Should one pronounce a foreign word incorrectly even if they know it is wrong? Correctly pronouncing a less common word can make you appear pretentious or could even make you misunderstood. At the same time, there are some more well known foreign names and words which if pronounced wrongly as though they were English words one will come off as stupid... So how do you know which foreign words are ok to pronounce wrong and which you have to pronounce right to not look like a fool?
correct vs incorrect pronunciation of foreign words
I almost started a "cringefest" topic about this... It drives me NUTS when someone uses a foreign word as though they were speaking a foreign language... "Raison d'être" is the first thing that comes to mind... If you're speaking French, naturally, say it like you're speaking French. If you're speaking English, just say it as though it were an English term. I find it highly pretentious and just basically annoying, because you're not expecting to hear a foreign term and it's easy to miss the meaning when you're not expecting it.
I always think of Peggy from "King of the Hill" trying to order margarrrrrritas or tacos with monterrrrrrey hack... When I was in Berlin, naturally, I would say street names, club names, etc. as best as I could in my poor German, but when I was rushing out the door and asked my American friend from New York where something was in English (I was in a hurry and my German was not so good), he would respond trying to speak German... My favorite was how when I asked him where something was, it was always on Friedrichstrasse (which, as he would pronounce, came out sounding something like Fweed-lick-stwasse).
The one time where this is forgiveable is when, for example, a French person were speaking English and pronounced "raison d'être" as they would in French. However, in my opinion, this is an indicator that they are relatively new to English and will eventually learn to say it with an American/English/Australian/etc. accent. The most basic indicator is someone's name... I had to learn how to pronounce my real name (which no one really calls me, but they asked) "Garrett," which I pronounce as /gEr@t/, as /gaRIt/.
I always think of Peggy from "King of the Hill" trying to order margarrrrrritas or tacos with monterrrrrrey hack... When I was in Berlin, naturally, I would say street names, club names, etc. as best as I could in my poor German, but when I was rushing out the door and asked my American friend from New York where something was in English (I was in a hurry and my German was not so good), he would respond trying to speak German... My favorite was how when I asked him where something was, it was always on Friedrichstrasse (which, as he would pronounce, came out sounding something like Fweed-lick-stwasse).
The one time where this is forgiveable is when, for example, a French person were speaking English and pronounced "raison d'être" as they would in French. However, in my opinion, this is an indicator that they are relatively new to English and will eventually learn to say it with an American/English/Australian/etc. accent. The most basic indicator is someone's name... I had to learn how to pronounce my real name (which no one really calls me, but they asked) "Garrett," which I pronounce as /gEr@t/, as /gaRIt/.
What about if the word is commonly pronounced incorrectly. For example, I went to a restaurant and I ordered 'chorizo', I didn't pronounce it pretentiously or anything (I just said choriSo not choriTSO) , but my friends actually corrected me!
What about people's names? Will foreigners get annoyed if you pronounce their name wrong , even if you know how to pronounce it correctly (for example, if you both speak the same language but are around English-speaking friends)?
Lastly, it seems the only words really ever pronounced correctly are French, Latin and Greek words. Would you agree that if you mispronounce another word from another language people are unlikely to notice? Unless of course you live in some area where the terms are more common or something...
What about people's names? Will foreigners get annoyed if you pronounce their name wrong , even if you know how to pronounce it correctly (for example, if you both speak the same language but are around English-speaking friends)?
Lastly, it seems the only words really ever pronounced correctly are French, Latin and Greek words. Would you agree that if you mispronounce another word from another language people are unlikely to notice? Unless of course you live in some area where the terms are more common or something...
Chorizo is a Spanish word and it is pronounced Choriso, so you were right just so you know.
Not wanting to be mean, but most English speakers never pronounce foreign words correctly, even if they think they do. So yeah, just keep pronouncing them the way you feel like it.
Last names are the same as foreign words... I had a friend in Berlin whose last name was "Kullrich," and naturally SHE pronounced it "kulRIC" when speaking German and "kUlritS" when speaking English. I had a friend whose last name was "Trujillo" and when he said it with a Mexican accent, it was easy for English speakers (who had little exposure to Spanish) to misspell it or ask him to write it down, etc. Thus, it is best to stick to one language at a time... If you want to use a foreign word in one language, pronounce it like a native speaker of that language would pronounce it. "Tortilla" has two aspirated t's and a retroflex 'r' when you speak English... Same with margarita...
I can only speak for English, but if you're speaking English, speak English. Don't try and use your native pronunciation if you're speaking another language... It's forgiveable if you haven't studied English for long and don't know how and English speaker would pronounce it... But if you're a native English speaker and try and say French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, etc. terms as they're spoken in their native language, you're opening yourself up to assumptions of pretentiousness.....
I can only speak for English, but if you're speaking English, speak English. Don't try and use your native pronunciation if you're speaking another language... It's forgiveable if you haven't studied English for long and don't know how and English speaker would pronounce it... But if you're a native English speaker and try and say French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, etc. terms as they're spoken in their native language, you're opening yourself up to assumptions of pretentiousness.....
<<t seems the only words really ever pronounced correctly are French, Latin and Greek words.>>
Hardly so. I can't count how many times I've heard "Julius Saesar" rather than "Julius Kaesar".
Hardly so. I can't count how many times I've heard "Julius Saesar" rather than "Julius Kaesar".
Skippy : « The one time where this is forgiveable is when, for example, a French person were speaking English and pronounced "raison d'être" as they would in French. However, in my opinion, this is an indicator that they are relatively new to English and will eventually learn to say it with an American/English/Australian/etc. accent. »
Si je devais prononcer <raison d'être> autrement que /ʁezɔ̃dɛtʁ/ = /RezÕdEtR/ au seul motif que mes interlocuteurs étrangers anglophones pourraient être heurtés dans leur sensibilité, je préfèrerais utiliser un mot anglais, et non français, plutôt que de massacrer la prononciation de <raison d'être>.
Deux questions Skippy :
1) Fr <raison d'être> → /ʁezɔ̃dɛtʁ/ = /RezÕdEtR/
An <raison d'être> → ?
2) Quelle est la traduction de <raison d'être> en anglais pur jus ?
Si je devais prononcer <raison d'être> autrement que /ʁezɔ̃dɛtʁ/ = /RezÕdEtR/ au seul motif que mes interlocuteurs étrangers anglophones pourraient être heurtés dans leur sensibilité, je préfèrerais utiliser un mot anglais, et non français, plutôt que de massacrer la prononciation de <raison d'être>.
Deux questions Skippy :
1) Fr <raison d'être> → /ʁezɔ̃dɛtʁ/ = /RezÕdEtR/
An <raison d'être> → ?
2) Quelle est la traduction de <raison d'être> en anglais pur jus ?
I know we don't know how old Latins pronounced their words; but I find American pronunciation very annoying. I mean try listening to Carmina Burana sung by an American choir. <cringe>
>>If you're speaking English, just say it as though it were an English term.
Then is the French feature the exact raison d'être of this word? Why don't you guys put it reason for existence instead?
I can't really think of a word like this without having to read a lot of novels, and even if I've finally come up with this word, I'd put it as raison d'être in a French/academic context (such as per se), or not at all.
Then is the French feature the exact raison d'être of this word? Why don't you guys put it reason for existence instead?
I can't really think of a word like this without having to read a lot of novels, and even if I've finally come up with this word, I'd put it as raison d'être in a French/academic context (such as per se), or not at all.
Most try to avoid using foreign terms in their speech simply because it's confusing or pretentious (and will be seen as such if the person you're speaking with doesn't know the term).
I've actually never heard "raison d'être" spoken aloud in English, it was just the first French term I thought of that is used in English (at least in literature). I'd assume it would end up sounding like /'rezondEt/.
I've actually never heard "raison d'être" spoken aloud in English, it was just the first French term I thought of that is used in English (at least in literature). I'd assume it would end up sounding like /'rezondEt/.