Dear Helena,
I always pronounce the Vietnamese soup pho as “foe.” My friend says I’m being culturally insensitive and should make an effort to get it right (she says it’s “fuh”). But people always understand me, so what does it matter anyway? —Fuhgeddaboudit
Dear Fuhgeddaboudit,
Diane Cu, cocreator of the blog White on Rice Couple, says that Vietnamese words are tricky because Vietnamese is a tonal language, with “four or five” main tones and many more regional ones. Although the more common pronunciation of pho is “fuh,” some regions pronounce it more as “foe,” and others in two syllables, Cu says, with a rising tone on the first syllable and a falling tone on the second. Because of the tonal variation, Westerners also struggle with the phrase banh mi. Some erroneously pronounce it as “bang me,” Cu says. Unfortunately, since I couldn’t nail the pronunciation even after hearing it five times, I can’t explain it to you.
There are also regional variations in the pronunciation of Italian food words, says Judy Witts Francini, owner of Divina Cucina, a cooking school in Florence. One difference is that the last syllables of some words, such as mozzarella and braciole, are not pronounced in the south.
But you need not fret too much about regional nuances. The important thing is that you try. At an ethnic restaurant where the servers are from that country, it’s good manners to strive for authentic pronunciation of a foreign food word, as a sign of respect for the culture. If you’re worried about mangling the language and insulting the server, that’s what the numbers on the menu are there for. And you can always ask your server how to pronounce it—so when you return, you’ll be a pro.
That said, there is such a thing as going overboard. If you pronounce “spaghetti” with a flourish or “Croissan’Wich” with your best Parisian flair, then—as Chowhounds have pointed out—you’re going to sound laughably affected.
Typically, the foreign words you’re allowed to take Anglicized liberties with are the ones that wind up in English dictionaries. But what if you don’t have a dictionary on you when placing an order? Sometimes you can just use common sense. As Jesse Sheidlower, the Oxford English Dictionary’s North American editor at large, says, if it’s “on the menu at the Olive Garden,” then chances are it’s as good as white bread.
miznic Sep 30, 2009 07:31AM | link
It’s rare to hear a native Vietnamese speaker pronounce “Pho” as “Foe”, but it does happen.
There are some very distinct Vietnamese tones that are spoken in more rural, areas of Vietnam, where the diacritics are pronounced differently than the more commonly heard tones of the South, Central, and North.
In these rare cases, the rising diacritics don’t necessarily take on a rising tone, but rather, a fluctuating tone with a lowering finish. Even the diacritic that looks a question mark “?” that rests on top of the “O” in “Pho” (called dau hoi ) can often be pronounced flat, resulting in a pronunciation as “foe”.
How do I know this? Because I work with large staff of native Vietnamese speakers who come from all parts of Vietnam. Working and speaking Vietnamese with them has taught me that although there are there are common Viet tones, there are also some unique ones that exist as well.
I’ve learned never to say “never”.
But really, I say, don’t think about it too much, it’s not worth arguing.
If you get close to the pronunciation, that’s great. If you botch it, don’t sweat it. Lord knows I botch the pronunciation of everything outside of my native languages.
Just the fact that a non-Viet chooses to walk into a Vietnamese restaurant and is excited to experience the food is the biggest honor and compliment to the Viet culture and community.
Like my elders tell me– Don’t worry about getting the perfect pronunciation, just slurp it, and eat it all. Enjoy Vietnamese food. You won’t get a spanking for mis-pronunciation, but you will be a big smack for only eating the noodles and leaving all the pho broth behind.
BobB Sep 30, 2009 12:25PM | link
Agreed with miznic–who cares how you pronounce it. Slurp away and no one will understand you anyway!
BTW, a Vietnamese friend explained the pronunciation of bahn mi as “bah’n meh”. Kind of a sharp emphasis at the end of the “ah” sound, as if there were a silent “d” there. The “meh” part, at least, is easy enough … but I don’t bother trying to pronounce it correctly anyway, since most bahn mi places don’t sell anything else and I can just ask for “one with BBQ pork and one with beef, both extra spicy” or something similar 
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