Deferring to people's own pronunciation of their names should obviously be our first inclination, but there ought to be limits. Putting the emphasis on the final syllable of Sotomayor is unnatural in English (which is why the president stopped doing it after the first time at his press conference), unlike my correspondent's simple preference for a monophthong over a diphthong, and insisting on an unnatural pronunciation is something we shouldn't be giving in to.
Oh, brother. And apparently her love of Puerto Rican food is offensive, as well...but I hope that the crack about her love of pig parts and chickpeas was just a joke. Please, please, please let it be a joke.And for those seeking some Spanish training, here's a great video to help you with your Spanish. (Did I see this on Mex Files? Cyber Hacienda? I can't remember).
And finally, a view of American Food - from the right. :)
1 comment:
That first video was hilarious. What's ironic about this Sotomayor backlash with regards to her preference for Puerto Rican cuisine and name pronunciation is that Latin American culture has existed throughout the US for over a century and many times we just don't notice. My favorite is the way many Texans pronounce Guadalupe, which is a common street name. They always skip the e unapologetically.
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