Despite these problems, I’m happy with their position — they acknowledge all three variants for American speech, and do in some degree privilege the one-syllable version.

WHAT!??

Um, no.

“Fort” would be pronounced similar to ‘for’… well, more like ‘fahr’… but “forte” is similar to ‘fort’ — the ‘o’ sound is a little different. But the t is definitely pronounced!

I mean, I don’t know much about technical fencing terms, perhaps the original term for that part of the sword actually does sound like ‘for’ and it’s an odd archaic spelling, or something. But the rule in french, a final consonant is silent, but pronounced when followed by an e (such as in the feminine form).

March 22

forte

\FORT\

noun

Meaning
: something in which one excels : one’s strong point

Example Sentence
The pitcher’s forte is definitely his 100-mph fastball, although his curveball is also strong.

Did you know?

“Forte” derives from the sport of fencing — when English speakers borrowed the word from French in the mid-17th century, it referred to the strongest part of a sword blade, between the middle and the hilt. It is therefore unsurprising that “forte” eventually developed an extended metaphorical sense for a person’s strong point. (Incidentally, “forte” has its counterpoint in the word “foible,” meaning both the weakest part of a sword blade and a person’s weak point.) There is some controversy over how to correctly pronounce “forte”; common choices in American English are “FOR-tay” and “for-TAY,” but many usage commentators recommend rhyming it with “fort.” None of these is technically true to the French, in which “forte” would sound more like “for.” You can take your choice, knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose. All, however, are standard.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

An oyster met an oyster
And they were oysters two
Two oysters met two oysters
And they were oysters, too
Four oysters met a pint of milk
And they were oyster stew

And if you want inconsistancies, can anyone explain why the word that means “to spell it like it sounds” is spelled with a PH?

And how can a rough lumberjack have a mean cough while cutting through a tough bough?

Or an archer can shoot his bow and arrow at the ship’s bow?

And if one child has a pair of skirts for ballet class, do all the others have to have two tutus, too?

Does this mean that all the CBC “tonight at 8:00, 8:30 in Newfoundland” is pronounced wrong, or did I just not notice?

I had intended to enter Newfoundland through Lewisporte, but when I was checking into my Labrador City hotel I was told the ferry from Happy Valley/Goose Bay was delayed because of ice. In late June. So I had to completely change my plans, driving back to Baie Comeau, having a flat tire, getting it fixed, and just making the ferry to Matane. Good times.

Understand Newfoundland!

…but you can go fer it!

All I know is you can imply, and you can ply. But while you can infer, defer, confer, refer, and offer you can’t just fer.

I’m a Newfie. The person who corrected me wasn’t. Argh.