I’ve been quite curious about the origins of the name of the Parler service, and as a French speaker I’m included among those who assumed it was pronounced the French way — parlay.

I presume that pronunciation was changed because of the xenophobic views of the majority if its users, the freedom fries crowd

Thanks for the explanation.

As something of an amateur historian of American cultural life, however, I take some small issue with the notion that a parlor would have been associated with a place to play minstrel music. I’m sure that happened sometimes, but it wouldn’t have been anything like the rule.

Given the social climbing aspirations of those likely to have parlors in their homes, victrolas playing classical music and early cabinet radios tuned in to stations playing classical and more “classy” popular music would have been more the rule.