You say sommelier, I say barista

[Joel S. Berson]

At 7/20/2008 02:01 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>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.

Is that a typo, and should be 'nonpussed"?


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

So "barista" is out?  It's much easier to pronounce.

Joel


>  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
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org