For anyone saying "well OBVIOUSLY the British pronunciation is correct," I say "And how do they say Don Quixote?" (Americans pronounce it pretty close to the Spanish. I have heard even British professors of Spanish literature pronounce it "Don Quick-zot.")
To clarify: I should say that most Americans pronounce Don Quixote closer to Spanish than British people do, but most of us Americans still get it wrong, stressing the wrong syllable and so on. Still, recognizable.
I thought it was like Don EE-xhot
Here, there’s a chain of shops that sell…pretty much anything you can think of call Don Quijote, which is shortened to “Donki,” but which has a penguin for a mascot. I think they missed a chance at having Sancho Panza on a donkey as a mascot. www.donki.com/en/
I have a big framed print of Guernica, but I’ve wanted to have the Don Quixote on my wall for a long time.
You really want to be obnoxious, go with the French pronunciation when discussing it with English speakers of either stripe: "Don KEY-shoat"
Heard Jeremy Paxman once snootily say this exact thing on "University Challenge" after a contestant gave the wrong answer and I thought he looked an absolute buffoon.
There needs to be a sister competition to the Spelling Bee-- a Pronunciation Bee, where the judge spells an obscure word for you, gives you its definition, and you have to pronounce it correctly
The American pronouncement of ‘aluminium’ blows my English mind. Same with ‘Bernard’ and ‘squirrel’. Language is brilliant. Saying that in Britain ‘scone’ is pronounced differently in the north and south, among many words.
I have a friend who, at least back in high school, could not manage "aluminum" (as Americans say it) or "abominable." It would be like how Nanny Ogg says "banana"--there'd be a bunch of extra syllables. Strangely, that guy was very articulate, otherwise.
Nanny Ogg. 😍
