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Pronunciation Q. - How embarassed should I be?
Perhaps someone with better linguistic credentials than I can straighten out a pronunciation issue for me.
What is the proper pronunciation for Bruschetta? In any restaurant I've been to in North America, it always seems to be called bru-shetta, but I have assumed it should be bru-scetta (with the 'sch' having a hard sound, like Schapiarelli). While I'm on it, how about cilantro? Around here, I hear it pronounced silantro, but again, I would have assumed that it should be chill-antro (as with cello). Before I get anymore disdaining of ignorant waiters, I'd like to know if I've simply been embarassing myself all these years! |
bruschetta = broo-SKET-ta
cilantro = see-LAN-tro Cilantro I think comes from Sapnish, not Italian, thus the S sound rather than the CH. |
Bruschetta is an Italian word,the h next to the c makes it a hard c sound
brus-ketta Cilantro is an English version of the Spanish word for it cilantrillo (in which the double l would have a y sound) The c, being next to the vowel i, takes the soft s sound silantro |
I hate getting into these pronunciation threads, but:
I always say bru-scetta (using your spellings for phonetics). Recently at a very Italian restaurant in Florida I ordered it that way, and the waiter said clearly "oh you mean, bruSHETTA". As he walked away we laughed at his unsubtle way of "correcting" me. But we laughed harder when the young Italian son of the owner who has only been in the US from Italy less than a year and is working as a busboy/food runner brought out the order, put it in front of us and said clearly "enjoy your bru-scetta." Gee, I don't think I've ever heard anything but "silantro". But I've never thought of it in terms of being an Italian word! |
mcburja,
In the US, everyone does seem to say "brew-shetta", but in Italian, it is "brew-sketta". As far as cilantro, it is a Spanish word, not Italian, so it really is pronounced "silantro", (unless you are speaking Castillian, in which case it would be (more or less) "thilantro". I don't think you need to be embarrassed, one way or the other. ;;) |
Wow- A lot of us were posting at the same time!
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So true, Marcy, and if you were Castillian (or you had a bad lisp) you could also get away with saying "bruthetta". LOL
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Nothing to be embarrassed about...you could even have asked about the pronunciation of these words that would ensure someone did NOT correct you.
Let's face it, sometimes these pronunciations are regional, especially when it comes to place names such as "Versailles" but I guess that's a whole other thread. |
It WAS a whole other thread not too long ago, but I can't find it to link it here
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This is too funny. While we are at it, how do you pronounce "pasta fagioli?" My best friend's mother says, "pasta fazul." She is the daughter of Italian immigrants. Other Italians in Philly say, "pasta fajol" or "pasta fajoli." It is enough to make you want to order something else when faced with pronounciation problem in a restaurant. I HATE waiters who correct you.
Once, in an Italian restaurant in Boston's North End, I was corrected by a waitress for saying, "brusketta." "You mean bruchetta," she replied. I retorted, "Oh, yes, Bruchetta. And a 2% tip." |
Patrick & John, I have also been corrected by snotty waiters who think the correct pronunciation is bru-shetta. Right now they get an arched eyebrow, but I'd just love a really snappy comeback. I'm not quite mean enough to use your 2% tip line, John, although I would agree that waitpersons who want a good tip would be well-advised not to correct their patrons, even if the patron is dead wrong.
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In English, "cilantro" is pronounced "coriander"
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Ah, Flanneruk, you beat me to the punchline on that one.
To everyone else, I do feel better about the bru-sketta, and have had LOL from you. |
Hey, mc,
>I'd like to know if I've simply been embarassing myself all these years!< Well, if you don't know, it's probably because you haven't. ((I)) |
If I can beat this dead horse just a bit more I offer the following:
In Italian, a "C" NEVER sounds like an "s". A "C" followed by a vowel, sounds like an English "ch". Ex. Ciao! An Italian "ch" or "cch" sounds like an English "K". Ex. Maccheroni In Italian an "s" surrounded by vowels sounds like an English "z". Ex. Casa (it's pronounced caza in Italian) In Spanish, a "c" when followed by "e" or "i", always sounds like an English "s". Ex. Cilantro. When followed by a consonant or the vowels "a", "o" or "u", it sounds like an English "K". Ex. Crema Catalán. A Spanish "ch" is the same as in English. Another common error is the word for coffee in those languages. Italian: Caffé Spanish and French: Café English: Cafe (but we use it to describe the place where we drink our coffee) |
Sometimes the line between feeling superior and feeling embarassed can be pretty thin! ;-)
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Actually, cilantro is pronounced coriander in French (coriandre), Dutch and German too. Except that when we lived in Germany, it was impossible to find at any of the supermarkets we tried.
As an American, I think of cilantro as the plant's leaves and coriander as the plant's seeds, but here coriander is an umbrella term. |
...and if you go to an Indian restaurant, cilantro is pronounced 'dhania " (dah-NEE-ya). |
ciaony said
>>A "C" followed by a vowel, sounds like an English "ch". In your own examples you show another option: casa More correctly: A "C" followed by an e or i, sounds like an English "ch". A "C" followed by an a, o, or u, sounds like an English "k". |
Frankly I think cilantro should be pronounced "yeecchhhh". One of the very few flavors of the world I'm not at all fond of. Am I the only one who thinks fresh cilantro tastes like soap?
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Patrick, anise, licorice, ouzo, and all related flavors taste like soap to me. Cilantro, otoh, I love. I find it fascinating that things can taste so different to different people, while at the same time we usually agree on what tastes "good."
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It is strange how we all have different likes and dislikes. Personally I cannot stand cilantro either! It makes me shudder to even think about it. But most people love it. But I love raw oysters, mussels, liver etc. and that makes a lot people almost gag. Viva la difference!
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Patrick and I agree on this one--as this is a family website, I won't mention how I pronounce cilantro.
When words are adopted by another language, the pronunciation is often (probably usually) changed. |
If your waiter insists on pronouncing it "brushetta" ask them if they will serve it with a glass of "shianti" wine.
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Ooh, nonnafelice, that's EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thanks.
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cilantro was one that threw me off in Latin America- my family said "cul an tro". It's possible that they miss pronounced as well,though...
I have an (American) aunt who still says "kay-sa-dill-as" instead of "quesa-dee-as". Okay- now my question is about the proper pronunciation of the word "biscotti". I always said "beh-SCOTT-ee". Then, I was corrected by my bakery manager (used to work there) and told in a condescending way that I was a silly American, and the word is "bish-kot". I know for a fact that she is a FLAMING MORON, and I would LOVE confirmation that I was right... was I??? |
Elaine, I have never heard of cilantrillo but why not? I have heard culantro and cilantro in Spanish. Interesting!
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Patrick, I am surprised that a man with such sophisticated tastes would dislike cilantro. Give it another try, dear.
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The word is bee-SCOTE-ee if there are more than one bee-SCOTE-o.
Don't let her tell you it's dialect. It's more like ebonics she's using. |
My understanding is that cilantro and culantro are two different (though similar) plants, both of which are used in Latin American cooking.
As for "bish-kot," it sounds like the pronunciation of an Italian-American of Southern Italian ancestry: cf. "manigot," "rigot," and "pro-zhoot" for manicotti, ricotta, and prosciutto. Standard Italian pronunciation is "bee-SKOT-tee." I don't think trying cilantro again is likely to change Patrick's opinion. Some people apparently have a gene that causes them to find the taste of cilantro extremely unpleasant. Finally, I was reading an old cookbook this evening and was reminded that a generation ago, the standard English pronunication of cilantro was "Chinese parsley." |
Thanks for telling me that a person with "sophisticated tastes" should not be allowed to dislike a particular seasoning. I thought that's what makes a person have sophisticated taste -- the ability to like or dislike varying things -- and to be able to distinquish between them. I don't need another try, when it is thrown on dish after dish these days as if it were something "special" and often destroys the subtle flavors of an otherwise very good dish. There's nothing wrong with you if you happen to like that flavor. I happen to not!
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I don't like most of the species..it seems I'm not sophisticated :))
Maybe I won't have a good time in London surrounded by spicy meals...:) |
Italian/Americans do pronounce things differently than the Italia residents so let's not be so judegemental and smug. This happens in Montreal/France residents who have migrated there.
Cilantro tastes like soap to those who are allergic to this herb. |
By the way, in Spain "cilantro" is pronounced more like in English "z" at the beginning of a word, e.g "zip".
Finally I've discovered that my time studying is useful !! :) |
"Cilantro tastes like soap to those who are allergic to this herb."
Is that true, tondalaya? Tell me more. This is interesting because I have no allergies that I know of except an odd one to the oyster plant and also wandering jew (two very closely related plants -- herbs?-- which are abundant here in South Florida). Direct exposure to either causes me to break out and itch -- but it does go away with no major effects. It suddenly occurs to me that over the past year or so from time to time I have horrible itching spells on my forearms in the evening, sometimes with a slight rash and then they go away by morning. I've never been able to pinpoint why these occur. I must now keep a record and see if possibly those are happening after eating cilantro? My reference to tasting like soap wasn't meant to be a casual insult -- it really does taste like it to me. I love salsa, but when it is loaded with cilantro, I nearly gag. So is that an allergy? Gee, mcburja, aren't you glad you asked how to pronounce a couple words? Look what you've started. |
I agree Americans of Italian background do tend to sometimes pronounce words a but differently then the residents of Italy. Not my comment but comments from my friends in Italy that visit here in the US. But also, different areas/regions of Italy have different pronounciations and sometimes different words for the same thing, especially amoung older people and people in less populated areas. Again, not my opinion but opinions of Italians in Italy.
But I love your comment Nonafelice! Too perfect IMO! That one I will remember. I don't know (or remember) if cilantro taste like soap to me as it has been so long since I have eaten it, but again I do not like it. And although there are foods I cannot eat due to food allergies there are very few food items I do not like. |
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May I please ask how one pronounces the "Buttes" as in Buttes-Chaumont..?
Is it "beauts" (as in beauty)? |
It's pronounced like "boot."
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