# Pronounciation of "jalapeno" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853 "2011-01-16T19:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/41 "2011-01-17T04:42:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Other. Ha-la-PEY- **nyo**. There’s a tilde over the ‘n’ (_eñe_ – ‘enya’). This. Well, that’s what I call it when I’m not being a dork. Otherwise, it’s hapalenyo. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/42 "2011-01-17T04:53:50Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > We-ellll, I would argue that “jalapeño” is less a new English word and more what Alan Bliss would call a _foreign word in current English usage_, which operates under somewhat different rules. Interesting–can you tell me more about this? Googling Alan Bliss doesn’t return very promising results. Seems to me that the definition of an English word is that it’s a word used by native English speakers as part of a sentence in English, more or less (with exceptions for weird cases like quotes). A word’s pronunciation in an English sentence may owe a debt to its pronunciation in its ancestor tongue, but not necessarily. If we can talk about jalapeno burgers at McDonalds, chances are good that jalapeno has made the transition to an English word. And the fact that it appears so often without the tilde suggests that it’s got a distinct English form. Of course I can believe that intellectually and still get annoyed by “hah bah NYER oh” and “bohn app eh TEAT”. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/43 "2011-01-17T05:19:12Z")
English is weird in how it borrows words and phrases from foreign languages. Take for instance, the phrase _faux pas_. It is a phrase in both English and French, and pronounced the same (I think), but it has two different meanings. In English, it’s a social mis-step, like grabbing food with your hands when it’s not appropriate to. In French, it literally means a stumble, like tripping over the curb. (Call BS on me if I’m wrong, as always). As far as spelling and pronunciation goes, English isn’t even consistent with English when it comes to spelling, pronunciation, and usage, hence the joke about the English and the Americans being divided by a common language (if the Brits would just learn to speak the language _correctly_, there wouldn’t be a problem ;)) EDIT: Oh, and I forgot in my first reply: When I’m being goofy or trying to tweak somebody off, I will sometimes pronounce it “Jah-LAH-pehno”, with a hard “English” J sound. I admit, it is fun sometimes to watch people twitch. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/44 "2011-01-17T05:22:44Z")
Other ha-lah-PEH-nyo ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/45 "2011-01-17T05:25:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Other. Ha-la-PEY- **nyo**. There’s a tilde over the ‘n’ (_eñe_ – ‘enya’). This. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/46 "2011-01-17T05:30:03Z")
> [@John DiFool](#): > > . . . it bugs me when people pronounce it using English phonics rules, which I find rather strange. > [@panache45](#): > > This is exactly what you have done, in your two examples. > > It’s ha-la-PAY-nyo. But it’s not really a long “AY” sound in Spanish, either. It’s more a short “e.” Note the [IPA pronunciation here.](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jalape%C3%B1o#Spanish) For whatever reason, it seems American English speakers like to make a lot of short “e” sounds in Spanish “ay” sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/47 "2011-01-17T07:07:57Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Well, _I_ knew how to correctly pronounce it, but wasn’t sure where to put the “y”, and all the while the \*&^%$#@ 5 minute timer was ticking. Sue me. 😛 Riiiiiiiight. It’s bad enough being ignorant and stubbornly arrogant about it, but refusing to admit it is worse. Take the schooling you’re getting here like a man. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/48 "2011-01-17T07:13:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Other. Ha-la-PEY- **nyo**. There’s a tilde over the ‘n’ (_eñe_ – ‘enya’). Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/49 "2011-01-17T07:13:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But it’s not really a long “AY” sound in Spanish, either. It’s more a short “e.” Note the [IPA pronunciation here.](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jalape%C3%B1o#Spanish) For whatever reason, it seems American English speakers like to make a lot of short “e” sounds in Spanish “ay” sounds. You’ve got it backwards… in Spanish it _is_ an “ay” sound (as in “bay” or “day” which is how the letter “e” is always pronounced in Spanish). You’re looking at the English pronunciation, which is different. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/50 "2011-01-17T07:15:51Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > English is weird in how it borrows words and phrases from foreign languages. Take for instance, the phrase _faux pas_. It is a phrase in both English and French, and pronounced the same (I think), but it has two different meanings. In English, it’s a social mis-step, like grabbing food with your hands when it’s not appropriate to. In French, it literally means a stumble, like tripping over the curb. (Call BS on me if I’m wrong, as always). It is used in French both in the literal and figurative sense. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/51 "2011-01-17T07:25:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But it’s not really a long “AY” sound in Spanish, either. It’s more a short “e.” Note the [IPA pronunciation here.](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jalape%C3%B1o#Spanish) For whatever reason, it seems American English (AE) speakers like to make a lot of short “e” sounds in Spanish “ay” sounds. In American English (as well as most other varieties), the /e/ phoneme is realized as [eɪ] “ay.” Thus, when we hear [e], we immediately associate it with /e/, and thus pronounce it [eɪ]. As for the OP: since we already change the other two vowels to their AE pronunciations (/a/ to [æ] and /o/ to [oʊ]) I see no reason not to change the /e/ to [iː]. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/52 "2011-01-17T07:30:07Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > It is used in French both in the literal and figurative sense. Really? Neat. Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/53 "2011-01-17T07:31:38Z")
Kha-la-peh-nyo – I’m probably over-emphasizing the “kh” sound there, IIRC it’s a lot milder in Spanish than it is in my native Hebrew… But to the Poll Question: “Peh” on the penultimate syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/54 "2011-01-17T08:48:31Z")
Jalapeño, con dos cojones, unless I happen to be with someone whom I know pronounces it differently: I tend to mimic people’s pronunciations (it’s not on purpose, I just do it). > [@](#): > > You’ve got it backwards… in Spanish it is an “ay” sound (as in “bay” or “day” which is how the letter “e” is always pronounced in Spanish). You’re looking at the English pronunciation, which is different. But the vowels in “bay” and “day” aren’t pronounced as Spanish “e” - in Spanish phonics, they’re béi and déi. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/55 "2011-01-17T08:51:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As for the OP: since we already change the other two vowels to their AE pronunciations (/a/ to [æ] and /o/ to [oʊ]).. That’s the thing: We don’t _all_ do that. This probably varies a lot depending on the region of the States one is from, and other factors. As mentioned above, I don’t think this words has been assimilated in any relatively standard way at all, yet. I think that I myself use different pronunciations, depending on whom I’m talking with. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/56 "2011-01-17T10:09:20Z")
Jalapeño peppers are named after the city of Xalapa in Veracruz. There is no debate about how the city name is pronounced, and Jalapeño should be pronounced exactly the same but with the addition of the “eño” (en yo) suffix, meaning “of” or “coming from”. The “J” in this case is not pronounced exactly like an “H” would be in English because the name of the city doesn’t really begin with a “J” it begins with an “X” so whichever spelling is used they are both pronounced as the antique Spanish pronunciation of “X”. In other words the J in Jalepeno should be pronounced the same way the X in MeXico is pronounced “Mehico” in Spanish. It isn’t a standard H or J or X sound. It could be described as a throaty H sound. You can hear an example of the correct pronunciation [here](http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=&ie=UTF-8&text=jalape%C3%B1o&sl=es&tl=en#)by clicking the “listen” button under the text box. As to why it gets mispronounced in English the same could be asked about many Spanish words. Why don’t we say “Lohs an hel eez” instead of “las an jel ous” for Los Angeles? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/57 "2011-01-17T10:47:18Z")
As someone that had the joys of learning a foreign language in his adult years and now uses it on a day-to-day basis (I work in Swedish), I’ve noticed that when speaking Swedish I pronounce English words, for example place names and whatnot, in a Swedish manner. In English I’ll say “I went to luhnduhn (London)” and in Swedish I’ll say “jag åkte till Lohndohn (London)”. Basically, because if I break accent in the middle of a sentence for a single word I end up sounding a bit of a dick. I’ve since started thinking about how I do it in reverse. I’ve come to the conclusion that pronouncing things in an English manner is actually OK. More than that, to insist on a foreign pronunciation being the “right” way and being disapproving of someone that doesn’t is itself dickish. Thus, there is no problem with pronouncing “Jalapeño” with a J or without the Nyo sound. Especially the Nyo bit as very often - as seen in the subject to this thread - the word has been anglicised to remove the ~ as it doesn’t exist in English. To use an example in a language I am much more comfortable in, Swedish, I can guarantee that most people that have no connection to Scandinavia pronounce “Smörgåsbord” “wrong”, as in not like a Swede would. Most have no idea what an Ö or an Å sound like, so they go with “Smorgasbord”. And you know what? That’s perfectly fine. To make an issue out of it - or judge people because of it - says a lot more about the person doing the judging than the person doing the speaking. All IMHO of course. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/58 "2011-01-17T11:07:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Other. Ha-la-PEY- **nyo**. There’s a tilde over the ‘n’ (_eñe_ – ‘enya’). I have to agree with **Johnny L.A.** Here in Tucson, only tourists or newcomers give it any other pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/59 "2011-01-17T11:08:11Z")
I’ve actually not met many people who pronounced jalapeño any way other than some variation of “Halapenyo”. I had just assumed that this had become the standard American pronunciation of the word, though I suppose it could also have something to do with the fact that somehow every place I’ve lived in has been along the west coast, or else neither north nor east of Oklahoma. Maybe folks up North or over East pronounce it with the hard J and no “nyo” sound, but I’ve not met one in three years of being in the Air Force yet. Granted, we don’t spend a lot of time discussion spicy peppers at work either. Well, we did at my last base, but we had a senior NCO who liked to dare the airmen to eat whatever peppers he brought in. All in good fun. But I digress. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853/60 "2011-01-17T11:18:09Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > I’ve since started thinking about how I do it in reverse. I’ve come to the conclusion that pronouncing things in an English manner is actually OK. More than that, to insist on a foreign pronunciation being the “right” way and being disapproving of someone that doesn’t is itself dickish. Thus, there is no problem with pronouncing “Jalapeño” with a J or without the Nyo sound. Especially the Nyo bit as very often - as seen in the subject to this thread - the word has been anglicised to remove the ~ as it doesn’t exist in English. I tend to agree when using a word borrowed from another language in an English setting and context it can sound sort of ridiculous to pronounce the word “correctly” in it’s native language if that isn’t the norm. I don’t know if I would go so far as to say dickish, but certainly out of place. In this context, when the question is “how should you say the word” that tends to imply “What is the correct, or authentic, pronunciation as compared to the way people are currently saying it in it’s English-fied form?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pronounciation-of-jalapeno/567853.md?page=4)