So, I have decided to make a rule. I'm not very big on rules, realizing that there is almost no point in expecting others to conform to my idiosyncratic wishes. (And how unfair is that?) But, that being said, I am going to make a rule. Here is the rule:

If one wishes to pronounce certain foreign words or names of places in the manner used by residents of those places, one must apply this policy across-the-board.

For example: If one wishes to pronounce "Uruguay" in the manner of Urugua..ians, and takes umbrage that others do not, this same person should then be disallowed from pronouncing the name of the capital of France as "Pair-iss."

I have noticed a disturbing trend in my immediate office vicinity wherein certain words are pointedly pronounced with lovely, rolled Rs and exaggerated rhythm, but words of other languages get the regular old American treatment. My town has a lot of streets with Spanish names, so there is ample opportunity for the rolled Rs, but here are some sample sentences, seeds of my discontent:

EXAMPLE 1

One summer when I was living with roommates on Cah-noan Pairrrrrrr-theee-though Street, we all decided to go to Pair-iss.

AAAAHHHHNNNN! Wrong! You either lived on Canon Perdido Street and went to Paris, or you decided to go to Pa-ree. Please make note of it.

EXAMPLE B

We took the train from BuddaPESHT to Moss-cow.

OH, REALLY!? No. Where you actually went was: Moskva.

This is on my mind(...grapes) because my new communal office space affords me proximity to someone who, although he does not speak Spanish, has a deep love of pronouncing all Spanish words in an elaborate manner.

Sing with me:

It! is! grating on me!
It! is! grating on me!

That is all for now.