Although De Laurentiis was born in Rome and spent her early years in Italy, she has no trace of an Italian accent … unless she’s talking about food. Late night talk show hosts like Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon have poked fun at De Laurentiis for how she says Italian words, especially pastas like spaghetti, which she says more like “spah-geh-tee.”
Her insistence on properly pronouncing the names of Italian pastas and other food words is so famous, she’s been invited to teach pronunciation on shows like “Ellen” and the “Today” show (for which she frequently hosts food segments). She even has an Italian Glossary on the Food Network.
For those who are interested, here are a few of the pastes you’ve probably been pronouncing wrong, according to De Laurentiis:
Taking evidence from Reddit threads, De Laurentiis’s pronunciation of Italian words is one of the more polarizing things about her. You’ll find people who hate it — “Can’t stand her and the pronunciations! Drives me crazy! — and people who are quick to defend her — “You are literally attacking a Roman for pronouncing an Italian word in her native dialect. ” Although De Laurentiis has moved from the Food Network to Amazon, this debate is sure to rage on.