Is it worth using proper pronunciation if it makes you sound ignorant or misinformed? Contrary to the common understanding, the word forte is actually pronounced “fort.” Grant describes forte as a skunked word; it’s a losing situation no matter how you use it. For the sake of clarity and conversational flow, it’s best instead to say that something is a “strength,” a “strong suit,” or is “in one’s wheelhouse.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Not My Forte”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, Martha. Hi, Grant.
Hello. Who’s this?
This is Brian Barnhorst from San Diego.
Hello, Mr. Barnhorst.
Howdy. So, I have a question for you.
Okay.
Am I better off being correct or sounding stupid?
Oh, we run into that all the time.
I usually go for sounding stupid.
Martha usually goes for sounding correct and in the middle.
So, here’s the question.
When you say that someone has a strength, or usually when you’re saying it’s not his strength, you will say that’s not his forte.
But am I correct in saying that that is an incorrect pronunciation and that the correct pronunciation is forte?
Yes.
I thought so.
No.
The second question, though, is if you say that, is everybody going to look at you like you don’t know how to pronounce the word because everybody says forte?
Yes.
All right. Let’s rewind this for just a second. We’re talking about the word F-O-R-T-E, and it means if something is your F-O-R-T-E, it’s something that you’re good at.
It’s in your wheelhouse.
It’s a strong point. It’s a strength, right?
Right.
Okay, good.
And the E has no accent mark over it.
Correct.
It does not in English. It does not. That’s correct. And so the problem is that some people pronounce it forte, and some people pronounce it fort.
And I would say most pronounce it forte.
Correct.
Most do, yeah, by something like a margin of like 10 to 1.
Yeah.
However, the sticklers and the pedants and the people who fashion themselves as sophisticates say that fort is the only correct pronunciation.
Martha’s raising her hand.
Well, until you got to the part about that’s the only correct pronunciation.
And so, Brian, you say, what do you say?
Well, I try to avoid it for that very reason.
Right.
Very good.
And Martha, what do you say?
Right.
Strong suit or strength.
I do the same thing because this…
It’s a trap, right?
It’s a trap.
It’s what they call a skunked word, which is you can’t win.
In the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, they put it very distinctly.
They say, you can take your choice knowing that someone somewhere will dislike whichever variant you choose.
You can’t win with this word.
And the arguments in favor of fort versus forte are just as weak on both sides.
And people will call up etymology and talk about French and Italian.
And go back to Latin and they’ll pound the table.
And they’ll throw wine in your face.
But no side has really got the moral high ground on this.
Or the grammatical high ground for that matter.
Yeah, there’s not an accent in French.
I think that’s what you were getting at, right?
I’ll tell you, though, that somebody else recently came to a decision on this.
And I would love to meet the people who came to this decision.
What do you drive, Brian?
Volvo.
There is an automobile that’s been manufactured since 2008, and it’s the Kia Forte.
F-O-R-T-E.
Oh, really?
And that’s how they pronounce it, yeah.
Oh, my goodness.
And they have several different models, and they sell a lot of them.
And they’re very popular with rental agencies.
So if they’re tooling around, you drive to Atlanta and you rent a car, there’s a really good chance you’re driving a Kia Forte.
Now, does it have an accent mark on it?
No, there’s no accent.
Oh, my goodness.
Not that I’ve seen.
And I’ve listened to the ad specifically because I recognize, like, oh, hey, somebody somewhere in the naming division of Kia decided that this was an acceptable thing to do, right?
But what’s really interesting is they also have a model which is the Forte Coupe, and they spell Coupe K-O-U-P.
No.
No.
So I’m not sure that they should be trusted when it comes to manner of pronunciation.
Yeah, the Forte Coupe.
It’s like from a certain point of view, that could be twice wrong.
Oh, my gosh.
So, Brian, it sounds like your option is to sound stupid or be correct.
No, sound smart just by avoiding it altogether.
I’m good at sounding stupid.
That’s my forte.
You and I have a lot in common.
Brian, thanks for calling.
My pleasure.
Take care.
Thanks, Brian.
Bye-bye.
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