How Do You Pronounce "Alicante Bouschet"
Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:37 amAs a former linguist, translator, and language teacher, I've found that, if I want to be understood by the majority of the people, the "right way" to say things is to say them like the majority of the populace would. And it really doesn't make a difference what the book-learnin' dictates. Pronunciations and definitions appear to be more a matter of agreement and convention than some normative rule from out in philosophical space. (cf. our discussions on the meaning of "terroir.")
So, now we have this word "Alicante Bouschet." It seems most everyone pronounces the "Bouschet" part the same, i.e. "boo-shay." When it comes to the "Alicante" part, it gets interesting. In my travels I hear three different main variants and the one I tend to use is the one least heard and I've begun to swing unconsciously to a different pronunciation.
How does your gut (not your dictionary) tell you to pronounce the "Alicante" in "Alicante Bouschet?" This is one of those answer-without-thinking-about-it questions. And we can talk about the "a" in the "cant" part another time.
So, now we have this word "Alicante Bouschet." It seems most everyone pronounces the "Bouschet" part the same, i.e. "boo-shay." When it comes to the "Alicante" part, it gets interesting. In my travels I hear three different main variants and the one I tend to use is the one least heard and I've begun to swing unconsciously to a different pronunciation.
How does your gut (not your dictionary) tell you to pronounce the "Alicante" in "Alicante Bouschet?" This is one of those answer-without-thinking-about-it questions. And we can talk about the "a" in the "cant" part another time.