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  • spaceghoti
    +8

    As a native English speaker with little familiarity with the French language, I say go for the proper French pronunciation. English is a melting pot to begin with, and it never hurts to be reminded of the roots of a word. I think it's criminal the way the US stopped teaching Latin in schools, which robbed us of an understanding of the foundations of our own language.

    • redalastor
      +6

      As a native English speaker with little familiarity with the French language, I say go for the proper French pronunciation.

      The problem is, odds are you won't understand it.

      I once had to refer to the city of Grande Prairie (Alberta) in a conversation with someone that lived there and she had no clue whatsoever what those words were. And I was unsure how they were mispronouncing it. I had to write it down.

      • Bastou (edited 8 years ago)
        +3

        I once had to refer to the city of Grande Prairie (Alberta) [...]

        You got me curious. How do they mispronounce it? (bonus for using the IPA)

        • redalastor
          +3

          I really don't remember. That was a decade ago.

          Do we have an Albertan around to try pronouncing it? :)

        • Bastou
          +3
          @redalastor -

          Well, my Google-fu gives me "grand prehree", or IPA, [grænd pɹɛəɹi].

    • Bastou
      +4

      I tend to agree and usually do just that, but the problem remains the base goal of any language : to get understood. I usually end up saying words the closest that I can to their original pronunciation in the language they were borrowed from, but too often people just don't understand. So I end up having to exaggerate the bad pronunciation after 2 or 3 tries. But if the situation seems appropriate (receptive interlocutor, not in a line with people waiting after me...) I'll explain how and why I pronounced it the way I did, and if I can, what the word means and what language it came from.

      I'm a bit passionate about languages, speaking 6 (among which 3 fluently). I always kind of hope that I'm not annoying people with it. And especially that I don't sound elitist, or pedantic because of it, since it couldn't be farthest from my personality. But I know it sometimes feel like it, it goes with general education, knowledge and language ability.

      • spaceghoti
        +5

        If someone fails to understand you, you can then follow up with the bastardized version with the explanation that you learned to say it the first way. That way you get to make yourself understood while also educating the person you're speaking with.