Bay-sil or Baaa-sil??

Not by me.  I go for Murrion.  I didn't say I was proud of it.

When you say it like that, it does sound really French! (I'm doing that thing at the end where you loose the n in the o) 

BAYSIL!


It's also PUH-CAhN!

 

For those who have been living in the UK for some time now, have you changed the way you say tomato or basil? When you're ordering food at a restaurant how do you pronounce them?

I feel like a sore thumb when I say toe-may-toe. And I feel like a poser when I say toe-mah-toe. Either way I know I'm gonna get a strange look.

Can't win for losing! 

I worked with a Jamaican guy called Basil. All the people at work (in the US) called him 'baysil'. I asked him once if his name was 'Bahzel', and he stopped dead in his tracks and said 'gdm't I've been trying to tell these people for years how to pronounce my name, but gave up a few years ago! I'm glad someone understands'. Must of been miserable for him.

I work now in the UK, and they can't pronounce US words correctly. Mostly words that are related to common US foods. Taco, is one of them. Chipotle, they call chip-pot-ul. The estate agent I was working with didn't know what a faucet was.

As for me, I alternate having grown up in between. I suppose it's like bi-lingual people switching between two languages. 

Marion

Ok, I'll say it the same way I say the name of actress Marion Cotillard... which I like to think I say with the right accent but probably do not. 

I worked with a Jamaican guy called Basil. All the people at work (in the US) called him 'baysil'. I asked him once if his name was 'Bahzel', and he stopped dead in his tracks and said 'gdm't I've been trying to tell these people for years how to pronounce my name, but gave up a few years ago! I'm glad someone understands'. Must of been miserable for him.

I work now in the UK, and they can't pronounce US words correctly. Mostly words that are related to common US foods. Taco, is one of them. Chipotle, they call chip-pot-ul. The estate agent I was working with didn't know what a faucet was.

As for me, I alternate having grown up in between. I suppose it's like bi-lingual people switching between two languages.

See, that's what I told my husband. Baaa-sil is a man's name. Bay-sil is an urrrrb.

My husband gets Spanish words all kinds of wrong. Now those I can correct him on since I actually do speak a bit of Spanish! Bless his heart, he's quick to call tortilla chips "TOR-TILL-EE-UH."  No, baby. No.

See, that's what I told my husband. Baaa-sil is a man's name. Bay-sil is an urrrrb.

My husband get Spanish words all kinds of wrong. Now those I can correct him on since I actually do speak a bit of Spanish! Bless his heart, he's quick to call tortilla chips "TOR-TILL-EE-UH."  No, baby. No.

I still don't understand this question my husband asked me almost 3 years ago.

What is a taco?

Sweet Baby Jesus.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

I still don't understand this question my husband asked me almost 3 years ago.

What is a taco?

Sweet Baby Jesus.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

How is that an actual question? 

That's how I say my username, Jimbo see zed

Confession... In my mind, all this time, I've been mentally saying "jim-bocks."

...where is the mortified emoticon?!

The taco talk made me think of myself, the first time I visited England at 21 (when we were still LDR boyfriend/girlfriend).

He asked if I wanted curry (Indian) for dinner, and I replied "what's curry?" He just couldn't believe I didn't know what it was! I'd heard of Indian food of course but never had it. I never heard the term curry before either.

I come from a small town in the Midwest. The closest Indian place is probably an hour away, near the city.

The taco talk made me think of myself, the first time I visited England at 21 (when we were still LDR boyfriend/girlfriend).

He asked if I wanted curry (Indian) for dinner, and I replied "what's curry?" He just couldn't believe I didn't know what it was! I'd heard of Indian food of course but never had it. I never heard the term curry before either.

I come from a small town in the Midwest. The closest Indian place is probably an hour away, near the city.

I never had Indian food until I moved to LA. I am originally from the midwest also... Detroit to be exact. I can't say there was much around in the way of Indian food. Only curry I had ever heard of was curry goat because my family is West Indian from St. Kitts and Barbados and that's a very popular Caribbean dish. But I am sure glad I got to know Indian food while I was in LA because it's delish! And even better in the UK!

I'd never had a curry before I came to Scotland for the first time... my then-boyfriend & everyone he insisted on telling could NOT believe it!

I remember it well... it was in November 1985, at the Modern Punjabi, Ibrox.
I walked through the door, and the smell made me gag.  It was an overpowering odour of a hundred smells my sheltered Californian nose had never smelled before.  I sat there, terrified that I was going to boak and embarrass myself in front of my new boyfriend.  I had no idea what to order, so he ordered for me... chicken tikka masala. 

Then the food came, and I ate, and my palate was changed forever!  

Now I appear regularly in my friend's curry blog and i'm picky enough to prefer the Pakistani and Afghani curries to the Indian ones.

I worked with a Jamaican guy called Basil. All the people at work (in the US) called him 'baysil'. I asked him once if his name was 'Bahzel', and he stopped dead in his tracks and said 'gdm't I've been trying to tell these people for years how to pronounce my name, but gave up a few years ago! I'm glad someone understands'. Must of been miserable for him.

I work now in the UK, and they can't pronounce US words correctly. Mostly words that are related to common US foods. Taco, is one of them. Chipotle, they call chip-pot-ul. The estate agent I was working with didn't know what a faucet was.

As for me, I alternate having grown up in between. I suppose it's like bi-lingual people switching between two languages.

Haha. I only know it's Bah-zil because of the Great Mouse Detective, Basil of Baker Street. 😁 Love that underrated Disney movie.

Haha. I only know it's Bah-zil because of the Great Mouse Detective, Basil of Baker Street. Love that underrated Disney movie.

No idea who it is, but the name basil rathbone is stuck in my mind. That’s the only way I knew how to pronounce this guys name. It took me awhile, and didn’t put it together until I saw his name written down.. I just assumed it was bay-sil because he took it; shamefully.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bill Bryson wrote a whole book about this kind of thing.  Outlines exactly how the American accent diverged from British and why.

I actually saw this covered by a TV program when Shakespeare was having some kind of anniversary a few years ago. Apparently Americans do Shakespeare closer to how it's supposed to sound than Brits! Hahahaha

Mrs Magpie, show your husband the word Nicaragua and ask him to pronounce it.  Chances are it will entertain you for a lifetime!