to hate people who put on an accent when they say a foreign word?

[JustAHolyFool]

It really grinds my gears. I was talking to someone the other night and he started talking about the "bella figura" thing in Italy, but every time he said "bella figura" he said it in an Italian accent.

Dreadful.

I speak German but if I say, I don't know, Doppelganger or Reichstag or something, I don't put on a German accent to say it.

My best friend also does this, trilling her r's like a good one if she mentions anything Spanish.

Why is it so annoying? Is it annoying? Is it just me?

It makes me a bit cringey when people do this. My parents are quite bad for it, but they think they are being sophisticated, bless them. For eg my mum's favourite clothes shop is pronounced "Bong Marshay" and my dad has long embarrassed me in restaurants by putting on a cod-Italian accent when ordering Italian food (he went to Italy. Once. 50 years ago.)

It can be quite funny though when people pronounce things really badly. For eg one time when I was in Turkey I was eating lunch with my then-boss and his mad-arsed wife who was all blonde extensions, botox and bling and thought herself quite the sophisticate. Our food came and just as we were about to tuck up she looks up and says loudly "BONA BETTIT". My Turkish wasn't great but I really didn't have a clue what she was going on about although I tried to nod politely, while inwardly thinking "What the fuck is she going on about now?" (she quite often said things that didn't make a lot of sense). So she starts shouting "BONA BETTIT. BONA BETTIT" and gesticulating at the food. Then it dawned on me. She was saying "Bon appetit".

Maybe nose surgery left her talking nasally? P became B etc.

Heh. Could be. I think it was the combination of Turkish accent/English ears/French words. I did feel extremely thick not to have got it though.

I once offered someone a "krud-ite". They kindly took me to one side and explained it was pronounced crudité. I had actually been joking but lamely thanked them and felt a total tosser.

Room 101 anyone?

Yes, Room 101! That video was cringey!

Spag-hayteee!

Ha I just came on MN to see if anyone else on this thread was watching!

Meh. As I said to my uncle when he laughed at me for saying Neslay, not nessels, I've got a French degree it would be pretentious to mispronounce it.

I was wondering if mel comes on her because her next one was toddler groups... If the third is cat shit we have her bang to rights!

Lambeth, I had forgotten I thought it was pronounced Nestles when I was a child. Ah such innocent times...

Lambeth, my mum always insisted on correct pronunciations so we didn't look ignorant and what she called "Brits on holiday". Nestle was always Neslay, never Nessle! My ex used to laugh at me nobhead for this.

They even used to say Nestles on the adverts back in the day (remember 'Nestles Milky Bar'?). Not Nesslay. So although it may not have been the strictly most correct pronunciation, it was the correct one as far as common usage went. Just the same as Paris is not pronounced Paree in the UK.

One that I have noticed that seems to have changed recently is paprika. Even around 15 years ago, it was pronounced paPRIka in the UK, but more are more people seem to be saying PAprika now.

i refuse to say pain au chocolat in whatever the english version is (shudder)