Like my big bro, P-dawg, I consider myself something of a language enthusiast. I get irritated when people use “I” when they should use “me” and I get unduly miffed by a comma splice. Generally, when it comes to pronunciation, I’m a little more lax because I know that language is fluctuating tool of communication and pronunciation changes faster than spelling, and I like to make allowances for regional dialects because I find most regional dialects charming. Also, to be honest, I can be a little inconsistent when it comes to pronunciation. For example, I usually refer to a group of islands southeast of the United States as the cuh-RIB-ee-an, but when referring to the Disneyland ride or trio of increasingly unbearable Johnny Depp films, I always say Pirates of the CARE-uh-BE-an. I tend to alternate between AH-pricot and AY-pricot as my mood dictates, and didn’t know plebeian was pronounced pluh-BE-an until I was 25. So I’m really in no place to judge. Not that that ever stops me.
Until just a few months ago, I thought that the famous restaurant guide was pronounced ZAH-git. However, my friend Maria, who teaches 4th grade at an expensive private Jewish school on the Upper West Side (you might asking yourself what kind of Jew is named Maria. The Mexican Catholic kind.) said she overheard two of her students arguing and went over to see what the fight was about and arrived just in time to see one nine-year-old tell another, “it’s not ZAH-git, it’s zuh-GAT!” She used to teach school in inner-city Oakland and said that while the students there fought a good deal, it was never over the correct pronunciation of a restaurant guide.
Anyhoo, I found that story super charming and have told it to many people, many of whom had also wondered how to correctly say that family’s name. One such person though, insists that the correct way to say it is ZAY-gotts, which I think is just rubbish. Whether he truly believes in his position or is just sticking to it to annoy me, I cannot be sure, but this little debate lead to me doing some pretty extensive internet research which turned up the following helpful pronunciation guides.
From Foodaholics blog:
How to pronounce “Zagat”
Okay. So I am a nut, I admit it. Before moving to Boston I pronounced Zagat as in Zagat Survey, as ZA-git (rhymes with maggot). After hanging around Stephen and his pals, I got into the habit of accepting the pronounciation, za-GHAT (the gat rhyming with not).
But to settle things once and for all I have just visited zagat.com to find the key to pronouncing the silly name.
From Eater.com:
Apologies for our slow start this morning; the web servers that host our little cocktail party are, as our father would say, a bit tiddly today. As we regroup, Eater offers this morsel from a reader, per our post last week about the correct pronunciation of the Guidebook First Family:
before i went to work there, someone told me this way to remember how to pronounce the family name. it’s so moving that i’ve never forgotten it:he’s big, he’s fat
it’s warm where he sat
that’s tim zagat.
While the second example is not terribly flattering to Mr. Zagat, I feel confident that my 4th grader delivered knowledge is correct and you should too. If you are embroiled in any word-related debates holla at a Bratty Kid Sister at bks@nothingreadhere.com.
I have the same dual pronunciation of Caribbean. I used to say route as “root” for everything except “paper route,” but now I’m not quite sure what I say. And I just learned the correct way to say “plebian” today, so you’ve got strength in numbers.