# How do \*you\* pronounce "forte"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765 "2022-05-20T14:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/81 "2022-05-21T23:50:51Z")
I think for-tay, but I’ve been told that fort is correct, so sometimes i correct myself and say that. > [@DrDeth](#): > > In Ecology, we always said _neesh_ but maybe a little weaker than the E. I say neesh when talking about biology/ecology, but nitch when talking about the location of my ornamental pot. Basically, i learned two different words that happen to have the same spelling, same etymology, and similar meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/82 "2022-05-21T23:54:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Pronouncing it ‘PORCH’ You just reminded me of one of my dear departed dad’s pronunciations. He simply could not say “poached” as in “poached eggs”. He always said “porched eggs”. My brothers and I, every time he asked us if we wanted “porched eggs”, would always ask him if they were front porch or back porch eggs. I really don’t know how he developed that mispronunciation. We know he didnt’ do it on purpose, because he’d get upset when we teased him about it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/83 "2022-05-22T00:06:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Pronouncing it ‘PORCH’ Typo. I meant ‘PORSH’. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/84 "2022-05-22T00:21:41Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Sorrry, for those who don’t know the International Phonetic Alphabet, that’s an unvoiced labiodental fricative consonant, a rounded open-mid back vowel, a voiced alveolar approximant consonant, an unvoiced alveolar plosive consonant, and an unrounded open-mid front vowel. This made me laugh out loud! My seventh grade English teacher told us it was pronounced “fort”, so that’s how I pronounce it in my head when I read it. When speaking, I pronounce it “strong point” or “strength”, because I find the fort-ay pronunciation to sound pretentious and wrong, and no one would understand me if I said “fort”. In fact, I find the word to be pretentious in general anyway. Also, neech for niche and cash for cache. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/85 "2022-05-22T00:40:08Z")
Interesting. I find forte a pretty normal word, no pretentiousness at all, unless you find all French-sounding words pretentious. I mean, I grew up in a working class neighborhood, and I don’t think anyone would bat an eye if I said “that’s not my forte.” ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/86 "2022-05-22T00:42:18Z")
How did you pronounce it? Because “fort-ay” is not a French-sounding word. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/87 "2022-05-22T00:46:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I find forte a pretty normal word, no pretentiousness at all, unless you find all French-sounding words pretentious. I mean, I grew up in a working class neighborhood, and I don’t think anyone would bat an eye if I said “that’s not my forte.” Well, I’m partial to a glass of Chateau de Chasselas, even though as a young lad I used to live in a tiny tumbledown house with great holes in t’ roof. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/88 "2022-05-22T00:48:33Z")
I think to many people it is. Or you can say “foreign sounding.”I mean, you have passé, entrée, risqué — how does “for-tay” not sound Frenchy to an English speaker? (ETA: The word “plié” was originally included before I edited and saw the response.) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/89 "2022-05-22T00:50:26Z")
I have no problem with those words. Maybe because my seventh grade English teacher never told me to pronounce them “pass” and “plea”. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/90 "2022-05-22T00:55:29Z")
In Hebrew, the same word is used for both “strong” and “loud”, and even “high” as in “sick with a high fever”. He spoke with a loud voice == He spoke with a strong voice. He has a high fever == He has a strong fever. English spelling and pronunciation can be a beesh. Let’s not even get into “quiche” and “quinoa”. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/91 "2022-05-22T01:35:10Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > as a young lad I used to live in a tiny tumbledown house with great holes in t’ roof. You ‘ad a roof? Luxury! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/92 "2022-05-22T07:02:26Z")
I learned from years of having British, Aussie etc colleagues in Thailand that Americans say “for-tay” and Brits/colonials “fort.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/93 "2022-05-22T07:21:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Interesting. I find forte a pretty normal word, no pretentiousness at all, unless you find all French-sounding words pretentious. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I learned from years of having British, Aussie etc colleagues in Thailand that Americans say “for-tay” and Brits/colonials “fort.” Not they are completely unrelated words, but why would it be illogical for the French-based word and the Italian-based word to have two different pronunciations in English, based on French and Italian, respectively? Nor would it be remarkable if some people “incorrectly” mixed them up. > [@Senegoid](#): > > In Hebrew, the same word is used for both “strong” and “loud”, and even “high” as in “sick with a high fever”. Hebrew has many synonyms for both strength and height and concepts related to each; not sure what is remarkable about this (nor the figurative use of height to describe something like a “high fever” or a “lofty attitude” in Hebrew vs English) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/94 "2022-05-22T11:54:11Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Not they are completely unrelated words, but why would it be illogical for the French-based word and the Italian-based word to have two different pronunciations in English, based on French and Italian, respectively? Nor would it be remarkable if some people “incorrectly” mixed them up. Heck, i say neesh or nitch, depending. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/95 "2022-05-22T16:00:17Z")
We don’t use a French word in this country, we use an American word pronounced ‘for-tay’ and it means ‘strong point’. I don’t care how French words are pronounced and apparently the French don’t either considering the way they spell. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/96 "2022-05-22T16:07:07Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > an American word I too speak American, but only when ordering my Freedom Fries. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/97 "2022-05-22T20:51:56Z")
I know it’s properly pronounced _fort_, but I also know that if I do say it that way people will think I _don’t_ know how to say it because it’s usually always known as “for-tay,” so I end up saying “for-tay.” 🤷‍♀️ > [@RitterSport](#): > > How did you pronounce it? Because “fort-ay” is not a French-sounding word. Huh? In what world is “fort-ay” _not_ a French-sounding word? Ballet, matinee, plié, soirée, buffet, cafe, parlez, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/98 "2022-05-22T20:58:00Z")
From the _American Heritage Dictionary_: **_Usage Note:_ _Forte,_ meaning “something in which a person excels,” can be pronounced with one syllable, like the French word from which it is derived. It can also be pronounced with two syllables (fôr tā′), which is the more common pronunciation in American English and was the choice of 74 percent of the Usage Panel in both our 1996 and 2016 surveys. Some of those who dislike the two-syllable pronunciation argue it should only be used for the music term _forte,_ which is derived from Italian.** ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/99 "2022-05-22T21:01:10Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > From the _American Heritage Dictionary_ I’ve always appreciated American Heritage because of their rather outspoken panels. But, oh lordy, they have had their issues. Check their thoughts on impact as a verb sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765/100 "2022-05-22T21:51:11Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > Check their thoughts on impact as a verb sometime. Are you referring to the Usage Note here? > **[The American Heritage Dictionary entry: impact](https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=impact#)** > > The American Heritage Dictionary entry: impact I’m not seeing anything obviously controversial. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-forte/964765.md?page=6)