- Today's lesson is delicious.
The reason is because I'm going
to teach you how to say 10 difficult food words correctly.
That's coming up.
So all of us like to eat.
Well, at least I hope all of us do,
and therefore, I thought it would be useful
to talk about food.
And specifically, I'm going to talk
about 10 words, 10 food words,
that are difficult to pronounce.
Now, they may be difficult because
of the way they're spelled, or the way
that the syllable is stressed,
and what we're going to do is I'm going
to tell you the word, and repeat
it again, and again, and again,
so you can hear the correct pronunciation.
I will tell you how many syllables the word has,
and which one is stressed.
In addition, I will give you the phonetic spelling
so that you can see how the pronunciation is really spelled.
And I'll just give you a little information
about the food in general, mostly my opinion,
just to spice things up.
So let's begin.
The first word is zucchini.
Zucchini.
This word has three syllables,
and the stress is on that second syllable,
that "kee", and that's where it confuses people,
because of the spelling.
That C-C-H-I just has that "kee" sound.
Zucchini.
You could say it with me, Zucchini.
Now, I am somebody who really doesn't have
to worry about the pronunciation
of this word, because I don't like zucchini.
I don't really eat zucchini.
I'm never asking for zucchini.
I'm never talking with people about zucchini,
except for right now.
But now you know how to say it
if you ever want to ask for it.
Zucchini.
- What in the hell is that?
- My zucchini casserole.
- Zucchini!?
- So zucchini, it's kind of leaving a bad taste
in my mouth right now, so let's
just move on to the next word, which is salmon.
This is a very popular fish word.
It has two syllables, and the stress is
on that first syllable.
Salmon.
That second syllable has that schwa sound.
It's an unstressed syllable, salmon.
And the reason why this word is
commonly mispronounced is because of that l.
This is a silent l, so you can forget about it.
Get rid of it when you're saying the word,
and you would just ask for salmon.
What would you like for dinner?
I'd like some salmon.
If you like salmon, just let me know.
Let me know in the comments.
The next word is a great one, simply
because I think it just tastes really,
really good, because it's butter,
sugar, milked, cooked together, to give you caramel.
And the pronunciation, it can be debatable, a little bit.
There are several pronunciations for this word.
I think that all of 'em are acceptable,
even though I'm sure some people would be like,
"No, no, no.
"There's only just one way to say it."
But I am gonna tell you all three ways to say caramel.
First, you should know that the word has three syllables,
and the stress is on that first syllable.
That second syllable is gonna have a schwa sound,
and that final syllable is where
you might hear a different pronunciation.
People might say caramel,
and that "muhl" is that third syllable,
or you might hear people say caramel, and "mel".
So it's a difference between "muhl" and "mel".
Caramel, caramel.
And those are very similar, and I think
if you're just having a conversation
and you say either one of those,
nobody's really going to think about it.
But another pronunciation, which is,
I think, becoming more popular
in North America, just in North America,
is making it a two-syllable word,
and dropping that second syllable,
and omitting that schwa sound.
And people would just say caramel.
I say caramel even though I think many
other English-speakers would say caramel, or caramel.
So now you know how to pronounce
all of these different variations of caramel.
Or caramel.
Or caramel (chuckles).
You decide.
- Caramels.
- It's good, it's caramel.
- I love caramel apples.
- You can't eat caramel.
- Try the caramel, it's delicious.
- Ooh.
- Next is quinoa.
Now, you're probably looking at this word,
and the way it's spelled, and you're thinking,
what the heck?
Now, the reason is, is because this is
not a word from the US, or the UK,
or Canada, Australia, South Africa,
or other English-speaking countries.
Quinoa is a tall crop that you
mainly find in Peru, Bolivia, or Chile.
But the word does have two syllables.
The stress is on that first syllable.
Quinoa.
Now, you might hear it pronounced
with three syllables, quinoa, in which case,
the stress would be on that second syllable.
Quinoa, and that final syllable would
just be that schwa, "uh".
Quinoa, or quinoa.
Again, I don't have a problem with
this word because I'm never using it,
even though quinoa, I've heard it's very healthy.
I don't really eat it that often.
But in case you like quinoa,
now you know how to pronounce it.
So let's just move on to the next word, which is a drink.
We're switching it up a little.
We're gonna throw a drink in there,
and that drink is a daiquiri.
Daiquiri has three syllables,
and the stress is on that first syllable.
Daiquiri.
This word can be confusing, because
that Q-U-I can throw people off.
It takes on that k sound, so you have daiquiri.
That second syllable also has the schwa.
Daiquiri.
And this drink is a cocktail of rum,
lemon or lime, and sugar.
It's usually also served with some type of fruit.
Fun fact.
The daiquiri cocktail was invented
by an American mining engineer
who got the name from a beach in Cuba,
and then he introduced the drink
to New York City, and from there, the rest is history.
So if you like fruity cocktails,
then you might want to try a daiquiri.
I'm not a big fan of daiquiris.
I think they're too sugary.
- You haven't tried my daiquiri.
- How do you say banana daiquiri?
- Banana daiquiri.
- Another round of daiquiris.
- The next word is one of my favorites, guacamole.
It is mashed avocados with lemon or lime juice,
and you can put it on bread.
You can use it as a dip.
It's just, it's wonderful.
I love guacamole.
And it has four syllables,
and the stress is on that third syllable.
Now, I am saying it like many Americans say guacamole.
Now, it is a Spanish word, and in Spanish,
the correct pronunciation would be guacamole.
Guacamole.
So just know that the correct pronunciation would be
guacamole, even if though, if you travel
to the US, you might hear a lot
of English-speakers saying guacamole.
- Ooh, guacamole!
- I thought it was guacamole (scoffs).
♪ I used to like guacamole ♪
♪ Now I don't like guacamole ♪
- Holy moly!
That was a lot of guacamole.
- Next, we have a cheese, a cheese from Italy.
Parmesan.
It has three syllables, and the stress,
you might hear it on that first syllable, Parmesan,
or you could hear it on that third syllable,
and people would say Parmesan.
I tend to stress it, I'm trying to think, Parmesan.
I think I end up stressing it on that first syllable.
One reason this word can be a little confusing is
because that s has a z sound.
Parmesan.
I'd like some Parmesan cheese.
I grew up in the southeast of the US,
and there, you might hear people say Parmesan.
I don't know where it came from, but just an FYI.
If you're there, you might hear people say,
"Yes, I would like some Parmesan."
But I would encourage you just to say Parmesan.
Parmesan cheese.
- You want some Parmesan cheese on that?
- Also from the great state of Wisconsin, an aged Parmesan.
- Next is artichoke.
This food has three syllables,
and the stress is on that first syllable.
Artichoke.
It is a vegetable, common, I think, in the Mediterranean.
Some people like artichokes.
I am not a big fan of artichokes.
Now, the word sounds similar to the way it's spelled.
The one thing I would tell you
about this word is that, when you say
it in English, that r, it's not a strong r, it's very soft.
Artichoke.
In some cases, it may sound like people are dropping
that r altogether, but I think you'll slightly hear it.
Artichoke.
- I don't even know what that is.
- Artichoke?
- Know that you secretly love artichokes.
- Again, another food that I don't have
to worry about pronouncing.
Artichokes.
Now that I think about it, all
of the words that I don't have
to worry about pronouncing are vegetables.
That's not good.
Next is the word cinnamon, which is a spice,
a delicious spice.
This spice has three syllables,
and the stress is on that first syllable.
Cinnamon.
Notice that c is going to have an s sound,
and it's followed by the schwa.
Cinnamon.
Cinnamon, it's great.
I love cinnamon rolls.
Those are very delicious.
If you never tried 'em, you should ask
for some cinnamon rolls.
It's not a vegetable, not a healthy food, but it's good.
- Cinnamon takes a backseat to no babka.
(laughing)
People love cinnamon.
It should be on tables in restaurants
along with salt and pepper.
- And our last word.
I saved the best for last, because
this is my favorite food on the list,
and that is filet mignon.
This food is actually two words,
and the stress is on the second syllable for each word.
Filet mignon.
Now, you might be wondering about
why is it pronounced this way, because of the spelling?
Well, this is a French word.
Filet mignon.
It's a steak.
It's delicious.
It's juicy, succulent, savory.
Oh, I really would like
to have a filet mignon right about now.
- I thought I was making a filet mignon.
- In honor of Paige being home,
I made your favorite dinner, filet mignon.
- Just because you can't have filet mignon doesn't mean
that you have to settle for fast food.
- Now that you know how to say these food words
correctly, I want to hear from you.
So in the comments, write to me.
Let me know, what is your favorite food?
I just like learning more about you guys.
Share with us.
Write it in the comments.
Tell me your favorite food.
Mine, filet mignon, hands-down.
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Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you next time.
I'm gonna go eat right now (chuckles).