LVSue--Only non-native speakers would say the N in <i>saintes</i>. That is due to the anticipation of the T.

Cadillac - «cad ee ak»

Moreover, Cadillac limousine is:
KA-dee-ak lee-moo-ZEEN

I seem to recall that Cadillac was an explorer but why, pray, do we say limousine?

Limousin(e) is the adjectival form of Limoges -- as many here already know.

Were early cars made of porcelain? and decorated with tiny roses?

Cadillac was indeed an explorer. He founded Detroit.

My wife just googled limousin and tells me that the profile of the separate driver's section resembled a hood once worn in Limoges. Sounds very odd. It's amazing what you can dig up these days.

Anselm

I just googled 'sedan' and found that it was a dialect word for 'seat' rather than a derivation from the French town of Sedan.

Harzer

Yes, Rex, I had forgotten your description. I guess the &quot;Sohn Denis&quot; set me off.

Exactly, Michael, we are trying to help non-native to <b>approximate</b> sounds in the French language. You'll have to admit (maybe) that &quot;Sant&quot; Chapelle would be more comprehensible to native speakers, than &quot;Sohnt&quot; Chapelle. At any rate, your tongue ends up in the same place when you say N or T. Is that what you mean by anticipation of the T?

Since this thread is developing so many tangents, here goes another I ran across in researching <i>je vous en prie</i>: in English, this once had a direct cognate in <i>I pray thee</i>, which became <i>prithee</i>, and <i>prithee please</i> degenerated into <i>pretty please</i>.

&quot;je vous prie de vous tenir tranquilles&quot; (for pupils for ex) or &quot;vous &ecirc;tes pri&eacute;s de vous tenir tranquilles!&quot; for &quot;please, be quiet!&quot;