A2Z Meme Starts Today with—Arduini. Can You Pronounce It Yet?

I remember wishing I was part of the cool gang back in the day because they had this, that, and the other going on. My mom would encourage me by letting me know I was a late bloomer. Well, some things haven’t changed. LOL

Last year Patty Wysong had a fun meme going on where once a week bloggers posted on the letter of the week. Her readers had so much fun they asked to do it again with Round 2.

I missed Round 1 as a blogger, but late bloomer that I am, I’m here for Round 2.

Each Tuesday (or really any day if you forget) bloggers post on the letter that week. We start with A today and by July, we’ll end with Z. I have the button on my sidebar if it helps you remember or if you want to grab it.

I’d love for you to join the fun. It’s a great way to learn more about your blogging friends, and challenge yourself.

So, here’s my “A”—

Arduini.

That’s my last name, courtesy of a great husband with Italian heritage. I don’t know as much about the genealogy as I’d like to, but I remember hearing that my father-in-law taught his dad English. My FIL has told me over and over what part of Italy he is from, but I forget. I also know he makes his own sauce that my step-daughter can make, and he is a master when it comes to Italian cookies.

As you can imagine, the last name is butchered. When I did radio work I’d always spell it phonetically to help. This is how you pronounce my last name—ARE-DUE-WE-KNEE

Were you close?

Don’t worry, my mom hasn’t been able to pronounce it right. Most people say it like her, ARE-DWEEN-KNEE. Poor mom, we always laugh. She gives up and just calls us the Linguinis’, our joke from when I first met my husband’s family and that was our name for them. Who knew I’d go on to meet their son and marry him?

I also know when I’m receiving a sales call, because they ask for ARE-DOE-KNEE. That’s not it, and the mispronunciation tips me off every time.

Social media has expanded my knowledge of the Arduini name. A couple years ago on Facebook a girl named Julie Arduini requested my friendship, letting me know she was my homonym. Turns out she is younger than me and lives in France, but her grandfather apparently came from Italy. Julie doesn’t know English that well, and my French is sparse, so when I write her, I bring out good ole Google Translate.

Then I received another request from Arduini Around the World. It’s a Facebook group that is simply that, Arduinis around the world. Most are from Italy but it’s been fun to see where everyone comes from. On Twitter I met an Anthony Arduini from Pennsylvania that is not my brother-in-law, Tony. It truly is a small world.

When I moved to Youngstown and our son interviewed for Youngstown Christian School, the administrator said we’d fit right in. His joke was that most families in the area have last names full of vowels. There is definitely an Italian influence in the area and it’s fun to learn all the names.

So that’s my A—Arduini. Can you pronounce it yet?

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