missypie

The process by which potential jurors are questioned is called the "voir dire." If you're a trial lawyer in Texas, you'd BETTER pronounce it "vor dire" (rhyming with "for fire&quot.

AnthonyGA

The way French words are corrupted by English-speaking lawyers is a whole subject in itself. Black's dictionary calls it "legal French." It's completely off the wall sometimes.

Guy18

I'm with NYCtraveler and SuzieC. I have admittedly come off as a snob in a post or two, but this takes the cake. Are these people poseurs, or are they doing their best and maybe not quite so educated/cosmopolitan as you are? Do you really prefer, lawn-jeray? I don't.

j_999_9

What's wrong with "for-TAY"? That's what how the dictionary shows the pronunciation.

Intrepid1

Try telling the folks who live in Versailles, Ky, they've been mis-pronouncing the name of their town all these years when you hear them refer to it as VerSAILs or VerSYles.

ira

>Do you really prefer, lawn-jeray? I don't.<

Nor do I.

It is lin (as in vin)
zher (with the soft g)
ie

missypie

This is reminding me of that Saturday Night Live skit, where every time anyone said a word or a name that was of Spanish origin, they said it in an exagerated Spanish accent.

francophile03

Yes, I agree with NYCTraveler, SuzieC, and Guy18 on there thoughts about this thread. To the o.p. upon reading your post I found it to be offensive. At least these people are trying their best to speak French and I am sure they are not just putting on airs as what you seem to think.

Zeus

Sorry, but I find people that worry about this even more annoying. Reminds me of a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals sitting up in their garret formalizing their plans for their Utopian society where benevolent despots like themselves will tell the drooling masses what's best for them.

Maybe should I start a thread where we poke fun at French tourists and how they screw up English. Or how about the way the Japanese can't pronounce "L" (or is it "R"?)

missypie

"Try telling the folks who live in Versailles, Ky, they've been mis-pronouncing the name of their town all these years when you hear them refer to it as VerSAILs or VerSYles."

Yeah, as a little girl, I lived in southern Illinois. The town at the far tip of the state is "Cairo" Illinois. They pronounce it "KAY-ro" --or is it "KIE-ro" and the city in Egypt is the other way???? I've been confused for life becuase of this.

Guy18

The word "forte", as in a skill or talent has been mispronounced for so long in English that dictionaries have started to show "for-tay" as an alternate pronunciation. Another word like this is "shortlived", in which the "i" sound should really be a long one, as in "beehive." And moving away from pronunciation to meaning, there is the word "peruse", the definition of which is the direct opposite of what most people think.

ira

Can one also "conuse"?

j_999_9

You still haven't told me the correct pronunciaton for "forte." Is it "fort"?

Christina

Perhaps one wouldn't twitch when someone pronounces "forte" as for-tay if they learned musical terms and Italian, which is what that pronunciation is and where people have commonly heard that, so natural to repeat. I really find that amazing that someone would focus on such a trivial thing (and that is given as a correct pronunciation in English dictionaries BTW). Now if that comment being in this thread implies it is French, it is not spelled correctly, as that isn't the way you spell the noun in French. In which case, it might be pronounced as "fort" by English speakers if it were spelled like the French noun. It is used as a noun in English but forte is not the noun in French, so it is probably more correctly described as just being derived from French like many other words. Now some words are directly taken from French as is (like penchant, that's pronounced weird in English), but "forte" is just derived from French, like many other English words were derived from French. That word isn't exactly used on a daily basis by most people, anyway, it sounds sort of stiff in common language.

Some of the people on this thread can't even spell French words correctly and don't know basic French pronunciation rules (as also demonstrated in posts, and through misuse of accent marks when writing French words on here and trying to be Frenchier). There is a major difference in an accent grave and acute, for example, although people seem to think one fits all situations and that throwing one in makes one more sophisticated, even if it is wrong.

Guy18

It's "fort."

ira

It's "for tay" if one is referring to a loud musical passage.

The same pronunciation is acceptable for "forte" meaning a particular strength or ability.

j_999_9

Christina has me saying "uncle!" (Or is it "oncle"?)

janisj

I totally agree w/ NYCTraveler, SuzieC, Guy18, and Zeus (hey maybe we should start an "anti pseudo-intellectuals" club)

From my experience, most "smart" people don't feel they have to prove it all the time by being oh soooo very sophisticated . . . . . . nor make fun of others while doing it.

Let folks pronounce things any which way they want - at least they're trying.

AnthonyGA

French <i>forte</i> is pronounced like English <i>fort</i>, but there is a tendency for English speakers to pronounce any final 'e' in a French word as &quot;-ay,&quot; even though a final 'e' without an accent is usually silent in French.

LSUvetgirl

I disagree about the fake french accent. i live in Belgium and find that my pronunciations are much more accurate and I am understood *much* more readily if I speak with my best pepe le pew impersonation!

I used to feel really stupid doing it but it has really helped me get some of the more difficult sounds in the French language down. I am routinely complimented on my pronunciation compared to some other American expats here.

Carrie