Is Barista Plural Also?

[redBaron]

Or is baristas plural?

 

[davidsbiscotti]

barista plural

Baristi is plural

 

[redBaron]

Oh gee thanks, now it's even more complicated. lol

I'm piecing together an ad for our new coffee shop and I want to be correct, but I'm afraid most readers won't know what baristi is/are.

 

[davidsbiscotti]

barista plural

Could you alter the ad to use the singular noun "barista"?
It's an Italian word and could be spelled baristas as well.
No one would question it.
Any Italians in the house?

 

[BaristaTrainer]

I lived in Italy for 14 months and still have relatives there ... this discussion has been brought up many times, and I think it is a matter of choice here in the US. The correct term would be Baristi, in Italy. However, there are people that use this term instead of "baristas" but again it's not necessarily the right way.

A good comparison might be "ordering two pizzi from dominos" ... it just doesn't sound right.

- Matt

 

[barry]

I lived in Italy for 14 months and still have relatives there ... this discussion has been brought up many times, and I think it is a matter of choice here in the US. The correct term would be Baristi, in Italy. However, there are people that use this term instead of "baristas" but again it's not necessarily the right way.

it is an Italian word which has been incorporated into English usage (as with 'pizza'), so the correct abused plural is 'baristas'. Conversely, 'panini' is plural in Italian, and yet used singularly in the US resulting in the bizarre double-plural "I'll have two paninis, please."

As soon as a foreign word hits American English, most conventions are abandoned.

--barry "from St. Louis, where French words are abused as a matter of course"