' (like 'door killer'), in a voice that clearly indicated she thought I was a cretin. SIGH!

[MIFLAW]

Personally I hate people who say restauranteur.

It's restaurateur - "celui qui restaure (et dont le service est restaurant)".

Or you could just stop being a ponce and say "restaurant owner" like normal people do.

MIFLAW's rule #1 - if you're going to be a ponce, at least get it right.

[MIFLAW]

FWIW I agree with the OP and think (s)he has been misjudged.

I think she's saying, either go for it and get the accent right or stick to your normal English accent - don't hedge your bets.

I am only just getting over the urge to stab people who ask for a lartay in Caffe Nero.

[vezzie]

MIFLAW, there is no need to fight that urge.

Madame, I do not object to pronouncing borrowed words in the accent of the place they come from - I just object to using a self righteous and complacent English accent with a weird, but unmistakably English, vowel thrown in.

This is done by two sorts of people: old-school non-arty dim/posh doing it as class signifier; and new-school, young, "I-am-the-only-person-who-has travelled", faux-cosmopolitan-dim, the sort of people who say "brushetta" because they don't know that the H is to make the c hard in Italian - like bar staff who pretend not to know what you are talking about when you order it with a proper hard C and then sneeringly "correct" you. (like Scorpette and her tortillas)

Some questions:

Why does nobody do this with "mayonnaise"?
Can Madame tell me if the French do an equivalent thing with their borrowed English words? I bet they don't.