(A condescendingly semi-educational rant)
I was beginning to like the place. The bread was decent; the soup a tasty treat; the ambiance survivable. Not bad, I said to myself. However, when it was finally time to order the main course for the evening, my heart sank with a plunk. All the main courses were listed under the word entrée. Nothing odd here, you might say. A common word in American menus, n’est-ce pas? Sure. Do we know what it means? Absolutely not.
Restaurant-wise, this French term means ‘starter’ or, more literally put, the ‘[meal of] entry’. Hence any ‘entrée’ with a price tag between $20 and $50 either contains some of Earth’s finest and rarest ingredients or merely contains your run-of-the-mill garden variety…planted, fertilized, grown, and cultivated on the Moon.
And to address the question, “How am I supposed to know what ‘awn-trey’ means – I only speak American!”, allow me to suggest that fluency in a Latin language should not be necessary. Let’s see (keeping in mind that the context is food): entrée…entry…entrance…doorway…the doorway into a meal. In case you lack the fabulous god-given gift of inquisitiveness and a library card, there’s always the Internet – look it up.
Regardless of whether your linguistic knowledge remains within the confines of the English language, I believe the real problem lies elsewhere. This type of hideous misusage not only stems directly from ignorance, but – more importantly – does so indirectly from a general apathy towards fighting widespread ignorance. We accept things without questioning. It’s the whole, “Let others think for me” attitude. I also sense a certain laziness when it comes to doing a bit of research into that which we’ve not a clue as to its meaning. Hey, I’ve fallen into that trap many a times.
Let us remember, of course, that marketing’s strategy of simplifying products through the “cunning” use of brands and labels is certainly not helping. As far as I’m concerned, the more gullible and ignorant the consumers, the easier it is to shove this deception down their throats (foie gras, anyone?).
For instance, let’s take the phrase “panini sandwich”. Heard or read of it before, vero? Just in case you’re one of those individuals that use this phrase, please allow me to clue you in on what you’re really saying. Ordering a panini sandwich is literally ordering a ‘sandwiches sandwich’. A panino is the Italian equivalent of a sandwich; panini is the plural of this equivalent. Ecco! – a linguistic abomination born from some perverse ménage a trois between ignorance, laziness, and marketing ploys.
And if you think the horrendous use of the word panino might chap some Italian’s ass, make sure you’re not in
Listen, the bottom line is this: Question. Research. Investigate. Use the Internet – never before has such an unfathomable amount of knowledge (and porn) been made available to us at our fingertips! If you decide to remain culturally complacent and intellectually lethargic, do me a favor and stop butchering all these foreign words. As a matter of fact, try applying for a passport and leave the confines of the American bubble once in a while.
Illustration: Choke, by Virgilio Nebel
