Comment on For French origin words like "meter" American English inverted the last letters of "metre" to better match the pronunciation. Why isn't it also the case for other similar situations like "possible"?

• marron12@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  You can think of “le” as a way of showing that it’s a syllabic L. Meaning that you say a dark L, and there isn’t really a vowel before it. The L takes up the whole syllable. It can sound like there’s a schwa in there (usually just a blip of one), but that’s just part of how you say the dark L. It comes from having the back part of your tongue press down and back.

  This happens at the end of a word when the L is in an unstressed syllable. The spelling can vary a little. For example:

  • people
  • simple
  • model
  • oval

  There isn’t really a reason why the spelling is different. That’s just how it happened to develop.

  The pronunciation can vary a little too. If you hold the L longer, or emphasize the syllable more, it can sound more like a proper vowel is in there. But your tongue stays a tiny bit lower than it does for the schwa sounds.

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  • oce@jlai.lu ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    That’s the most convincing explanation I have read, thank you!

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  • razm@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    | There isn’t really a reason why the spelling is different. That’s just how it happened to develop.

    There absolutely is a reason for each of your examples, and again, it comes from French : peuple simple modèle ovale

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• corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

  Go ask your teachers why they taught you the wrong pronunciation; and why they didn’t equip you to hear the correct one and adapt.

  #noChildLeftBehind?

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