Oops, I Did it Again.

It's almost as if I'm trying. In French class, I once again provided the day's entertainment by mangling their beautiful language. Specifically, I mispronounced Vladimir Putin's last name. In French, his name is spelled "Poutine". Mind the "e" on the end. That's the difference between pronouncing it correctly (poo-TEEN) and calling the Russian president a dirty whore (poo-TAN). Apparently the term is far more offensive to the French. I'm glad our teacher has a good sense of humor. The conversation went something like this (but in French):

ME: Freedom of speech in Russia is being diminished by Poo-TAN...
TEACHER: You used a bad word.
ME: [thinking I messed up a verb tense] Oh, OK, um, Poo-TAN is...
TEACHER: [cringing] No, no, the other word...
ME: Poo-TAN?
TEACHER: [cringing/laughing] Yes
CLASSMATE 1: Poo-TAN?
ME: How does one say Poo-TAN?
TEACHER: [further cringing/laughing] Poo-TEEN
ME: Poo-TEEN, not Poo-TAN? What is Poo-TAN?
TEACHER: [cringing/laughing]
CLASSMATE 2: I think it's like um...
ME: Oh! Like...
CLASSMATE 2: ...like in Spanish.
ME: Ahh.
CLASSMATE 1: So don't say Poo-TAN??