parMEzian cheese

[Steve Boatti]

In a message dated 10/1/02 11:59:06 AM, pmcgraw at LINFIELD.EDU writes:

<< Now the invented "Parmesian" seems to have been
supplanted by the equally invented "parmeZHAN" (as also noted by Peter
Richardson), apparently via the line of reasoning: "To make a word sound
more foreign, and hence more authentic, stress the last syllable, pronounce
spelled <g> as 'zh' and ignore all other spelling cues." >>

I suspect "Par-me-ZHAN" comes from Italian-Americans pronouncing it that way
based on the Italian pronunciation of "Parmigiano." In other words, a
conflation of "Par-me-ZAN" with "Par-mi-JAN-o."

Steve Boatti