I get a surprising amount of queries for medical terms, so I’m delighted to post this article by Lily Illington highlighting the dangers of mispronounced medications!

Scientific words often pose quite a problem when it comes to their pronunciation, though luckily – unless you’re working in the field – you don’t come across many occasions where you have to use them in speech. However, the exception is with medications. For those of us who need to take ...

Why are champagne brand names so difficult to pronounce?

Most champagne brand names are mispronounced, even by people who think they know how to say them correctly. Of course all champagne is made in France, so you would think some knowledge of French would help you out here, but this is not always the case. You see, many old champagne families who set up their houses in Champagne did not originally come from France – they came ...

For those of you who have written to me asking what gelato is, I promise you, you already know the answer, sort of! Gelato is Italian for ice-cream – but if you’ve ever had ‘the real thing’, you know that there is something about gelato that sets it apart from other ice-creams. The flavour is quite explosive – if the gelato is made with, say, strawberries, you taste the strawberries. There is a reason for this – several ...

Spanish words are tricky to say – first of all, as with all languages, there are numerous regional variations of this language. Secondly there is a massive difference in pronunciation between Spain and in Latin America. Here are the top 5 mispronounced Spanish Foodie words explained (more to follow soon). If you have any other words you aren’t sure of, don’t hesitate to ask about them.

1. Chorizo. Oh dear, oh dear. ...

Saying Uranus incorrectly has dire and embarrassing consequences. For some reason, NO-ONE is pronouncing the name of this planet correctly – there is only ONE way, and it is revealed in this article. Say it properly, and do your bit towards saving us from the sky falling on our heads.

Before we look at how to say Uranus, let’s just go back a bit and ask ‘who was Uranus’? For those of you who have not had ...

French Onion Soup is absolutely delicious, and anyone can make it. ‘Soupe à l’oignon‘ in French is a simple bistro staple made with minimal basic ingredients – onion, beef stock, bread and gruyère cheese. Don’t be fooled – simple does not mean quick, and unless you are prepared to put in the effort to achieve an outstanding result, you may as well go ahead and heat up a can of the ready-made ...

Real stars don’t get much mainstream press attention. If you do a snap survey along any high street and ask people to name their favourite stars, you would get lists of ‘Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus…’. The chance of finding someone who will spontaneously rattle off names like Betelgeuse, Sirius, Rigel, Arcturus and so on, would be, relative to the first list, somewhat remote. The only way stars in the astronomical sense can get any ...

 A Béarnaise sauce, or ‘Sauce Béarnaise‘ to use the French phrasing, is one of the first sauces a student of French Cooking will learn. Say ‘French Sauce’ and most uninitiated cooks will freeze, and think this must be terribly complicated and far beyond their scope. In fact, the answer to ‘how do you make a Béarnaise Sauce’ is ‘quite simply’ – all you need is a good recipe, a few ingredients, and a little patience.

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Some time ago, a friend took me to lunch. “You must try this place – it makes the most fabulous pizzas”. She pronounced the name “kohl KAT/chee/oh’ which didn’t mean much to me, and off we went. While I was scrutinizing the menu, I looked at the name more carefully, and thought ‘oh wait, if “Col Cacchio” is Italian, you don’t say ‘kohl/KAT/chee/oh’, you say “kohl KAHK/kyoh”. Although it rang a faint bell, I wasn’t entirely sure what ...

All South Africans with bank accounts know that they have to FICA themselves, or they will have access to their money swiftly denied until they go to the bank and get it done. FICA stands for “Financial Intelligence Centre Act” which requires every individual with a bank account to provide incontrovertible proof of residence to the bank.   What on earth does this aggravating and intrusive requirement ...