Saying 'Fondue' Right: Mastering The Melty Swiss Dish

Fondue is a Swiss dish of melted cheese and wine, served in a communal pot and eaten by dipping in pieces of bread. The word fondue is the feminine passive past participle of the French verb fondre, meaning to melt. The Swiss Cheese Union popularised fondue as a national dish in the 1930s and it became popular in North America in the 1960s. Since then, the term fondue has been generalised to refer to other dishes where food is dipped into a communal pot of hot liquid, such as chocolate fondue.

How to say 'fondue' in different languages

Fondue, a Swiss dish of melted cheese and wine into which pieces of bread are dipped, has different pronunciations in UK and US English. In the UK, it is pronounced as /ˈfɒnd(j)uː/, while in the US, it is pronounced as /fɒnˈd(j)uː/. Fondue, which means "melted" in French, has also been generalized to refer to other dishes where food is dipped into a communal pot of hot liquid.

• Arabic: فُونْدُو (fūndū)
• Armenian: ֆոնդյու (fondyu)
• Mandarin: (Cheese fondue) 干酪火锅 (gānlào huǒguō), (chocolate fondue) 巧克力火鍋／巧克力火锅 (qiǎokèlì huǒguō)
• Finnish: fondue, fondyy
• French: fondue
• German: Fondue
• Gujarati: Not available
• Hindi: Not available
• Hungarian: fondü
• Italian: fonduta
• Japanese: フォンデュ (fondyu)
• Korean: 퐁뒤 (pongdwi)
• Macedonian: фонду (fondu)
• Persian: فندو (fondu)
• Polish: fondue
• Portuguese: fondue
• Russian: фондю́ (fondjú)
• Spanish: fondue
• Swahili: Not available
• Swedish: fondue
• Telugu: Not available
• Thai: ฟงดูว์ (fong-duu)
• Turkish: Not available
• Ukrainian: фондю́ (fondjú)
• Vietnamese: Not available

How to pronounce 'fondue' in UK English

The word "fondue" is borrowed from the French word "fondue" or "fondre", which means "to melt". In the UK, the word "fondue" is pronounced as 'fon-DEW' or 'fahn-DEW'.

The "e" in "fondue" is silent, and the "du" is pronounced as a single syllable, similar to the word "dew". The "f" sound is also pronounced as an "f", not a "v".

To break it down, the pronunciation of "fondue" in UK English is as follows:

• The "f" sound is pronounced as an "f", not a "v".
• The first syllable is "fon", with the emphasis on this syllable.
• The second syllable is "dew", with a soft "d" sound.

The word "fondue" has two syllables, and the emphasis is on the first syllable. So, when pronouncing "fondue" in UK English, it is important to emphasise the first syllable and pronounce the "f" sound as an "f".

Additionally, it is worth noting that the pronunciation of "fondue" can vary slightly depending on the region within the UK. For example, in Southern England, the pronunciation may be closer to 'fahn-DYEW'. However, the general pronunciation rule for UK English remains the same: 'fon-DEW'.

In summary, to correctly pronounce "fondue" in UK English, emphasise the first syllable and pronounce it as 'fon-', then add the 'dew' sound, resulting in 'fon-DEW'.

How to pronounce 'fondue' in US English

The word "fondue" is borrowed from the French word "fondue" or "fondre", meaning "to melt". In the US, the word "fondue" is pronounced "fɒnˈd(y)uː".

The "e" at the end of the word is silent, and the "u" is pronounced as a long "u" sound, as in "you". The "o" in "fond" is pronounced as the letter "o" in "hot". The "d" is pronounced as a hard "d" sound, as in "dog". The "u" in the second syllable can be pronounced as either a long "u" or a short "u" sound, depending on the speaker's preference.

To break it down, syllable by syllable, the word can be pronounced as "fon-du" or "fon-due", with the emphasis on the first syllable.

The word "fondue" is a countable and uncountable noun that refers to a Swiss dish of melted cheese and wine, into which small pieces of bread are dipped. It can also refer to a dish of hot oil or liquid into which small pieces of meat, vegetables, or other foods are dipped.

The pronunciation of the word "fondue" may vary slightly depending on the region of the US and the speaker's accent. However, the standard US English pronunciation is provided above.

How to spell 'fondue'

The word "fondue" is spelled in the same way across several languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Swedish. In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the word is spelled as "/fɒnˈd(y)uː/" in UK English, "/fɒnˈdu/" in US English, and "/ˈfõdyː/" in Swiss Standard German.

In English, the word "fondue" is a borrowing from the French word "fondue," which means "melted." It is the feminine passive past participle of the French verb "fondre," meaning "to melt," and is used as a noun. The earliest known use of the word "fondue" in English was in 1878, although it was first attested in French in 1735 in Vincent La Chapelle's "Cuisinier moderne."

In terms of pronunciation, the word "fondue" in English is typically pronounced as "fän-ˈdü" or "fŏn-ˈdü," with the "du" sound being stressed. The word can also be spelled as "fon·​due" or, less commonly, "fondu."

In other languages, the spelling of the word "fondue" may vary slightly. For example, in Italian, the word is spelled as "fonduta," while in Portuguese, it is spelled as "fondue" in Brazil and either "fondue" or "fondu" in Portugal.

The origin of the word 'fondue'

The word "fondue" is derived from the French verb "fondre", which means "to melt". It is the feminine passive past participle of the verb and is first attested in French in 1735, in Vincent La Chapelle's "Cuisinier moderne". However, at the time, the term "cheese fondue" referred to a dish composed of eggs and cheese, something between scrambled eggs with cheese and a cheese souffle. The first known recipe for the modern cheese fondue, with cheese and wine but no eggs, was published in 1875. Fondue was popularized as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union in the 1930s as a way of increasing cheese consumption. The Swiss Cheese Union also created pseudo-regional recipes as part of the "spiritual defence of Switzerland".

The earliest known recipe for the modern form of cheese fondue comes from a 1699 book published in Zurich, under the name "Käss mit Wein zu kochen" or "to cook cheese with wine". It calls for grated or cut-up cheese to be melted with wine, and for bread to be dipped in it. This recipe is a far cry from the elaborate fondue recipes of today, which can include anything from meat to chocolate.

In the 1950s, the term "fondue" began to be generalized to other dishes in which food is dipped into a communal pot of hot liquid. Konrad Egli, a Swiss restaurateur, introduced fondue bourguignonne at his Chalet Suisse restaurant in New York in 1956. Egli also invented chocolate fondue in the mid-1960s as part of a promotion for Toblerone chocolate.

Fondue was popularized in North America in the 1960s when it was featured at the Swiss Pavilion's Alpine restaurant at the 1964 New York World's Fair. It became popular in the United States as a party food, both for its novelty and its communal nature. Today, fondue is enjoyed worldwide as a delicious and interactive dining experience.

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