can I get a scone with my latte ?

proper modern shibboleth, that

S’s all the way: the only words in Italian with an ‘x’ in them are foreign imported ones like taxi. Same goes for j,(despite juventus), k, y and w if i remember rightly.

What if you want French coffee?

You could ask for ‘un petit café’? 😆

Seriously though, when i lived there, in my local café/bar you got an espresso if you asked for ‘un café’ and you had to get specific if you wanted anthing bigger, browner or frothier.

can I get a scone with my latte ?

proper modern shibboleth, that

Loving that I’m not the only person on the planet who knows what shibboleth means.

scaredypants – Member
I often hear people say ‘Can I have an expresso please’
Of course that’s wrong, it’s “can I get a skinny latte please?”

Not to be facetious but shouldn’t it be “Please may I have a skinny Latte”

The whole ‘Can I get…?’ drives me mad enough before we even get to the expresso/laaartey part.

You are not in an episode of Friends circa 1997!

Are you actually asking if you can climb over the counter and make yourself a coffee? No!

Not to be facetious but shouldn’t it be “Please may I have a skinny Latte”

Or, “White coffee with skimmed milk please”

Not to be facetious but shouldn’t it be “Please may I have a skinny Latte”

That was the point, wasn’t it? – that to be authentically American you need to be very ill-mannered and never, ever say “please”.

Or, “White coffee with skimmed milk please”

Surely that is an Americano with milk?

Latte is generally an espresso and a cup full of steamed milk.

Must be difficult being surrounded by the ‘truly ignorant’

Tell me about it. I struggle every day. 😉

Geoff, I was complaining about people complaining about latte, not the original post.

Re aluminium, that spelling was originally offical as of 1990 but they now also accept aluminum. The original name for it was aluminum (in keeping with nomenclature of the time) (actually aluminia at first according to wiki) but then it was changed to aluminium to match all the other -ium elements being discovered.

So there. Aluminum is older than aluminium and is actually more original and authentic. So as snobby arsed STWers you should all be worshipping it as ‘better’.

The Italians dont call it Espresso… it is just cafe!

Seriously though, when i lived there, in my local café/bar you got an espresso if you asked for ‘un café’ and you had to get specific if you wanted anthing bigger, browner or frothier.

Well I can’t see where the problem lies 😉

As far as I can tell these are the lists of coffee i have seen ordered inmmy local Gallo Nero!!

Cafe – espresso
cafe lungo – my fav a slightly longer/larger espresso
cafe correto – for when I require an extra kick – with Grappa!
Then there is machiato with a little frothy milk, cappucho is what the Italains here call cappucino, then there is senza schuma (no froth) americano, l’inglese and a few mmore variations I cant remember

GrahamS – Member
Or, “White coffee with skimmed milk please”
Surely that is an Americano with milk?

Latte is generally an espresso and a cup full of steamed milk.

AKA an old persons “milky coffee” favoured by elderly brummies!!

can I get a scone with my latte ?

Is that scone as in ‘gone’?
Or scone as in ‘cone’?

in the uk it’s expresso – something like espresso but not quite right

curious how people get uppity about the mispronunciation of a foreign word like ‘espresso’, but if you pronounce a foreign placename authentically (pa-ree? milano?) you’re a pretentious twunt.

😉

Is that scone as in ‘gone’?
Or scone as in ‘cone’?

Either. A concept seemingly alien to most STWers 🙂

(sent from München)

Thing is Bob, “Paris” is the English for “Paree”, and scattering foreign words into your everyday English is pretentious. “Expresso” is not a word in the English language, so using it just makes you look a bit silly. Unless you’re using the word because it’s how the French/Spanish pronounce it, in which case you’re being pretentious. 😀

Here in Malaga it’s a bit different…

Malaga’s coffee measurement system + Tipos de café en Málaga by She-Noir, on Flickr

You think the brits are bad with other languages. The Spanish have no idea of how to pronounce anything in English. Even european shops (FNAC, the national bookseller*) is ALWAYS pronounced eefnac. Drives me bonkers.

Props to supinerider for the video: brilliant!

*yes I know it is French

I heard somebody on Radio5 the other day pronouncing Munich with a German accent so he would sound proper.

I can’t decide if he was being a pillock or if people in Munchen actually call it Munich.

Is that scone as in ‘gone’?
Or scone as in ‘cone’?

It’s the former. Ask a chef if you don’t believe me.

Another often mispronounced word which comes to mind is “speccies”.

Incorrectly pronounced “spee-shees” when the correct way is “spee-sees”.

It’s amazing how many get that wrong, but hey, language evolves over time and so there is in the end no right or wrong. If enough people get it wrong, it becomes right!

Take “tenter hooks” for example, often replaced with the word “tender hooks”. No such thing as tender hooks, but tenter hooks were attached to wooden frames to help dry out fabrics etc to prevent shrinkage. Eventually this word got used as a way of conveying a sense of dicomfort, or anxiety.

What does “speccies” mean? Does it have anything to do with “species”?

Thing is Bob, “Paris” is the English for “Paree”, and scattering foreign words into your everyday English is pretentious.

What he said. What next – shall we talk about the southern Swedish town of “Yertebory”, or the Danish capital “Kerbenhawn” ? Holiday in Squipera, or whatever TF Albania is called in Albanian?

a sense of dicomfort

I’ll bear that in mind next time I’m suffering from an uncomfortable willy

What does “speccies” mean

It used to mean about the same as “four eyes”

Laah-tey according to my Italian work mate.

He pronounces it eXpresso too, and I’ve heard it often enough to be certain 🙂

Sponge – I think your argument is specious.

He pronounces it eXpresso too, and I’ve heard it often enough to be certain

Yeah, but when in Rome etc.

What does “speccies” mean?

Swedish town of “Yertebory”,

I’ve been to Gothenburg, I think it was near there. 😕

Brassneck-

Your Italian mate shouldn’t be pronouncing Xs at all they dont exist in the italian alphabet. Having heard my father try to say the word ‘axe’ many times…..comical…..He just cant do it.

The pronunciation is eSpresso with an ESS sound…nuff said

Cant believe this thread has gone on so long….

Ho detto abbastanza!

ASK not axe. “I’ll just axe that bloke.”

Er, that’s all because of Chaucer, innit.

(Or, for the hard of thinking “ask” and “aks” were once, in essence, interchangeable. but don’t let the subtleties of etymology get in the way of petty racism.)

+1. Arguing about the true pronunciation of English words is clearly ridiculous 🙂

I’ll have an espresso, and make it snappy!

Subito!

Yup – tender hooks – absloutely blood boiler

as is

‘would of’ instead of ‘would have’ even when writing it down

Marin_maketh_the_man – I’m looking at you fool 🙂

He’s Milanese, don’t know if it makes a difference. I’d always thought it was es ..
May be related to him single handedly keeping Philip Morris running, every other hour is a break, every break is a ciggy and es.. ex.. coffee 🙂

…and then there’s the folk who pronounce Abu Dhabi as though the last bit is a place in the Midlands…
…what do they teach them nowadays… 🙄