Quote:
Originally Posted by rune
"And forte is pronounced FORT not FORTAY."
i believe that is incorrect.
"forte" as in the feminine version of "fort" is pronounced "fort"... "fort" (masculine), pronounce "for"....
however, the anglicized "forte" is correct in being pronounced "fortay"... why? English bastardization. We do that. It happens with many, many a word.
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Yes and no. If you mean "strength", as in "Tennis is his forte", you say FORT. If you mean "loud", as in "Sing this part of the song forte", you say FORTAY.
/ goes to actually look it up, to make sure he isn't talking out of his ass...
forte: Definition, Synonyms and Much More From Answers.com
Quote:
The word forte, coming from French fort, should properly be pronounced with one syllable, like the English word fort. Common usage, however, prefers the two-syllable pronunciation, (fôr'tā'), which has been influenced possibly by the music term forte borrowed from Italian. In a recent survey a strong majority of the Usage Panel, 74 percent, preferred the two-syllable pronunciation. The result is a delicate situation; speakers who are aware of the origin of the word may wish to continue to pronounce it as one syllable but at an increasing risk of puzzling their listeners.
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So, noun form is FORT, adjective
should be FORTAY, but often ends up FORT anyway.