Forbes on cocktail culture
Forbes has a piece on cocktail culture in the city they persist in calling Montréal even though they’re writing in English.
As someone once told me, they liked writing it with the accent because it felt more exotic. Not when you live here, sweetheart.
steph 09:45 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
ḞǪ́℞B́ẼŞ could be a little more exotic themselves.
Meezly 12:09 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
I can appreciate that a major American magazine is profiling cocktail culture in Montreal because it must mean that there’s been an evolution of sorts. As someone who appreciates a nicely mixed drink now and then, it has been easier to find a good cocktail in this city than say a decade ago.
And I learned something new: the former dearly missed Taverne Square Dominion has been reincarnated as Bar Dominion. It looks like the beautiful interior has been kept intact too!
Daisy 13:28 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
Montréal is Montreal in English, just like Roma is Rome in English, München is Munich, Wien is Vienna, Lisboa is Lisbon, etc.
mb 14:50 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
I thought Montréal was the spelling of choice in Franco-friendly English. Obviously, I was wrong!
Daisy 15:22 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
My two cents: If you pronounce it mon-ray-AL while speaking in English, then by all means write it Montréal while writing in English. But I have never heard that from someone with high English fluency.
Ian 18:00 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
“Montréal is Montreal in English, just like Roma is Rome in English”
More like Bruxelles-Ville is Stad Brussel in French and Stad Brussel is Bruxelles-Ville in Flemish 😉
Robert H 19:33 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
It’s interesting to read these articles from foreign English language media about Montreal. Obviously they vary in quality, but they are indicators that the city has an international profile. When writers use the accented spelling, that’s also an indicator of the success of Quebec’s policy of promoting a French face. Like mb, I interpret such spelling as a benign nod to supporting that policy. But I suppose it’s an easy attitude for me as a non-native to take. Perhaps an anglophone who was born and raised here, with parents and grandparents who were part of an established strong community, might see that accent as an annoying microaggression. As if one were being told, “Vous etês une honte. Nous ferions comme si vous n’existiez pas.”
Kate 23:45 on 2023-11-27 Permalink
Robert H, just about.
Daisy: exactly!!