On Friday 13 February 2004 18:42, Bill Potts wrote: > The French do NOT pronounce the last e. (I know French.)
Nice try. I suggest reviewing a good French dictionary, such as "Le Petit Robert." Pronunciation of the last e depends on a person's accent. For example, it is usually pronounced in the Midi, but not often pronounced in Paris. > 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
