Pronunciation of "parmesan"



This a question about how to pronounce the "s" in "parmesan".


Where I come from (Australia), it's said as a "z", or almost an "s", with only the first syllable stressed. But a friend from the USA heard me say it like that, laughed, then confidently corrected me saying it is pronounced "zh" (like "je" in French) ie like "Parmezhan", and with primary stress on the last syllable (secondary on the first).


Searching Google, an American company, for "define paramesan" shows the "s" should be said as "z".


Which is it?




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