AmerLisa

I always get a good laugh when we are down in Southern California and my husband is trying to pronounce the names of some cities, or just the Spanish names of anything. Had a great laugh this past June when we took a vacation with my mil!

robin1234

Foreign-origin words are a minefield, though.. how is Beaufort pronounced in the US, as a placename? a couple of different ways, I think. And what about the car, Grand Marquis? Both words (GRAND and MARQUIS) could equally be French or English. Clearly they are both French in origin, but naturalised into English many hundreds of years ago. So anyway, one could pronounce the name of the car using English/American pronunciation for both words, French pronunciation for both words, or English for one word and French for the other.. (or just drive a Honda.)

Sally Redux

Grand Prix.

SultanOfSwing

Thankfully I've never heard that one mispronounced.

The Spanish place names I can handle, I don't speak Spanish but apparently I read it aloud perfectly (don't ask me how). It's the inconsistency in the various French names that always catches me out because some are Anglicised and some aren't.

For example - Des Moines with it's silent 's' I got right but Des Plaines has a pronounced 's'. I think they do it just to mess with Europeans

robin1234

Then there's PEUGEOT, Americans tend to pronounce the first syllable like PEW..
While on the subject of bicycles and their parts, how to pronounce dérailleur ??
http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer.html

Scouse Express

Mozduh - (Mazda)

Sally Redux

There is a street near us called Bon Homme, stupidly I pronounced it Bon Om (it's bone home).

AmerLisa

I can only hear it the way it should be pronounced!

Here's one: San Ysidro... Now that's a minefield!

AmerLisa

That's how I originally said it, and probably would say it here. However, when I was in the UK I said it differently...

Sally Redux

Similarly entreprenoor.

I think we pronounce lingerie 'lanjeree' in the UK, I have heard 'lanjeray' so much maybe it's right.

SultanOfSwing

Why don't they just call it 'Fanny Avenue' and be done with it?



Hmm, never seen that one but best guess is San EE-seed-row. Close, or miles away?

robin1234

Well, the word entrepenoor is only used in the US since all economic activity in the rest of the world is government-directed.

Sally Redux

Very good Fanny is a whole different minefield though.

Sally Redux

of course.

SultanOfSwing

Oh, I am so going to start a conversation with my son with that phrase when I take him for his first pint