A quick poll. Would you flag restauranteurs?
AJ
I'm not and editor/proofreader but although the word restauranteur is correct and synonym to restaurateur most readers will see it as incorrect.
(https://grammarist.com/spelling/restaurateur/)
Pro copy editor/proofreader here. I would not flag
restauranteur (unless restaurateur was also used elsewhere) — the -n- spelling is listed as an alternate spelling in enough dictionaries, none with usage notes about it being considered incorrect, to establish its bone fides.
restauranteur
"The word restaurateur is simply French for a person who owns or runs a restaurant. ... A less common variant spelling restauranteur is formed from the "more familiar" term restaurant with the French suffix -eur borrowed from restaurateur."
That's my understanding too.
UK newspapers used to be meticulous about always using 'restaurateur', but recently 'restauranteur' has been creeping in more and more.
'Restauranteur' is absent from my desk-side dead-tree dictionary, first published some 20 years ago.
AJ
As a french person, I would have definitely flagged it, as I didn't even know this monstrous variant existed. :D
Now that I know some english-speaking people use it, I would not flag it if consistently used. But if I am honest, it would make me cringe every time I read it. "Restauranteur", urgh. :D
But if I am honest, it would make me cringe every time I read it. "Restauranteur", urgh.
As a sometime author and editor, I sympathise with you.
As a little Englander, I wonder how on earth I'm supposed to pronounce restaurateur. :D
AJ
Pronunciation-wise, it's "restau" like in the beginning of "restaurant" (or presto without the P :P), then "ra" with the 'a' pronounced like in "bat" or "cat", then "teur" like... Hum, it's a sound that doesn't exist in English. "eu" in french is pronounced like the 'ö' in swedish, icelandic or german, or the equivalent 'ø' in danish or norwegian.
Thanks for the sympathy! :)