# How do a Eye-talian eat spaghetti? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2002, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155 "2002-11-10T17:47:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/21 "2002-11-11T16:13:53Z")
Yes, chula. I obviously meant “pronunciation” as the following dictionary (pick a way to pronounce that, if you will) shows is one of the meanings (look that one up yourself) for the sequence (that one also) of speech (and that one, whilst you’re about it) sounds in question: > [@](#): > > 2 a (1) : a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use (2) : the entire set of linguistic forms produced by combining a single base with various inflectional elements without change in the part of speech elements b (1) : a written or printed character or combination of characters representing a spoken word \ — sometimes used with the first letter of a real or pretended taboo word prefixed as an often humorous euphemism \ \ (2) : any segment of written or printed discourse ordinarily appearing between spaces or between a space and a punctuation mark c : a number of bytes processed as a unit and conveying a quantum of information in communication and computer work Apparently, it’s escaped you that the written word and the spoken word aren’t exactly the same thing. The written word, for example, may have more than one pronunciation attached to it. On the other hand, a particular pronunciation may have only one particular pronunciation. For cite, I’m just going to have to go with my experience in this locality and others where I’ve lived before. Maybe by the time I get my degree in Linguistics (my major at university, actually), I can do some research on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/22 "2002-11-11T17:05:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*But…that still doesn’t really answer the OP. If you’re sitting in a restaurant in an Italian town and you twirl your spaghetti-with-red-sauce-on-it against your spoon, will you look irredeemably stupid? Will the folks sitting at the next table roll their eyes and mutter in Italian, “Ah, those idiot Americans, they watch too much TV…”, while they continue slurping it up in a most authentic fashion and get red sauce all over their chins? > > Because I always wondered, too. \*\* I lived in Sicily for 3 years. Never saw one place that served speghetti with a spoon, unless it was a tourist location. Mostly you did the way described earlier. Spear some, twirl a little, bite off the ends that are off the fork, repeat until it’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/23 "2002-11-11T17:13:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Atrael \* > I lived in Sicily for 3 years. Never saw one place that served speghetti with a spoon, unless it was a tourist location. I have read/heard somewher that the general Italian opinion is that only children and Swedish tourists eat their spaghetti with a spoon (now **that** is a slur on my nationality if I ever saw one). ---
**Author:** ![bobk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@bobk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobk2)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/24 "2002-11-11T17:24:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\*My mom taught me to twirl spaghetti on the plate. I always figured a spoon was a crutch for those who hadn’t properly developed their twirling skills. And I thought those who didn’t twirl at all were socially deprived, having missed out on an important life lesson from negligent parents. Reading this thread, I now know better (intellectually), but I still feel a bit sorry for folks who can’t twirl. \*\* I’m not Italian, and my wife is (mostly.) Early-on, when dining with her family, her family politely offered pretty much the same viewpoint as above. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/25 "2002-11-11T17:40:48Z")
So it’s okay since Mjollnir is a “fun guy” and he doan mean nuttin? Way to go!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/26 "2002-11-11T18:05:52Z")
What I was commenting on was the fact that they switched hands depending on the type food. I know about the use of the fork with the left hand but not that is was in connection with eating meat. [sup]There is a story about American spies being caught during WWII, because they gave themselves away with the way they used their forks.[/sup] As stated we wondered around Umbra and Tuscany not visiting many tourist spots (only a couple in Firenze). I observed people using a spoon and we were given spoons, therefore I now wonder if it has something to do with the part of Italy one is in. > [@](#): > > **Not any more than Brit-Yank-Frog-Limey-Jap or Kraut.** The French do not like being called “frogs”; the Japanese do not like being called “Japs” and I would imagine you’d be in trouble if you called Germans “Krauts”. Have you not noticed that things have changed since WWII? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/27 "2002-11-11T18:22:53Z")
A spoon?? Am I the only one who has never seen anyone use a spoon when eating? The way it’s been described in this thread sounds incredibly odd to me. And for the record I would _never_ prounce it eye-talian either, since I was taught that it’s impolite. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/28 "2002-11-11T19:11:21Z")
(1) My Sicilian grandmother would sometimes use the fork/spoon method, but more often simply use fork against the plate. I tend to do the latter. (2) As a half-Sicilian from the northeast, I have not met any Italian who found "Eye"talian offensive to anything more than the ear (in the same way boy bands are offensive to the ear). I had to unlearn some midwesterners - I told them that there is no country "Eye"taly, hence I could not be "Eye"talian (and besides, I’m Sicilian, not Italian) ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/29 "2002-11-11T19:45:09Z")
So it seems that however we eat our spaghetti, some people don’t like what other people call us and other people are cool about it. I’d repeat my previous observation that you should be led by the feelings of the person on the receiving end. Frog - I have some good friends in France who jokingly refer to themselves by that word when talking to me (and call me _le boeuf_). I wouldn’t ever use it to a stranger though. Limey - Doesn’t bother me much, but I’d assume it was intended as an insult if I didn’t know the person very well. Jap, Kraut, Eye-tie - Wouldn’t dream of using any of these unless they did first, so we’d need to be good friends already Yank - You tell me. Brit - Believe it or not some of us don’t like that one either, but I’d make allowance for the fact that you probably wouldn’t guess why. I’d strongly urge you to avoid it in an Irish bar or anywhere in Northern Ireland in case you have to carry your chin home with your one good hand ;). Now, where’s my parmesan. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/30 "2002-11-11T20:10:07Z")
Three things: 1. First, I noticed that I left something off of my last posting. Chula, your attention is directed to where I clearly typed “out here.” 2. Everton: “Yank” might not go over so well with some of the folks from Dixie. 3. Anyone interested in knowing how to twirl noodles, including spaghetti, without a spoon or even a fork, but using chopsticks? ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/31 "2002-11-11T23:21:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > **1) First, I noticed that I left something off of my last posting. Chula, your attention is directed to where I clearly typed "out here."** By “out here” you mean northern California? I can’t speak for the whole country, but I definitely am familiar with that region. (Why did you assume I was from somewhere else?) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/32 "2002-11-11T23:39:31Z")
> [@](#): > > (2) As a half-Sicilian from the northeast, I have not met any Italian who found "Eye"talian offensive to anything more than the ear (in the same way boy bands are offensive to the ear). I had to unlearn some midwesterners - I told them that there is no country "Eye"taly, hence I could not be "Eye"talian (and besides, I’m Sicilian, not Italian) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/33 "2002-11-11T23:43:39Z")
_Pronouncing_ “Eye-talian” is not necessarily the same thing as _spelling out_ “Eye-talian.” Pronunciation varies; here in Southeastern Oregon, many people _say_ “Eye-talian.” They do not know that this could be offensive; it is how the word “Italian” is pronounced. I’m not making a statement about whether it is or isn’t offensive; just noting that regional pronunciation varies. When people wish to be intentionally offensive or disparaging, they have other ways to refer to Italians. [hijack]BTW, Oregon voters just voted to remove biased and prejudiced language from obsolete statutes, generally miscegenation laws and limits to property ownership, etc.[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/34 "2002-11-12T00:09:26Z")
> [@](#): > > (2) As a half-Sicilian from the northeast, I have not met any Italian who found "Eye"talian offensive to anything more than the ear (in the same way boy bands are offensive to the ear). I had to unlearn some midwesterners - I told them that there is no country "Eye"taly, hence I could not be "Eye"talian (and besides, I’m Sicilian, not Italian) As another half-Sicilian living in the same area as D\_Odds, I have to agree that the pronunciation “Eyetalian” is generally not taken as offensive to anything but the ear, and I ,at least, assume that the person is from someplace ( like the midwest;)) where it’s a common pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Church\_Key\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Church\_Key\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Church_Key_Kid)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/35 "2002-11-12T00:39:52Z")
> [@](#): > > No, this is international publication. In that case… this is the Internet, the melting pot of the world. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/36 "2002-11-12T01:21:29Z")
Well, it seem’s that Italians are just as varied among thamselves as people of any other group. Most of the Italians I knew were Sicilian, and used a spoon. However, some didn’t and some used a spoon part of the time. None, I think, would have been insulted if you said eyetalian in one word. If you said eye (pause) talian, with a sneer, they would have. They said Italian. Or 'taliano. Something like that, anyway. Been a while. 🙂 BTW; It’s generally _not_ a good idea to tell your 19 yr. old buddy that his 16 yr. old sister is “cute”. Not around the family, anyway. :eek: Peace, Mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/37 "2002-11-12T03:48:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fatdave \* > \*\* > > In that case… this is the Internet, the melting pot of the world. \*\* Maybe we should refer to it henceforth as the EYE-nternet for consistency?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/38 "2002-11-15T21:43:44Z")
I apologize if it seems that I’m gratuitously blowing the tanks on this thread, but this caught my eye (the part about Giuliani): [http://www.free-times.com/News&comm/newsmain.html#landslide](http://www.free-times.com/News&comm/newsmain.html#landslide) ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2002, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155/39 "2002-11-15T23:31:06Z")
To the extent it’s gonna be, this is asked and answered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-a-eye-talian-eat-spaghetti/136155.md?page=1)