Still, I answer to a silly array of mispronunciations: my favorite is “Ask-a-COW-wuh.” Moo, I answer. I’ve grown up with people freaking out when I introduce myself and they see my last name, but when I explain that’s it’s only four syllables and it sounds a little like “Kawasaki,” which everyone seems to be familiar with and comfortable with, they settle down. People think Japanese words are hard to pronounce, but most are very straightforward. They say it the way they can - or are willing to say it - and the “correct” way be damned. A lot of people get Japanese words wrong, and they don’t seem to care. We’re still getting used to Japanese words and some of them are newly mangled while some (like “karaoke”) are pretty much institutionalized in their mangled form.Įven though it seems like it should be easy, because Japanese is a phonetic language and you can break down words by syllables, I guess it’s not. When it comes to Japanese words, however, we’re in a transitional period for language because so many Japanese things, including food, music and pop culture, have become hip and popular in the US in the past couple of decades. They had a terrible time pronouncing what they saw as the miniscule, subtle differences between those words.
PRONOUNCE SOOEY HOW TO
My mom and an exchange journalist and I had a helluva hilarious conversation one time about how to a Japanese person, these words all basically sound alike (seriously): “hot,” “hat,” “hit,” “hard,” “heart,” “hold,” “hut” and a handful more. I know that Asians - and specifically Japanese, since I have first-hand experience - have a lot of trouble with English. On the other hand, let’s face it, people in other countries aren’t any better at pronouncing English, so turnabout is fair play, right? So it’s, “Hi, can I have a medium bowl of fuh?”Įrin and I may not get it exactly right, but the point is, we’re aware of our inadequacy at pronouncing other languages, and we always try to learn and say it correctly. Amazingly, I always think I’ve nailed it, but the guffaws come anyway.Īnd by the way, when you go to the Vietnamese restaurant for a bowl of “pho” noodle, it’s NOT pronounced “foe” or even “fuh.” A server explained to us that you have to add a slight upward lilt to the end of the word, as if you’re asking a question. Vietnamese servers guffaw out loud when I ask if I’ve said “bun dac biet” (combination grilled meat over rice noodles) right. Servers at Thai restaurants snicker when I ask if I pronounced “yum nue” (spicy cold beef salad, truly yummy) correctly. I don’t walk into a Taco Bell and order a “bu-RRRIT-toh.” I don’t order a “kwassahn” at the bakery when I want a croissant. I’m the first to admit that I don’t follow my own rules about Japanese words for other languages. I’m sure the British still think Americans are buffoons for mangling their language, mispronouncing words and using “incorrect” words like “trunk” for a car’s “boot” or hood for a car’s “bonnet.” Here’s a caveat about this rant of mine: Language evolves, and as cultures merge and are assimilated, words and pronunciation patterns change and are re-invented.
PRONOUNCE SOOEY TV
However, it irritates me that so many Americans, including the guy on the TV commercial, pronounce the word as “PAN-koe,” like “pants.” The Japanese pronunciation is “pahn-KOH,” with the first part more like “pawn” - almost like “punk” - and the second like Homer Simpson’s “DOH!” So it’s cool that Japanese food (starting with sushi a couple of decades ago) are catching on in the US and becoming mainstream.
Panko is the traditional Japanese breadcrumb coating for fried food, and it’s become something of a hip ingredient in American restaurants and kitchens.
The commercial got Erin, our son Jared and me all riled up every time I saw it because it mispronounced “panko” whenever it was mentioned. The commercials seem to have stopped, but the sandwich is still available at select locations across the country. While we’re on the topic of pronunciation, I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, since Wendy’s began airing TV commercials for their new Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich.
0 kommentar(er)
