To "maggie"

[Benjamin Barrett]

That's how I generally hear it. I've found that palatalized liquids
are nearly impossible for many people to pronounce. One example is my
cat, Ryouma, whose name begins with a palatalized flap. I've found
that even pronouncing it as a palatalized "r" leaves people nonplussed.

The word sommelier, of course, now refers not just to wine, but
espresso (and perhaps other things as well). BB

On Jul 20, 2008, at 10:05 AM, sagehen wrote:

>
> On Weekend Edition last week & this, Leanne Hansen interviewed a wine
> writer& oenophile, referring to her repeatedly as a "sommelier",
> which she
> pronounced  "som-MALL-i-yay."  Has this become the prevailing
> pronunciation
> here, now that wine has become such a standard on the American table?
> AM

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