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Let's all teach American kids to say, "croissant!" Login/Join
 
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Posts: 6168 | Location: Muncie, IndianaReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Kalleh
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Yep, I've had trouble with some of these, particularly the French words. I remember once being corrected, by a clerk, for my pronunciation of "beignet."

So I have a French question. How do you pronounce "concierge?" Is it a soft "g" or is it con-see-AIR, which I sometimes hear by the "more informed." I always thought it was "con-see-AIRG (soft). Shu says I am right.
 
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You're right.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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concierge

From an online French dictionary: /kõsjɛʁʒ/.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
 
Posts: 5148 | Location: R'lyehReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Good to know - and it's funny that those who "know their French" say it the other way.
 
Posts: 24735 | Location: Chicago, USAReply With QuoteReport This Post
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It is a common-enough occurrence that some folks correct their pronunciation of some foreign words so that they are incorrect in that language: e.g., Mandarin Chinese Beijing, the "j" is /tɕ/ but many insist on pronouncing it /ʒ/; French coup de grâce, the final word is pronounced /gʁɑ:s/, but many leave off the final /s/ making it sound like they are saying a "blow of fat".


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
 
Posts: 5148 | Location: R'lyehReply With QuoteReport This Post
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And the worst of it is, those people who hyper-pronounce, or whatever you call it, will look down their noses at you when you pronounce it correctly!
 
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