What's your fort 1

[mscallisto]

Forte 1 ...... My New World Dictionary says:
1. a thing that a person does particularly well
[pronunciation "fort" not "fortay"]

Forte 2 .....
1. strong see fort 2. music loud: a direction to the performer.
[pronunciation "fortay"]

If I ask, "is music your forte" and pronounce it fort, I get blank stares.

Which is correct? I like fort.

 

[sleipnir214]

This from the entry for forte at The m-w.com entry for "forte":

usage:
In forte we have a word derived from French that in its "strong point" sense has no entirely satisfactory pronunciation. Usage writers have denigrated \'for-"tA\ and \'for-tE\ because they reflect the influence of the Italian-derived forte. Their recommended pronunciation \'fort\, however, does not exactly reflect French either: the French would write the word le fort and would rhyme it with English for. So you can take your choice, knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose. All are standard, however. In British English \'fo-"tA\ and \'fot\ predominate; \'for-"tA\ and \for-'tA\ are probably the most frequent pronunciations in American English


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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[strongm]

Quite so. 'Correct' pronunciation, given the original derivation, would appear to be \'fort\ (although if you follow this avenue, as Merriam Webster says, the pronunciation should probably be \'for\), but common usage (the American Heritage dictionary claims that a usage survey showed 74%) seems to be strongly in favor of the two syllable pronunciation(s)

 

[Stella740pl]

As all musical terminology is coming from Italian, in your particular example, when talking about music, even though not in the intended musical meaning, I would select 2-syllable pronunciation, just for the sake of a slight play on words.

As for other uses,

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=forte

puts it this way:

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, … 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.

I have to note, though, that you might get blank stares if you pronounce it with 2 syllables, too, depending on your audience. I would say that it is not routinely used by general public, and I mostly hear it from well-educated elite. But it's only my observation, some people might disagree.

Stella

 

[mscallisto]

But does that make the 74% correct?

 

[strongm]

Given that language, particularly the English language, generally evolves through common usage...

 

[mscallisto]

Yes evoltion promotes change I quite agree, but when does the change "legally" take place, when 74% use it or when it appears in the dictionaries?

 

[sleipnir214]

A language is a concensus. You'll know when the change has "legally" taken place when you use the word as you pronounce it, and no one gives you the blank stares any more.




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TANSTAAFL!!

 

[mscallisto]

But how I tell that to spellcheck?

 

[donbott]

speak slowly into the mouse and hope no one sees you

DonBott

 

[KenCunningham]

Glad I'm not the only one then, Don!!

 

[donna727]

Fort or forte both mean strong, powerful-from the latin word word fort-(stronghold, a fort). People who give strange stares are those that show their ignorance, certainly not yours. With a little looking up in a good dictionary or roget's thesaurus the meaning and spelling of the word is expalined well. In fact I will have to admit that I was unaware that fort and forte are both pronounced the same, yet spelled differently. Yet fort and forte when used as a noun hae one syllable and are pronounced the same.
Each meaning-strong or strong point; that art or department in which one excels. Thank you for pointing that out to me, now I have increased my vocabulary, and I love words. You are right on!

 

[ESquared]

Or we could use the Northeast Brazil Portuguese pronunciation and say "foh-chE" with the H very strongly pronounced, almost as a consonant, almost as its own syllable!

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