Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/05/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Marc James Small wrote: > At 12:57 PM 5/9/04 -0500, Jeffery Smith wrote: >> I'm more comfortable with the music version pronunciation. If I say >> "fort", someone invariably corrects me. >> > > These are two different words, though both descend from the Latin root > "forti" meaning strong or forceful. > > One word comes through the Italian and means "with great force"; it is > used as a musical directive and is pronounced "for-tey" in USian > English. > > The other comes through Medi?val French and is a survival of the > earlier > "campus forte" or "situs forte", both meaning a fortified location. > Our > Modern English word "fort" derives from this word. And, yes, when > "forte" > is used to describe an outstanding quality or a strong qualification, > it is > pronounced, "fort" in Modern English. In Modern American English, at least among the people I hang around with, an outstanding quality or strong qualification is referred to as a "forte" and pronounced "fort-ay" Let's see, searching Wordnet we get: http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn?stage=1&word=forte > > Check out any decent dictionary, from the modern versions of Webster > or the > American Heritage Dictionary or, of course, the Oxford English > Dictionary. The way folks speak in Princeton N.J. is fine by me. I hark from the parts William Webster harks from, and if he were alive today I'm sure he'd be using this sense of the term "forte". In any case any linguist worth his or her salt would accept that when common usage in a community differs from some 'old printed dictionary, that its time to update the dictionary. Language is alive, and changes with time. Now let's look at what the American Heritage Dictionary says ... I found this: http://www.bartleby.com/64/C007/086.html > > So, Jefferey, allow them to correct you. Then you can correct THEM. Well you can correct, but that would be contrary to the most common usage by contemporary Americans. Since the reason we have language is to communicate, I think its best to pronounce things the way they make the most sense to the most people. see http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=forte On the other hand: http://www.vocabula.com/archives/VRJune00.htm Jonathan