In between meetings, starving and in search of a flat screen TV to watch the Netherlands vs. Uruguay World Cup Semi-final Felipe Dell’Oro and I ended up at Chili’s Restaurant. Ironic I know since we are in Mexico and can get authentic Mexican food instead of the Americanized version by Chili’s Restaurant chain. But we were desperate. To “close the deal” I decided to go for an after meal eXpresso and I pronounced it exactly how it was written in the menu eXpresso /"" ikˈspresō /. Felipe politely pointed out “you know its pronounced and spelled eSpresso.” He lives in Milan he should know but I found it even more curious that he picked up on it, the variation after all is very subtle. Until that moment I had never picked up on the variation in spelling and/or pronunciation /eˈspresō/ vs. /"" ikˈspresō /. I have been interchanging Expresso with Espresso without even giving it a second thought, the way I often switch back in forth between Spanish and English without even realizing it.
Interestingly though while Merriam-Websters and Cambridge Dictionaries have Expresso as a variant of the word Espresso, Oxford dictionary clearly states it is incorrect!: The often-occurring variant spelling expresso — and its pronunciation (Pronunciation: /"" ikˈspresō /) — is incorrect and was probably formed by analogy with express.
So when in ROME.../eˈspresō/ J
JAM English Flashcards: Fruit and Vegetables available online at jam.shop now!
No comments:
Post a Comment