For those who don’t know, the word “chai” means tea in Hindi, so many people say it’s improper to say “chai tea” because it means “tea tea”.
In America though, chai doesn’t just mean tea, it’s one specific tea made with a specific blend of spices and cream, therefore “chai” can not be a 1:1 translation of “tea”. To Americans, Chai is an adjective, not a noun. “What kind of tea? Chai tea. Earl gray tea. Green tea. Iced tea.”
If someone asked what chai is, you wouldn’t say “it’s leaves and spices steeped in hot water and served as a beverage” as if you were defining tea, you would say “it’s a spiced tea”.
Same goes for Naan bread.
I have seen countless of videos with Italians losing their mind because of how tourists eat their food. At first, it was amusing, but it got really tiring real fast. It is funny how Italians lose their center when their food isn’t presented or prepared the Italian way. It also makes me cringe when they lose their minds when tourists are not consuming something, the way they want it to be consumed.
