Reddit Is Torn Over How To Pronounce Aldi

It seems that food-related words are often getting mispronounced – by many and often. This is especially true when it comes to words in languages other than English. For example, the Italian word "calzone" is frequently mispronounced by English speakers as if it rhymed with "end zone," when, in fact, it's pronounced, "kal-TZOW-nay" in Italian (via YouTube). While that particular bit of Italian language mangling might be a pet peeve of Italian-born celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, we suspect that even someone as knowledgeable and well-traveled as De Laurentiis could find themselves feeling not quite sure how to correctly pronounce the German supermarket brand Aldi. 

In fact, that's exactly what a group of people on Reddit have been debating over the past few days. Funny thing though, these linguistically-curious Redditors all happen to be participants on the subreddit devoted to all things Aldi. So although it might be reasonable to assume that avid Aldi fans would know everything about their beloved chain grocer, the fact is that Redditors are currently quite torn over how to pronounce ... "Aldi." 

As if there were a right way. But is there?

As far as internet records go, there doesn't seem to be evidence that Aldi's owners have ever made a public statement regarding the "right way" to pronounce the store's name. Nevertheless, a group of apparently linguistically-curious Redditors from the Aldi subreddit seem genuinely torn over the topic (via Reddit). It all started when Reddit user leeguy01 posed the question: "Is it pronounced All Dee or Al Dee?" 

This question suggests there are just two possible ways to pronounce "Aldi." One is to rhyme with "baldy" (phonetic spelling: AWL-dee). The other is to rhyme the first syllable with "PAL" and the second with "tree" (i.e. "MAEL-dee"). There were Redditors in favor of both options, while others thought the first syllable is meant to rhyme with "DOLL." That last one actually makes sense when you consider the "Aldi" name is a portmanteau of the name of Aldi's German-born founders, the Albrecht brothers, and the word "discount" (via CNBC). That's because the name "Albrecht" would be pronounced "AHL-brekh" in German, according to a pronunciation guide on YouTube.

Ultimately, what most of these Redditors seem to agree on is that there is, in fact, a wrong way to pronounce "Aldi." And that is with an "s" or a "z" tacked on after the 'i." "This drives me crazy," one commenter confessed.