# French and Italian food pronunciation



## Mr_Dove (Apr 10, 2006)

Hopefully the bolded syllabels will still be bold when I paste this.

*En Français*
"In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language."
-Mark Twain. _The Innocents Abroad_

Given the fact that the French look down their Gallic noses at the way French Canadians pronounce the language, the odds of impressing a French waiter are slim to none. A French menu is a minefield of silent letters and multiple sounds for a single letter. And for every rule, there are at least a dozen exceptions. Here's a list of some of the things you'll see, followed by an approximate pronunciation.

Aioli: ay-*oh*-lee
Au jus: oh-*zhoo*
Bechamel: bay-shuh*-mell*
Bernaise: bare-*nayz*
Boeuf Bourguignon: buhf Boor-geen-*yahn*
Bouillabaisse: (buie-yah-*bayz*) 
Brioche: bree-*ohsh*
Buerre blanc: burr-*blahnk*
Canape: *kahn*-uh-pay
Champignon: sham-pin-*yawhn*
Confit: kohn-*fee* 
Coq au vin: kok-oh-*vah*
Coquilles St. Jacques: ko-*kee* san *zhak*
Crepes: krep
En brochette: ahn-bro*-shett*
En croute: ahn*-kroot*
Endives:* ahn*-deev
Escargot: ess-car-*go*
Foie gras: fwah-*grah*
Gratin: grah-*tan*
Haricots verts: *ar*-ee-co-*vair*
Hors d'oeuvre: or-*derv*
Paillard: pie-*yahrd*
Pommes de terre: pom-dih-*tair*
Pommes frites: pum-*freet*
Paté: pah-*tay*
Potage: po-*tahzh*
Prix fixe: pree-*feex*
Salade Nicoise: sa-*lahd* nee-*swahz*
Saucisson: so-see-*sawn*
Tartare de boeuf:tar-*tar *dih *buhf*
Terrine: teh*-reen*
Tournedo: *toor*-nih-doh
Vichyssoise: vee-shee-*swahz*

*In Italiano*
When the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool, that's amore. But when "Gnocchi di patate con coniglio" leaves you tongue-tied, that's something else altogether. Two useful things to remember are:

<LI style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; MARGIN-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt">"C"s and "g"s are soft (like an "s" or a "j" when followed by an "i" or "e." Both letters are given their hard pronunciation when followed by the letter "h."
Stress usually falls on the second to last syllable.
While you can probably fake it at Olive Garden, when you're upping the antipasto, here's a list that might come in handy.
Aglio: *ah*-lyoh
Antipasto: ahn-tee-*pahs­-to*
Biscotti: bis-*cot*-tee 
Bistecca: bees-*tek­*-ka
Bolognese: baw-law-*nyeh*-she 
Bruschetta: broo-*skeh*-tah
Cacciatore: kah-chuh-*TOR­*-ee
Calamari: kal-uh-*mahr*-ee
Calzone: kahl-*zone*-neh
Canoli: kah-*noh*-lee
Caprese: ka-*pray­*-she
Carbonara: kar-boh-*nah*-rah
Conchiglie: kon-*keel-yeh*
Coniglio: koh-*neel*-yeh
Farfalle: far-fa-*lee*
Funghi: *foon*-gee
Fusilli: foo-*sill-ee*
Gelato: jeh-*lah*-toh
Gnocchi: nyeh-*ah*-kee
Insalata: *een*-sa-*la*-ta
Manicotti: man-ah-*Cot-tee*
Marscapone: mas-car-*poh*-nay
Mostaccioli: mos-ta-*choh-lee*
Mozarella: maht-suh-*rehl*-la
Pane: *pah*-nay
Parmigiana: pahr-muh-*zhan*-na
Patate: Pah-*tah*-tay
Pecorino: peh-kuh-*ree*-noh
Pollo: *Pohl*-loh 
Prosciutto: proh-*shoo*-toh
Radiatore: ra-dee-ah-*Tor-ee*
Risotto: rih-*saw*-toh
Tagliatelle: tah-lyuh-*tehl*-ee
Tiramisu: tih-ruh-*mee*-soo
Ziti: zee-tee 
Zuppa: *zoo*-puh 

*A word on wine*
Given the popularity of the grape, you probably already know your way around a wine list as far as most varietals go, and we're not going to suggest that you pronounce Champagne as "shahm-*pahn*-yeh" because people will think you're affected. And they'd be right. Still, there are a few that are sometimes mispronounced. Here's a list for the record.

Beaujolais: bow-zhuh-*lay*
Cabernet Sauvignon: cah-burr-*nay* sow-vee-*nyohn*
Châteauneuf-du-Pape: shah-toe-nuff due *pahp*
Gewürztraminer: guh-*vurtz*-trah-mean-er 
Malbec:* mall*-beck
Muscadet: moo-skuh-*day*
Muscat: *muss*-cat
Pinot Grigio:* pee*-noh *gree-*gee-oh
Pouilly-Fumé: pooh-*yee* few-*may* 
Rioja: ree-*oh*-ha
Sangiovese: san-joe-*vay*-zee
Sauternes: so-*tern*
Sauvignon blanc: so-vee-*nyohn**blahn *(swallow the "c")
Sé millon: say-me-*yohn*
Shiraz: Australians call it shih-*razz*, Americans say shih-*rahz*. Now who's putting on airs?
With a little practice, no waiter will shame you and no menu will daunt you. Although, when it comes to ordering Thai food, you're on your own.


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## buckytom (Dec 10, 2007)

bump.

i liked this post. a fun read for a midnight shift.


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## Claire (Dec 10, 2007)

I love this post.  There is a waitress in a local restaurant who truly mangles the names of the foods on the menu.  I mean seriously bad, I'm no linguist.  But then there are local words and pronunciations of "foreign" words that drive you crazy until you get them (and still do, to be honest with you).  But this is a great guide to get the uninitiated started.  And, yes, I've experienced the snobbishness that French, French-Canadian, and Cajun-French differences can evoke.  If I pretended I couldn't understand a southern accent or a New England accent or an upper-class British accent or a cockney accent, I'M the one who'd be considered an idiot.  But somehow in French, your way of speaking is the ONLY way.  Haha.  Doesn't matter.  I have a palate formation that makes it so that I cannot roll a French "R" correctly, so in all French dialects, I sound terrible.  Luckily I can laugh at myself and get everyone to laugh with me.


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## ChefJune (Dec 10, 2007)

> Aioli: ay-*oh*-lee


 not quite..... they actually SAY "ay-oh-*lee*."



> Muscat: *muss*-cat


 that's a gun!  the grape is muss-*cat*!


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