Commoners guide to avoid those mess-ups...er...faux pas, when travelling in F
Apr 21, 2018, 9:55 am
#62
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Americans spell filet with one l and think they are French by calling it a filet mignon, but then they insist on calling a pain au chocolat as a Chocolate croissant even when it is not in a crescent shape.
Apr 21, 2018, 9:57 am
#63
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Ignoring the Mexican "stuff" in Phoenix??? ¡Ay ay ay! Tex-Mex and true Mexican cooking are the BEST. I love it. Try Pollo en Mole (chicken). That will change your life. I had some huevos rancheros (ranch style eggs) last weekend in Port Hueneme, CA, that were heavenly.
(However, I have yet to have good Mexican food in Europe.)
Furthermore, skeptics, "fillet" should be pronounced without the "t". Fi-LAY.
(However, I have yet to have good Mexican food in Europe.)
Furthermore, skeptics, "fillet" should be pronounced without the "t". Fi-LAY.
London has actually started to get some passable Mexican food the past few years, and the most precisely prepared Mexican food I’ve ever had was actually in Tokyo! On average though we are spoiled with choice for Mexican food options in Phoenix.
Apr 21, 2018, 9:59 am
#64
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Apr 21, 2018, 10:03 am
#65
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Apr 21, 2018, 10:06 am
#66
Join Date: Apr 2017
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Tay tahn zhay
The "g" in the last syllable "ger" (which I've approximated as "zh") is pronounced like the "g" in "beige". The "ng" is pronounced similar to the "ng" in "orange" in the French pronunciation. The French pronunciation for "orange" would be "orahnge", as opposed to the American pronunciation of "orringe".
Apr 21, 2018, 10:10 am
#67
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I think Uncle T just meant besides Mexican food.
London has actually started to get some passable Mexican food the past few years, and the most precisely prepared Mexican food I’ve ever had was actually in Tokyo! On average though we are spoiled with choice for Mexican food options in Phoenix.
Apr 21, 2018, 10:15 am
#69
Join Date: Jun 2016
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Apr 21, 2018, 10:29 am
#70
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Apr 21, 2018, 10:37 am
#72
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As for me, when we first moved to Italy, my Italian was not quite as perfect as I thought it was. We were having dinner with his parents and talking about wine giving me a headache. However rather than saying it gave me a ‘mal di testa’, I said ‘testa di cazzo’, which means a head of a different sort (think male anatomy or Richardhead).
Or when I went into a store looking for a heart-shaped leather box after having been coached by Mr. Fink in precisely what to ask for. Instead of asking for a ‘scatola a fatto in cuoio, a forma di cuore’ I asked for a ‘scoreggia’. The very polite salesperson just smiled and showed me where the leather farts were.
Apr 21, 2018, 10:41 am
#73
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: All over the place often South Wales and Lake District
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Well, in the vein of helping you say things right when travelling: Australian right coast city names:
Brisbane: bris-bun
Sydney: hard to get wrong, you probably say it fine.
Canberra: Can-bruh
Melbourne: Mel-bun
Cairns: Cans
And a bonus one, for anyone who takes the ferry back from Rotterdam: the port it goes to is Harwich, which I once said : Hare-which. Don't say it like that. I believe its "harrich" but it's hard to tell when someone's making fun of you.
Brisbane: bris-bun
Sydney: hard to get wrong, you probably say it fine.
Canberra: Can-bruh
Melbourne: Mel-bun
Cairns: Cans
And a bonus one, for anyone who takes the ferry back from Rotterdam: the port it goes to is Harwich, which I once said : Hare-which. Don't say it like that. I believe its "harrich" but it's hard to tell when someone's making fun of you.
I had a funny moment with a Qantas member of staff that was based in Sydney, but was a Kiwi. I was speaking to her from my Auckland hotel room and my bags had failed to make the plane in Johannesburg. She asked me for my room number when she repeated it back to me - 366, I could hear laughter in the room behind her. (to remove any doubt, she pronounced it Free Sex Sex)
Apr 21, 2018, 10:48 am
#74
Join Date: May 2014
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At the same time, sometimes my English pronunciation is just awful and my french conversation barely functional... :d Luckily a lot of french food terms are pronounced the same as in italian, so I can manage
Apr 21, 2018, 10:49 am
#75
Join Date: Jul 2008
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One word to say VERY carefully in Italian is penne. You have to sound both 'n's and put the emphasis on the vowel following the double consonant. Fail to sound both 'n's and you are ordering Bolognese male appendage. Similar mistakes can be made with the word for pain - pena. Pena in testa, can sound like something head....and yes , early on in my Italian studies in Northern Italy, I did make that mistake as I had forgotten the phrase 'mal di testa' for a headache. I'd attempted to say pain in head, and put an e on the end instead of an a. Much mirth was had at my expense.