Got It, Love It, Just Don't Know How To Pronounce It

Post by **mdreuben** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:58 pm

LaSpaziale

Just how do you say it?

Post by **Niko** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:02 pm

Lah-Spotz-ee-all

No "e" at the end like EPNW says. The "e" is silent.

Post by **mdreuben** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:53 pm

Niko wrote:Lah-Spotz-ee-all

Thanks Niko! Is the accent on the "Spotz" or the "ee"?

Post by **Niko** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:10 pm

Well...
It's like saying it in two words: La-Spahtsial
No emphasis on any of the letters, just kind of flows out of the mouth like 2 words stuck together.

Post by **Weska** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:25 am

I respectfully take exception, Niko.

If LaSpaziale's last "e" is silent, it's a real exception in pronunciation of Italian words. Italian is very regular in pronunciation and quite close to phonetic in spelling. That last "e" should be pronounced like our letter a--the letter's name, that is, as in "a, b, c..."--unless there is some special dialect or other convention peculiar to just LaSpaziale's name that applies.

Post by **Niko** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:30 pm

Well, I asked the same question to Roger from Chris' over the phone...he went over the name with me a few times. Then I heard an Italian in the North Beach area say it the same way and I figured between these 2 guys it can't be wrong.

Post by **Weska** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:13 pm

OK. I grant you that I'm talking about official Italian, an idealized version of the Tuscan dialect. I notice that Bologna has a website and dictionary project voted to its local dialect. It's different enough that the spellings are not normal by regular Italian standards.

My confidence is shaken but not yet vanquished.

Post by **Niko** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:25 pm

Weska wrote: My confidence is shaken but not yet vanquished.

No, I thought the same thing you're thinking...my confidence is shaken but not yet vanquished as well

I still think if I unplug my ears, I can still hear that faint "e" at the end of Spaziale...

Post by **mdreuben** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 2:37 pm

Anyone at LaSapziale we can call?

Post by **wgaggl** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:02 pm

The "e" at the end is spoken.

Sometimes in southern Italy (like my Sicilian neighbor) they swallow that last vowel a little bit.

Wolfgang

Post by **ebprod** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 4:23 pm

I could have sworn that the recorded message you get when you call Chris Coffee (while on hold), includes the LaSaziale with the "e" pronounced at the end.

-Joe

Post by **gdahl** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 8:12 pm

wgaggl wrote:The "e" at the end is spoken.

Sometimes in southern Italy (like my Sicilian neighbor) they swallow that last vowel a little bit.

Exactly right. The ending vowel's sound is present, but not at all emphasized.

Gary Dahl

Post by **Niko** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 8:30 pm

I think we're all crazee :D

Post by **Weska** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 3:40 am

Not exactly crazy, but we're getting to be like baseball fans, occupying our minds between games with minute details and facts surrounding the real activity. Some might call it obsession. Anyhow, it's a condition that can sometimes be managed but never cured.

Post by **coffeeowl** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:11 pm

nobody checked the link at my equipment list :(

Post by **Weska** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 1:07 pm

Where is your equipment list, coffeowl? I don't find anything like that in your profile. Must be out of it, as is usual enough, oldster that I am.

On another topic, is New Year a big deal in Poland? Bigger than Christmas? Or did the Soviet influence not get that far with Poland?

In Moscow, as you may know, Christmas counts for almost nothing. It's a regular workday during which you may drop by church if you are religious(and many are). But the real celebration for winter, the occasion for giving gifts, the family gathering is on New Year, not Christmas.

Post by **coffeeowl** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 3:05 pm

The equipment is in my signature...
Christmass is BIG in Poland. You know, we're a stubborn nation. Yet we're free, so the church is a loser now, but tradition holds its own anyway.

Post by **Weska** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 4:11 pm

OK, coffeeowl, I see your equipment list in your signature with a link through the bumper tamper stand to an H-B thread about beating a dead horse over the difference between needing such a stand and finding it a convenience.

The connection to the pronunciation of "LaSpaziale" is not obvious. Sorry, slow on the uptake.

However, I'm glad to hear that the Christmas tradition is defying the odds where you live!

Post by **coffeeowl** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 7:39 am

I thought it was a bit entertaining topic...
and I thought the story in the post was great...

as for the pronunciation, I think it may be different from the regular Italian spelling, as it's a custom name. No evidence though.
Happy New Year!

Post by **JohnB** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:45 am

When I was at Chris Coffee yesterday I asked Mary about the "proper" pronunciation of LaSpaziale. She said that the reps from the factory that have visited their business pronounce the name Lah-Spotz-ee-all as Niko posted above with the e silent.

Post by **Niko** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:02 pm

JohnB wrote:When I was at Chris Coffee yesterday...

Did you take any pics? :P

Post by **JohnB** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:28 pm

[quote="Niko"[/quote]Did you take any pics? :P[/quote]

Sorry, but no pics. You can see most of what I saw here:
http://www.amonline.com/publication/art ... 1&id=15529

I did get a tour of the roasting area & warehouse also. It was impressive to see an entire wall of Quickmill & Vivaldi machines stacked floor to ceiling. I believe Mary said they've sold 500 V2's since they came out. Caught a glimpse or two of Chris running around but spent most of the visit with Mary except when I was quizzing the tech.

I got to check out one of these beauties at Barrington Coffee Roasters. Very impressive machine!!