A Spicy Rant

I just want to take a moment to address all those British folks that like chorizo. You know, the spicy Spanish sausage. Now that we are multiculturally aware and have seen a few episodes of Jamie Oliver and  other top TV chefs at work we feel we are well versed in diverse culinary delights. Well versed enough to actually pronounce the word "chorizo". Well, I'm here to tell you, British people, you can't. Oh, you think you can, don't you? You confidently attempt it, savouring the syllables as they roll off your Anglo-Saxon tongue. "CHO-RITZ-O", you say, trying to appear worldly and cosmopolitan. You actually are looking like a bit of a prat.
 

It's not CHO-RITZ-O. Not by a long shot. Sorry to have to burst your bubble and all, but I think you need to know. If you don't stop saying it that way, I might go out of my mind. Some folks think I am already at that point, but I don't actually care about anyone else's opinion.

The correct pronunciation? Well, in Spanish, the letter Z is pronounced as an S. Even more so in Mexico, where it is practically hissed. CHO-REESS-O.

Only in Italian does a Z do that 'there's an invisible T in there somewhere' thing, and only if there's two of them. Think PIZZA, PIAZZA, MEZZOFORTE, etc.

So are we clear now? Chorizo is pronounced CHO-REESS-O. Not CHO-RITZ-O. Got it?