Category Archives: pronunciation tips

Pronunciation tip: French cuisine

Posted on July 27, 2025 | Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I’ve done a pronunciation tip video, and it’s mainly been because I wanted to do this one but I was hoping to do some kind of stunt for it such as making coq au vin. Well, I made coq au vin less than a month ago, and I was too busy cooking to make a video. So never mind. Here, for those who want to know the French pronunciations, is how you say 65 food-related terms from French that show up in English: aigre-doux, aïoli, à la carte, à la minute, à l’orange, amuse-bouche, apéritif, au jus, baguette, bain-marie, béarnaise, béchamel, beurre manié, beurre noisette, bon appétit, bouillabaisse, bouillon, bouquet garni, brioche, brunoise, chiffonade, confit, coq au vin, cordon bleu, coulis, court bouillon, crème brûlée, crêpe, croissant, croustade, demi-glace, digestif, en croûte, entrecôte, fleur de sel, foie gras, fricassée, hors d’œuvre, julienne, lyonnaise, macaron, macédoine, Madeleine, mélange, mesclun, mirepoix, mise en place, moules marinières, pain d’épices, pain perdu, papillote, pâte à choux, pâtisserie, piperade, ratatouille, rouille, roux, salade niçoise, sauce bordelaise, sole meunière, soupe du jour, tournedos Rossini, velouté, vichyssoise, and vol-au-vent.

Leave a comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged aïoli, aigre-doux, amuse-bouche, apéritif, au jus, à la carte, à la minute, à l’orange, baguette, bain-marie, béarnaise, béchamel, beurre manié, beurre noisette, bon appétit, bouillabaisse, bouillon, bouquet garni, brioche, brunoise, chiffonade, confit, coq au vin, cordon bleu, coulis, court bouillon, crème brûlée, crêpe, croissant, croustade, demi-glace, digestif, en croûte, entrecôte, fleur de sel, foie gras, French cuisine, fricassée, hors d’œuvre, julienne, lyonnaise, macaron, macédoine, madeleine, mélange, mesclun, mirepoix, mise en place, moules marinières, pain d’épices, pain perdu, papillote, pâte à choux, pâtisserie, piperade, pissaladière, praline, Pronunciation Tip, ratatouille, rouille, roux, salade niçoise, sauce bordelaise, sole meunière, soupe du jour, tournedos Rossini, velouté, Vichyssoise, video, vol-au-vent

Pronunciation tip: 64 French expressions

Posted on January 12, 2025 | 1 comment

A little bit of French has long been a sign of culture in English (never mind how much of our vocabulary comes from French). We like to drop in the occasional cultured phrase… and many of us aim to be particular about the pronunciation… including some people who don’t really know the original French pronunciation. I have pronunciation tips for 64 French terms that get tossed around in English, not always accurately. This doesn’t include food-related terms; I’ll do a separate video for those. Today I cover aide-de-camp, au contraire, au naturel, avant-garde, Beaux-Arts, Bell Époque, bête noire, bon voyage, boudoir, bric-à-brac, bricolage, cache, cachet, carte blanche, cause célèbre, chaise longue, cherchez la femme, clique, concierge, couloir, coup d’état, coup de grâce, crèche, cul-de-sac, de rigueur, déjà vu, eau de toilette, en pointe, en route, esprit de corps, fait accompli, femme fatale, fin de siècle, fleur-de-lis, haute couture, idée fixe, je ne sais quoi, joie de vivre, laissez-faire, lèse majesté, lingerie, ménage à trois, naïveté, noblesse oblige, nom de plume, nouveau riche, œuvre, oh là là, papier-mâché, pas de deux, petite bourgeoisie, pied-à-terre, prêt-à-porter, prix fixe, quelle horreur, raison d’être, roman à clef, roué, sacrebleu, sang-froid, savoir-faire, tête-à-tête, trompe-l’œil, and vis-à-vis.

1 Comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged aide-de-camp, au contraire, au naturel, avant-garde, bête noire, Beaux-Arts, Bell Époque, bon voyage, boudoir, bric-à-brac, bricolage, cache, cachet, carte blanche, cause célèbre, chaise longue, cherchez la femme, clique, concierge, couloir, coup d’état, coup de grâce, crèche, cul-de-sac, déjà vu, de rigueur, eau de toilette, en pointe, en route, esprit de corps, fait accompli, femme fatale, fin de siècle, fleur-de-lis, French, haute couture, idée fixe, je ne sais quoi, joie de vivre, laissez-faire, lèse majesté, lingerie, ménage à trois, naïveté, noblesse oblige, nom de plume, nouveau riche, oh là là, papier-mâché, pas de deux, petite bourgeoisie, pied-à-terre, prêt-à-porter, prix fixe, Pronunciation Tip, quelle horreur!, raison d’être, roman à clef, roué, sacrebleu, sang-froid, savoir-faire, tête-à-tête, trompe-l’œil, video, vis-à-vis, œuvre

Pronunciation tip: “Happy new year” in 27 languages

Posted on December 30, 2024 | Leave a comment

I’m overdue for a pronunciation tip video. Sorry – I’ve been busy doing things that earn money! (Also things that cost money. Travel in particular.) Here’s how to say “Happy new year!” in 27 languages: Afrikaans, Basque, Breton, Chinese (Mandarin), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, and Welsh. And I give a bit of linguistic geekery here and there too.

Leave a comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged Afrikaans, Basque, Breton, Chinese (Mandarin), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Pronunciation Tip, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, video, Welsh

Pronunciation tip: Turkish medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Posted on August 9, 2024 | 2 comments

There’s time for one more Olympic-themed pronunciation tip, and I’ve never done one on Turkish before, so here you go. There are nine medalists from Turkey (Türkiye), so I’ll give you general tips on pronouncing Turkish and then tell you how to say their names: Şevval İlayda Tarhan, Yusuf Dikeç, Hatice Akbaş, Buse Naz Çakıroğlu, Esra Yıldız Kahraman, Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu, Mete Gazoz, Ulaş Berkim Tümer, and Abdullah Yıldırmış.

2 Comments

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged Abdullah Yıldırmış, Buse Naz Çakıroğlu, Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu, Esra Yıldız Kahraman, Hatice Akbaş, Mete Gazoz, Olympics, Pronunciation Tip, Turkish, Ulaş Berkim Tümer, video, Yusuf Dikeç, Şevval İlayda Tarhan

Pronunciation tip: Brazilians at the 2024 Olympics

Posted on August 2, 2024 | Leave a comment

The Brazilian women’s gymnastics team has been doing well at the Paris Olympics, and so I thought it would be nice to do a pronunciation tip about how their names are pronounced by Brazilians, and why. I’ve even added a couple of other Brazilian medalists from these games just to round out the information.

(The beverage is a peach caipirinha, by the way.)

Leave a comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged Brazil, Brazilian, Caio Bonfim, Flávia Saraiva, Jade Barbosa, Júlia Soares, Lorrane Oliveira, Olympics, Portuguese, Pronunciation Tip, Rayssa Leal, Rebeca Andrade

Pronunciation tip: 2024 Latvian Olympic team

Posted on July 31, 2024 | 1 comment

In all my Olympic-themed pronunciation tips over the years, one country I haven’t gotten to yet is Latvia. Why would I do Latvia? Well, I have a Latvian connection through my wife’s family. Also, why not? Anyway, if you’ve ever been wondering about how to say Latvian names, today’s your lucky day.

1 Comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged Agate Caune, Agate Rašmane, Anastasia Carbonari, Anastasija Samoilova, Anete Sietiņa, Daniils Bobrovs, Džeja Patrika, Ernests Zēbolds, Francis Lācis, Gatis Čakšs, Gunta Vaičule, Ieva Maļuka, Jeļena “Aļona” Ostapenko, Kristaps Neretnieks, Kristens Krīgers, Kārlis Lasmanis, Latvia, Latvian, Lauris Strautmanis, Līna Mūze, Mārtiņš Blūms, Nauris Miezis, Olympics, Patriks Gailums, Pronunciation Tip, Pāvels Švecovs, Ritvars Suharevs, Rūta Kate Lasmane, Toms Skujiņš, Tīna Graudiņa, Valters Kreišs, Veronika Monika Stūriška, Zigmārs Raimo

Pronunciation tip: Paris Olympic venues

Posted on July 29, 2024 | Leave a comment

It’s time for the Olympics again, which means it’s time for lots of names that aren’t English! They’re in Paris this time, which means all the venue names are in French. Many English speakers are confident that they know how to pronounce French. Some of them are right. For the curious, here are the ways these places are pronounced – using fairly standard metropolitan French. And, of course, in English.

Leave a comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged Aquatics Centre, Arena Bercy, Arena Champ-de-Mars, Arena Paris Nord, Arena Paris Sud, Arena Porte de La Chapelle, Bercy Arena, Bordeaux Stadium, Centre Aquatique, Centre National de Tir de Châteauroux, Champ de Mars Arena, Chateauroux Shooting Centre, Château de Versailles, Colline d’Élancourt, Eiffel Tower Stadium, Elancourt Hill, Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium, Golf National, Grand Palais, Hôtel de Ville, Invalides, La Beaujoire Stadium, La Concorde, Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue, Lyon Stadium, Marina de Marseille, Marseille Marina, Marseille Stadium, Nice Stadium, North Paris Arena, Olympics, Parc des Princes, Paris, Paris La Défense Arena, Paris La Defense Arena, Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Pont Alexandre III, Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Pronunciation Tip, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX Stadium, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome, Site d’escalade Bourget, South Paris Arena, Stade BMX de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Stade de Bordeaux, Stade de France, Stade de la Beaujoire, Stade de Lyon, Stade de Marseille, Stade de Nice, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Stade Nautique de Vaires-sur-Marne, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Stade Roland-Garros, Stade Tour Eiffel, Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Tahiti, Teahupo‘o, Trocadéro, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, Vélodrome Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Yves-du-Manoir Stadium

Pronunciation tip: My IKEA kitchen

Posted on May 12, 2024 | Leave a comment

This is the pronunciation tip I’ve been wanting to do for most of a year. As soon as we decided to get IKEA to redo our kitchen, I knew I wanted to do it. Of course I couldn’t do it until the kitchen was done. The kitchen was done a couple of months ago… but I need the opportunity to record and edit the video, and also, I needed to find out how actually to say the things. Which takes more time than with most languages.

Leave a comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged Ansluta, Askersund, Älmaren, Bekväm, Förbättra, Fixa, Genomdriva, Hillesjön, IKEA, Kasker, Kuggis, Lillviken, Maximera, Mittled, Nickebo, Orrnäs, Pronunciation Tip, Rodret, Sektion, Swedish, Trådfri, Uppdatera, Utrusta, Variera

Pronunciation tip: Modern artists from the Albright-Knox

Posted on April 14, 2024 | Leave a comment

I love the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo. It’s where I was first introduced to modern art. In 1987 my cousin Sharon bought me a book of 125 artworks from the Albright-Knox, commemorating its 125th anniversary. I’m using that as the guide for this pronunciation tip, which covers the names of really quite a lot of modern artists. Not 125 of them, though, because I skipped all the obvious American ones. It’s just a guide to how the artists’ names were pronounced in their original home languages, for those who want to know – and especially for those who insist they always pronounce names in the “original.” (If they don’t like modern art, well, I take no responsibility for the etiolated state of their existence.)

Names covered: Albert Bierstadt, Honoré-Victorin Daumier, Gustave Courbet, Alfred Sisley, Jean-François Millet, Camille Pissaro, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jacques-Joseph (James) Tissot, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, Paul Cézanne, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Matisse, Édouard Vuillard, Raoul Dufy, Pablo Picasso, André Derain, Henri Rousseau, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Max Weber, Giacomo Balla, Fernand Léger, Jean Metzinger, Francis Picabia, Maurice Utrillo, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizes, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Giorgio de Chirico, Amedeo Modigliani, Constantin Brâncuși, František Kupka, Juan Gris, László Moholy-Nagy, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Oskar Kokoschka, Chaïm Soutine, René Magritte, Julio González, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee, Salvador Dalí, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Rufino Tamayo, Piet Mondrian, Yves Tanguy, Arshile Gorky, Max Beckmann, Auguste Herbin, Hans Hofmann, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Naum Gabo, Jean Arp, Lucas Samaras, Victor Vasarely, Antoni Tápies, Jean Dubuffet, Francesco Clemente

Leave a comment

Posted in pronunciation tips

Tagged Albert Bierstadt, Albert Gleizes, Alberto Giacometti, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Alfred Sisley, Amedeo Modigliani, André Derain, Antoni Tápies, Arshile Gorky, Auguste Herbin, Édouard Vuillard, Camille Pissaro, Chaïm Soutine, Claude Monet, Constantin Brâncuși, Edgar Degas, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fernand Léger, Francesco Clemente, Francis Picabia, František Kupka, Franz Marc, Georges Seurat, Giacomo Balla, Giorgio de Chirico, Gustave Courbet, Hans Hofmann, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Matisse, Henri Rousseau, Honoré-Victorin Daumier, Jacques-Joseph (James) Tissot, Jean Arp, Jean Dubuffet, Jean Metzinger, Jean-François Millet, Joan Miró, Juan Gris, Julio González, László Moholy-Nagy, Lucas Samaras, Marc Chagall, Mark Rothko, Maurice Utrillo, Max Beckmann, Max Ernst, Max Weber, modern artists, Naum Gabo, Oskar Kokoschka, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Paul Klee, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Piet Mondrian, Pronunciation Tip, Raoul Dufy, René Magritte, Robert Delaunay, Rufino Tamayo, Salvador Dalí, Victor Vasarely, video, Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Willem de Kooning, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Yves Tanguy

Pronunciation tip: Vincent van Gogh

Posted on December 2, 2023 | 3 comments

Today’s pronunciation tip comes by request (and actually I’m surprised I haven’t done it already). Many people are aware that the English pronunciation of Vincent van Gogh is quite different from the Dutch original. But how should you say it, then?