I’m a member of Quora Digest (https://www.quora.com), an online platform where you can ask and answer questions about various topics, from politics and business to science and history, so I was fascinated by a recent question (and one specific answer).
The question was: “Why are Italians so picky about miss-pronunciation of Italian foods (bruschetta, bolognese and biscotti) when they frequently miss-pronounce simple English words (hamburger, haddock and hot dog). Why don’t they accept it like the English speakers do?
The answer that fascinated me came from Feifei Wang, who lives in Seattle, Washington, whose name doesn’t sound Italian and who clearly doesn’t live there. But she has some very perspicacious things to say. First of all: “People who insist on pronouncing certain Italian and French words the “right” way are usually non-Italian/French native speakers. But, you also notice that people who nitpick food item pronunciations almost always focus on Italian and French food. Rarely, if ever, do you hear people correct others on pronunciations of Chinese food, Korean food, or Native American food.”
Feifei, who is actually a Chinese singer and actress, says the reason is ‘language privilege.’ In the USA for example, English is the privileged language, conveying a certain status of the speaker and “Italian and French privileged languages, too, so that if you speak either or both of them you are perceived as of higher social status.”
Feifei adds: “So, people are more motivated to correct others when it comes to French and Italian pronunciation because it is a status symbol. This language nitpicking is a (not so) humble brag about how you’re rich and cultured. You learn about French food in France when you’re regularly vacationing in France, and you dine with French people, and you know your high-end cuisines.
“And that’s the reason this kind of nitpicking is annoying for everyone because even if you don’t know about the language privilege, most people instinctively know the nitpicking of pronunciation has nothing to do with wanting to help others or protect the purity of French culture. No. It is about making yourself look better.
So don’t do it. It’ll only make you look like a pretentious prick.”
One would hate to be that Feifei, so I, for one, am going to try to leave bru-shetta, pista-chio and bol -og- nays uncorrected, but it is difficult to keep the lip zipped. And as for anchovies, acciughe (atchoo-gay), they sound like a sneeze, so Bless you!)
You will savour bruschetta, acciughe and dozens of other authentic Italian tastes in the delicious food on a Watermill creative course. You’ll also enjoy inspiring tuition, warm hospitality, stunning scenery, the convivial company of like-minded people — AND, if you book now, our special Early Bird discount of £75 (British pounds) off your 2024 creative holiday.
These are the inspiring 2024 painting courses.
Carl March
20-27 April 2024
Drawing and watercolours en plein air
To learn more about Carl and his course at the mill, please visit his 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Maggie Renner Hellmann
25 May – 1 June 2024
‘Colourful & Expressive Oil & watercolour’ (also Travel sketching, acrylics, and pastel)
To learn more about Maggie and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Randy Hale
8 – 15 June 2024
Watercolour
To learn more about Randy and his course at the mill, please visit his 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Keiko Tanabe
15 – 22 June 2024
Watercolours
To learn more about Keiko and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Michael Solovyev **NEW WATERMILL TUTOR**
22 – 29 June 2024
Atmospheric Landscape in Watercolour: Studio/Plein Air’
To learn more about Michael and his course at the mill, please visit his 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Paul Talbot-Greaves
29 June – 6 July 2024
Watercolour
To learn more about Paul and his course at the mill, please visit his 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Yong Chen **NEW WATERMILL TUTOR**
6 – 13 July 2024
Watercolour
To learn more about Yong and his course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Sue Ford
13 – 20 July 2024
Watercolours
To learn more about Sue and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Fiona Graham Mackay
17 – 24 August 2024
Painting en plein air (oil, acrylic, watercolour and pastel)
To learn more about Fiona and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Pamme Turner
24 – 31 August 2024
Watercolour and gouache
To learn more about Pamme and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Mike Willdridge
7 – 14 September 2024
Watercolour and drawing (also gouache and acrylics)
To learn more about Mike and his course at the mill, please visit his 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Rebecca de Mendonça
14 – 21 September 2024
Pastels
To learn more about Rebecca and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Tim Wilmot
28 September – 5 October 2024
Watercolours
To learn more about Tim and his course at the mill, please visit his 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Grahame Booth
5 – 12 October 2024
Watercolours
To learn more about Grahame and his course at the mill, please visit his 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
La Bella Vita knitting courses for 2024.
Susan Crawford **NEW WATERMILL TUTOR**
27 April – 4 May 2024
Knitting and La Bella Vita
To learn more about Susan and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Norah Gaughan
4 – 11 May 2024
Knitting and La Bella Vita
To learn more about Norah and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Louisa Harding
11 – 18 May 2024
Knitting and La Bella Vita
To learn more about Louisa and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Debbie Abrahams
18 – 25 May 2024
Knitting and La Bella Vita
To learn more about Debbie and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Sylvia Watts-Cherry **NEW WATERMILL TUTOR**
1 – 8 June 2024
Knitting and La Bella Vita
To learn more about Sylvia and her course at the mill, please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Our renowned Writing Your Life Stories course
Jo Parfitt
21 – 28 September 2024 s
Write your life stories
To learn more about Jo and her course at the mill, please visit please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile Page.
Our unique Italian language course
Giulia Balestri
12 – 19 October 2024
Learning Italian with the Italians
For more details on Giulia’s 2024 course at the mill, please visit please visit her 2024 Tutor Profile page.