Battle of the Dictionaries

Battle of the Dictionaries Battle of the Dictionaries Battle of the Dictionaries By Maeve Maddox In commenting on the article Forte or Fortà «, Cache or Cachet?, Geoff Foster points out that the Oxford American Dictionary on his Mac supports the /fortay/ pronunciation of forte (in the sense of strong point). He also implies that the same dictionary gives a pronunciation for another French borrowing, cadre, that ignores the /r/ sound. NOTE: Im a bit puzzled about this one. The dictionary on my new Mac laptop gives the pronunciation /kad ree/ for cadre. Pierre B. asks why Americans want to put a /t/ in the French borrowing niche. Alas, when it comes to pronunciation, English speakers face constant decisions. For those who wish to support their decisions with the authority of a dictionary, the first decision to be made is that of which dictionary to cite! As Geoff points out, the Oxford American on the Mac gives the /fortay/ pronunciation as the first choice for forte with the sense of strong point. Its first pronunciation for cadre in his dictionary drops the /r/ sound. The Webster Unabridged, on the other hand, gives /fort/ as the first choice for this use of forte, and offers a pronunciation with the /r/ sound in its first choice for cadre. An alternate pronunciation for cadre, without the /r/ sound, is flagged as chiefly British. Both dictionaries show a short i pronunciation and a /ch/ sound for the che in niche. The /ch/ phonogram (ch as in church) sounds as if it has a /t/ in it. Webster gives a second pronunciation of /nish/ which avoids the /t/ sound, but still gives the word a short i sound for the vowel. As Geoff advises in his comment, take your pick. My pick for forte is /fort/. My pick for niche is /neesh/. As for cadre, I might use the word in writing, but I cant imagine having occasion to use it in conversation. In such an event Id probably include an /r/ sound. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect Objects50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy Products20 Movies Based on Shakespeare Plays