Great Western Coffee Shop

In the palmy days of yore, we were content with lifting the terms pizza and pasta from our Italian friends and considering ourselves ever so 'continental'.  A few more adventurous souls in the trendier parts of Wiltshire even went on to have grissini bread sticks on their tables.  However, the appearance of  panini seems to be posing the odd linguistic problem or two.

Panini is a plural form in its native Italian.  There is and can be no such thing as a panini.  The term that 95% of 'fashionable' (non Italian), eateries and of course, the catering department at FGW are striving for is panino. 

Now English has a reputation for absorbing words from other languages.  After all, where would we be without  shampoo and bungalow, Ombudsman or kindergarten?

The question is...Shall we continue to abuse the Italian language and stick with a panini, (confident that its origin will be lost in the mists of time, thus rendering accademic its incorrect usage)?   Or shall we make a New Year resolution and placatory gesture towards the language of Verdi, Puccini and Botticelli, by adopting the correct panino for a single Latin influenced sarnie and pannini if we are feeling peckish and ordering more than 1? After all, no one asks for a pizze... do they?

I would have thought that the singular would be "panninus" (from Latin gr 2 endings).

cue TerminalJunkie??  ;D

Perch^ dovrebbe la cura di I; la maggior parte di voi non pu^ usare correttamente l'inglese, mai non si occupa dell'italiano.

Tut tut... your English isn't very good is it? ;)

Cue relex 109. ;D

It's like forum, the correct Latin plural is fora but forums is more widely used.

Except Pannini is not neuter.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary...

forum n. (pl. forums)

1) a meeting or medium for an exchange of views.

2) (pl. fora) (in an ancient Roman city) a public square or marketplace used for judicial and other business. Origin ME: from Latin, lit. what is out of doors.


panino n. (pl. panini)

Short for Italian panino (imbottito), stuffed bread, sandwich : panino, diminutive of pane, bread + imbottito, past participle of imbottire, to stuff.


Sadly, 'Get imbottired!'  would also be incorrect.  ;D

A sandwich shop in Cardiff has a sign that says "Baguettes and Pennines".

Is a Pennine a northern version of a Panini?

ha ha haaa!!

More than likely. Unless the term they are looking for is Apennine. ;)

I caught the Transpanini Express once.

I recovered though.  ;D

Groan....

Obviously not run by ATW else it would have the Welsh in front of it.  ;D

... and the Welsh for 'baguette' is ... ?   ;D

According to http://www.geiriadur.net/ (http://www.geiriadur.net/), it's bag^t, although I think roedd hynny'n wastraff llwyr o amser.

Yes, you're probably right, T_J - it was rather rhetorical ...  ;D

I thought panini was a brand of football sticker albums.


I'll get my coat.  :-[ ;D