Grosgrain
Pardon My French
Recently, in a short video on the subject of straw hatsYT, the History Guy pronounced the word ‘grosgrain’.GT (the name of the fabric from which the hatbands for said chapeaux were made) as if it were a command to cultivate a field of wheat, barley, or oats. That is, he spoke the first syllable à la française and the second in ordinary English.
As you might imagine, I would not have objected to a properly Gallic gros-grain.GT Neither would I have taken umbrage at ‘gross-grain’. The mixing of Calaisien cheese and good Dover chalk, however, offended my sense of linguistic boundaries. (The Channel, Gentle Readers, exists for a reason!)
Happily, the passage of time, which cures all ills, has muted the pain caused by this little exercise in hyphenated hermaphrodism. After some reflection, I realized that the kludge resulted from obedience to an unspoken rule of thumb, a guideline that goeth thusly.
When a recent import from France uses sounds already in use in the Anglosphere, then we can speak it in a more-or-less authentic fashion. When, however, authenticity requires that English-speakers strain their talking tackle, we may employ more familiar phonemes.
Note on Links
YT marks a link to a video on YouTube.
GT indicates a connection to Google Translate.
Links in the captions of paintings will take you to the website of the Art Renewal Center.
