>>To me, an American of non-Hispanic descent saying "BARK-a-lona" (Barcelona) or "Madrid" with a rolled R would seem pretentious or affected.
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> No, "Bar-say-low-na" might seem affected; "Bar-suh-low-nuh"(as everyone on Fawlty Towers except Manuel says it) would seem normal for an American. "BARK-a-lona" would be... well, I'll just say that I've never heard anyone call it that. :)
>

Here's where my slip is showing...I saw a movie trailor a few years ago for the movie "Barcelona." The voiceover pronounced it "Bark-alona." I also heard Conan O'Brian pronounce it that way. So, I assumed that was the local pronunciation. Oh well....

I should ask my boyfriend's brother-in-law, since I am intrigued now. He is from Madrid, and only moved to America a few years ago to be with Mike's sister. We all have a lot of fun at his expense, for pronunciation and other things.