I'd just add that it sounds to me, in Tuscany at least, that the usual Italian "e" sound is somewhere between a long "a" and an "eh" sound and that the only pure long "a" sound in Tuscan Italian is for accented "e"s. To my American ears at any rate...
Kurt Sperry Bellingham WA
On 5/23/06, The Maaslands <TheMaaslands@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Fred is correct in describing the pronunciation of Miche as being
> Mee-Kay It should further be pointed out that the name is a dimintive of
> the family name of the founder of the company, namely Michelin. It
> should also be pointed out that the Michelin of tire fame were economic
> immigrants from the Veneto area to France where they made their fortune.
> Perhaps there might even be a link between the two families. Another
> well-known name ending in "in" universally thought to be French, but is
> also from the Veneto is Piero Cardin (pronounced Car-Deen).
>
> Steven Maasland
> Moorestown, NJ
>
> --
> fineartscrimshaw.com