The French do NOT pronounce the last e. (I know French.) An unaccented final e typically indicates that the immediately preceding consonant (if any) is to be pronounced and is, itself, silent.
In the case of the r, it's pronounced at the back of the mouth (with a moderate guttural sound). An accented final e (which metre doesn't have) can only have an acute accent (�) and is pronounced to almost rhyme with "say," although the vowel sound is tighter. Bill Potts, CMS Roseville, CA http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Behalf Of John S. Ward >Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 17:30 >To: U.S. Metric Association >Cc: USMA >Subject: [USMA:28667] Re: Metric in Montgomery Co. > > >On Friday 13 February 2004 11:09, Bill Hooper wrote: >> Most people well versed in SI would recommend the spelling "metre" and >> "litre" rather than "meter" and "liter". > >Not me. The spelling is usually "meter" and "liter" in American >English. The >French pronounce the last e AFTER the r, so "metre" and "litre" >are phontic >in their language. But here in the U.S. we pronounce the r last. >I suggest >consulting an American dictionary to see what I mean. > >John >
