-Or- Why Food Always Sounds Better in Other Languages Last night, my husband I were having a discussion about how cool the word Chorizo sounds. (Granted, he wasn’t really giving me his whole attention, because I couldn’t sleep and he was most likely sleep-talking to me, and as he reads this will think “I don’t remember this.”) Chorizo compared to the American translation, “saaah-sedge”, is way sexier! Think about other translations. Which sound more enticing? Polpette or Meatball? Carne Asada or Grilled Steak? Baguette or French Bread? Cabernet Sauvignon or Red Wine? Clearly, the last translation is not 100% accurate, but you get my point. As Americans, we are made up of a “melting pot” of different backgrounds and ethnicities yet we are still trying to forge ahead and make things “American.” Sometimes during that process, there are casualties, like, a butchered language. I remember the time (the first and last time) my father took me and my siblings through the drive-thru at Taco Bell (yes, I know that is not a shining example of true Mexican food, but oh well). He ordered the Nachos Bell Gran-dee….. My brothers and I gave him the hardest time! It was mortifying yet also …

Share: