# YAWPQ: "facile"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739 "2012-11-03T06:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/1 "2012-11-03T06:21:06Z")
(_Yet Another Word Pronunciation Question_) How do you pronounce this word? I can think of three ways: [ul] [li]fas-īl (rhymes with “aisle” or “bile”)[/li][li]fa-sil (rhymes with “sill”)[/li][li]fas’l – sounds like “tassel” or “castle”)[/li][/ul] I tend to use the third form, perhaps due to having sloppy speech habits. Most of the time I am understood, usually because of context. Am I an outlier? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/2 "2012-11-03T06:27:26Z")
I chose the first option. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/3 "2012-11-03T06:36:09Z")
I too choose the first option. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/4 "2012-11-03T07:46:53Z")
Me too. The first. Surely this really ought to be a poll in IMHO. Incidentally, although “tassel” and “castle” may rhyme in some dialects, they do not for me. “Castle” has a long **a** , but “tassel” (and “facile”) have short ones. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/5 "2012-11-03T08:04:01Z")
The second option is the more common and I guess ‘correct’ as far as American English goes. It has the same pronunciation as the first two syllables of \*facilitate \*or _facility_. (which could also be the third option - I don’t see a big distinction between 2 and 3) The first option is also correct though, in that it is used and understood by many English speakers. It may even be the more common pronunciation in British English. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/6 "2012-11-03T09:02:46Z")
Facile as in easy? I would have thought it was pronounced: fa-sēl (rhymes with teal). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/7 "2012-11-03T09:11:07Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Facile as in easy? I would have thought it was pronounced: fa-sēl (rhymes with teal). Non, mon ami(e?), pas en anglais. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/8 "2012-11-03T13:39:49Z")
Third option for me. Definitely. Fasl is how it might be spelled if spelling were phonetic. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/9 "2012-11-03T13:45:31Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Facile as in easy? I would have thought it was pronounced: fa-sēl (rhymes with teal). Yes, me too. But this is one of those words that this word nerd is never sure about, having learned it from reading it, not hearing it. So mostly, I just avoid saying out loud and only use it in writing. And, as it turns out, we’re wrong: [http://www.merriam-webster.com/audio.php?file=facile01&word=facile&text=\\ˈ\<%2Fspan\>fa-səl\#](http://www.merriam-webster.com/audio.php?file=facile01&word=facile&text=%5C%3Cspan%20class%3D%22unicode%22%3E%CB%88%3C%2Fspan%3Efa-s%C9%99l%5C#) \<----direct link to audio ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/10 "2012-11-03T13:49:01Z")
Since the dictionary gives the factually “correct” pronunciation, this otherwise becomes a poll on how people actually pronounce it. Moving to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/11 "2012-11-03T14:49:51Z")
I’m surprised by the number of people choosing the first option. I went with the third, but I’ve heard the second as well. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone pronounce it without the “s” sound… but I’m not sure I would have recognized it as the same word, either. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/12 "2012-11-03T15:32:43Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > I’m surprised by the number of people choosing the first option. I went with the third, but I’ve heard the second as well. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone pronounce it without the “s” sound… but I’m not sure I would have recognized it as the same word, either. 😕 The first option \*does \*pronounce it with the “s” sound… ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/13 "2012-11-03T15:44:07Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > I’m surprised by the number of people choosing the first option. I went with the third, but I’ve heard the second as well. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone pronounce it without the “s” sound… but I’m not sure I would have recognized it as the same word, either. OP means the last syllable rhymes, not the whole word. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/14 "2012-11-03T16:23:03Z")
There’s a American English vs. British English thing going on here. British dialects pronounce the vowel in the “-ile” part so that it sounds like “isle” or “I’ll”, although it isn’t stressed. So “facile” sounds like “FASS-isle”, “missile” sounds like “MISS-isle” etc. In American dialects the vowel tends to be neutral - “MISS-uhl” etc. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/15 "2012-11-03T19:07:36Z")
:smack: No more posting before coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/16 "2012-11-03T19:32:34Z")
For what it’s worth, the OED lists both FASS-isle and FASS-il, with the first example first, but the American Heritage Dictionary only lists only the “Americanized” version (rhymes with tassel). May be worth noting the original spelling (from 1483) was “facyle”. I don’t recall using the word in speech myself, but if I did, I’d pronounce it FASS-il. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawpq-facile/639739/17 "2012-11-04T11:36:04Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > There’s a American English vs. British English thing going on here. British dialects pronounce the vowel in the “-ile” part so that it sounds like “isle” or “I’ll”, although it isn’t stressed. So “facile” sounds like “FASS-isle”, “missile” sounds like “MISS-isle” etc. In American dialects the vowel tends to be neutral - “MISS-uhl” etc. I find it funny that the British are the ones that use the less lazy pronunciation. It’s like the exact opposite of -shire.