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Don’t cry for this Argentine!

Q: I hear English-speaking people say somebody from Argentina, like me, is an Argentine (pronounced ar-gen-TINE) or an Argentine (pronounced ar-gen-TEEN) or an Argentinean (pronounced ar-gen-TIN-ian). Which is correct?

A: All three are OK, but the second one appears to be the more common in the United States.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.) lists the following English nouns (in order) for somebody from Argentina: (1) “Argentine” (pronounced ar-gen-TEEN, (2) “Argentine” (pronounced ar-gen-TINE), and (3) “Argentinean” (pronounced ar-gen-TIN-ian).

The adjectives referring to someone or something from Argentina are the same as the nouns, and they’re pronounced the same way.

My husband, who worked as a U.S. journalist in Buenos Aires, prefers “Argentine” (pronounced ar-gen-TEEN).

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