# Greek pronunciation question--"Metaxa" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173 "2005-05-23T21:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/1 "2005-05-23T21:57:22Z")
Yeah, the name of the brandy. A web search didn’t turn up anything. I’ve always just pronounced it “meh-TAKS-uh”, not even thinking about it, because, well, that’s how it’s spelled (pfft–them furriners and their crazy phonemes. Ain’t English good enough fer them?) But a bartender recently pronounced it “muh-TAH-huh”, which finally clued me in to the fact that it might actually _be_ pronounced differently. So can anyone shed light on what the proper pronunciation should be? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/2 "2005-05-23T22:10:39Z")
If it’s spelled [symbol]Metaxa[/symbol], you’re pronouncing it correctly. But if it’s spelled [symbol]Metaca[/symbol], the bartender’s pronunciation is closer–I believe it would be a hard h sound, which doesn’t exist in English. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/3 "2005-05-23T23:50:01Z")
Perhaps the bartender thought it was Mexican? ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/4 "2005-05-23T23:58:50Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I believe it would be a hard h sound, which doesn’t exist in English. What’s a “hard h sound”? > [@postcards](#): > > Perhaps the bartender thought it was Mexican? Possible but unlikely. It was a new bartender, but it’s a good bar, so they should know what they’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/5 "2005-05-24T00:07:48Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#): > > What’s a “hard h sound”? Halfway between an ‘h’ and a ‘k’. Make your tongue as if you were about to say “cat” but move it a little bit from the roof of your mouth before you start. Based on the fact that the bottle says Metaxa, I think it’s very likely that the Greek name is [symbol]Metaxa[/symbol] and that the bartender was mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/6 "2005-05-24T00:20:09Z")
I’ve always called it, and heard it called, **meh-TAHK-suh** , which is essentially the same as the OP. The [Cook’s Thesaurus](http://www.foodsubs.com/Brandy.html) agrees, although I’m not sure how definitive that would be as a cite. I agree with **postcards** ’ “bartender thinks it’s Mexican” theory. Perhaps it’s like when people pronounce the last syllable of the opera _Turandot_ as though it were French (or Homer Simpson, _d’oh!_). It’s not the worst crime in the world, and I’m sure Metaxa and Turandot are pronounced as though they were local words in Mexico and France respectively, but it seems something of a “false sophistication” to do it if one is speaking English. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/7 "2005-05-24T00:25:17Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Halfway between an ‘h’ and a ‘k’. Make your tongue as if you were about to say “cat” but move it a little bit from the roof of your mouth before you start. > > Based on the fact that the bottle says Metaxa, I think it’s very likely that the Greek name is [symbol]Metaxa[/symbol] and that the bartender was mistaken. It _is_ Greek. Metaxa is brand, [their products shown here.](http://greekproducts.com/metaxa.html) I can personally attest to the quality of their Ouzo-my buddy and I took on a bottle, and the bottle won. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/8 "2005-05-24T01:20:55Z")
Cool; thanks for the info. (Woohoo! I was right!) ---
**Author:** ![DustyButt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@DustyButt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DustyButt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/9 "2005-05-24T04:05:01Z")
I’m in the Muh-Tax-Suh camp too. And somebody mentioned Ouzo… **SHUDDER** I know my limits, I used to have a little fun with Ouzo. But, then came that one time I let the smooth taste fool me! To this day I can’t even smell black licorice with out… **SHUDDER** My brain cells refer to that night as Black Friday! ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/10 "2005-05-24T06:11:55Z")
Not so fast, guys; in Greek, the letter X (chi) represents a soft K or hard H sound. It’s most certainly not the [ks] we expect. My browser won’t display the Metaxa Greek site ( [http://www.metaxa.com.gr/greek/maingreek.htm](http://www.metaxa.com.gr/greek/maingreek.htm) ) – can anyone verify the Greek spelling, or the spelling of Spyros Metaxas’s name? ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/11 "2005-05-24T06:24:28Z")
They use 'Merkin letters. You’ll see a bunch of Greek letters and then the word METAXA in all-caps. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/12 "2005-05-24T07:21:43Z")
Not necessarily the Latin alphabet, though. There are many letters in Greek that appear the same. Using the Greek alphabet, one could write “ΜΕΤΑΧΑ” or “μεταχα”, which is “mu epsilon tau alpha chi alpha”. If you search on the Greek spelling of this word, using the Unicode characters for the Greek alphabet, the first result is the homepage of the spirit in question. It may be a safe assumption that it is in fact written “mu epsilon tau alpha chi alpha” , but I don’t speak any Greek so I don’t know how to pronounce it. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/13 "2005-05-24T07:45:44Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > Not necessarily the Latin alphabet, though. There are many letters in Greek that appear the same. :smack: Good point. I was thinking that since it’s a well-known international product, they were using a trademarked brand name character string that used the Latin alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/14 "2005-05-24T14:23:46Z")
OK, mystery solved; Spyros’s last name is spelled with a “xi” – hence, it’s transliterated with an “X,” and pronounced “Metaksa.” ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/15 "2005-05-24T14:46:32Z")
Of course, telling the difference between METAXA and [symbol]METACA[/symbol] can be difficult. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/16 "2005-05-24T17:05:30Z")
I think (my unscientific opinion) that as a group, bartenders and wait staff make, overall, the most incorrect pronunciations of any one group of words related to their profession. You’d think not, since they ought to know the product they’re selling, but boy can they butcher the vocab. If I never hear "poolee foosay, brooschetta, chateau margox, mo-ay, or chicken franchez again, it will be too soon. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/17 "2005-05-24T17:37:50Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > I think (my unscientific opinion) that as a group, bartenders and wait staff make, overall, the most incorrect pronunciations of any one group of words related to their profession. You’d think not, since they ought to know the product they’re selling, but boy can they butcher the vocab. If I never hear "poolee foosay, brooschetta, chateau margox, mo-ay, or chicken franchez again, it will be too soon. The worst is getting corrected when you say “broosketta.” I’m not saying that one should necessarily use the correct foreign pronunciations in English, but one should at least be aware of them. When I learned the word “bruschetta” I learned it as “broosketta” not “brooshetta.” Hence, that’s why I pronounce it that way. It sounds positively weird to me otherwise. I did get riled up when a pretentious bartender corrected me on my pronunciation of “Oban whisky.” I pronounced it the way which seems to me to be the natural way to pronounce this word in English: “OH-b@n” (The “@” representing the schwa, as in the second syllable of “Nolan.”) He didn’t understand. “Huh?” “I’d like an Oban neat, please.” “A _what_?” “Oban. The whisky. From the west coast of Scotland?” “Oh, you mean oh-BAAAAAAAAHHHHHN,” he said with the most exaggerated accent and a sneer of supposed superiority. “Dude, you know what the hell I was asking for, and don’t give me your faux intellectual pronunciation; I worked 20 miles outside Oban for a summer, so I think I know how it’s pronounced.” I wouldn’t have said anything if he hadn’t been so damn smug about correcting my pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/18 "2005-05-24T17:49:34Z")
I agree - I don’t think people should put on a fake Italian or whatever accent (like that chick on the Food Network - she sounds like an idiot) but it is possible to pronounce a foreign word with an “American” accent and have it be pretty darn close to the original. I too have called it “broosketta” and been smugly informed that “it’s pronounced brooshetta” - yeah you just keep thinking that way, idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/19 "2005-05-24T18:54:38Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > brooschetta This is one of my pet peeves. Waiters at Italian restaurants who pronounce bruschetta as if it were a German word. And Ghirardelli as if it were spelled “Girardelli.” And ones who don’t know was “al dente” means. Agh! ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173/20 "2005-05-24T19:03:49Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#): > > I’ve always just pronounced it “meh-TAKS-uh”… The pronounciation is correct, but the accent should be at the last syllabe. In greek letters it is Μεταξά. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-pronunciation-question-metaxa/305173.md?page=2)