# "Par-MEE-zyun" cheese

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/par-mee-zyun-cheese/837032>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 13, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/par-mee-zyun-cheese/837032 "2019-07-13T18:25:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/par-mee-zyun-cheese/837032/21 "2019-07-14T14:31:46Z")

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My uncle- who married an Italian - called it par-MAY-zen. Dialectical difference, maybe.

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**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:** [July 14, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/par-mee-zyun-cheese/837032/22 "2019-07-14T14:44:24Z")

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> [@kitap](#):
>
> My uncle- who married an Italian - called it par-MAY-zen. Dialectical difference, maybe.

Accounting for inaccuracies in reproduction and perception, [par me zan] is a plausible Italian pronunciation of the English word “parmesan,” which is different from the Italian word “parmigiano.”

It’s also plausible for the American spouse of an Italian to render [par me zan] as [par ˈmeɪ zən], which would account for the uncle’s pronunciation without any need for speculating about an Italian dialectical pronunciation.

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