( still kind of like those GPM crankarms . . . quick , say GPM d'Italiano . . . )
My general self-guide to pronunciation : 1.) have a clue how the individual letters are pronounced in that language 2.) sound it out , letter by letter , syllable by syllable , in both English , and its Original language 3.) say it faster and faster , until it becomes a blur
perfect example - Guerciotti
start out very slowly , say it with me ,
" gooo - air - cheee - ought - teee "
Now! Quick! Say it five times as fast as you can!
It's easy to understand how any of the ones mentioned so far ( below ) could be considered correct .
Gear-chee-o-tee
Gair-chee-OH-tee
Gwair-CHO-tee
It's also very easy to see how VEE-toos could quickly become v-TOOSE .
Or , if you close your mouth quickly , after saying the name , how Chuh-LESS-tay could easily become just chuh - LESST .
BUT !!
ABOUT THAT PAINT COLOR !!
I've been the proud owner of not one , but two , 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spiders ( the name is an intentional pun by the car company - although the company was correctly pronounced "roe - MAY - oh " - the particular model name is the same as in English , but with an "a" at the end - "joo - lee - ETT - uh " . . . c'mon , you get it , Romeo & Juliet ! ) .
Anyway , both of my Alfa Romeos still carried their factory original paint ( mostly ) .
Both cars were ( are ? ) 1958 Alfa Romeo Celeste !!
The color was ( is ) a very , very , pale robin's egg blue . Almost exactly the same color mix as Schwinn "Opaque Blue" , but in a much paler shade .
Celeste , of course , is meant to be a "Heavenly Blue" , as in "The Celestial Heavens" . And , of course , what color is the sky ?
By the way , we had more robins than ever around here , this Spring . And , I collected the shells from under the trees . I have them in a small bowl , on a shelf in the living room . They are beautiful . And , every one is a different color . Some have some green mixed in with that blue , some don't .
Robin's egg blue , straight out of the nest , and of the 10 or so , no two are actually exactly the same color .
Final note on ambiguity -
While driving close to the Texas - Mexico border ( as I recall , having only an AM radio ) , I usually found the machine-gun Spanish of the radio announcers to be irritating . But , I spent a few minutes listening to one with who was more fun , and less irritating . I could not understand a single word . But , I could tell that he was in a good mood , and smiling . So , he was nice to listen to . He was going on and on about something called "los bay - ott - laysss" , with a really long sss at the end . Whatever "los bay - ott - laysss" might be , this guy had something to say about it . After he was finished with his long speach , he played a record . It was something like "I Want To Hold Your Hand" , or maybe "Yellow Submarine" . Suddenly the light bulb came on over my head .
Oh! Los Bay-ott-laysss!
In my mind , that has been the correct pronounciation for the name of that group , ever since .
Raoul Delmare
Kansas
Ooo-ay , Esss-ay , Ahhh