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It's a bit unclear which sense of "distress" you would refer to, but according to Wiktionary, The Icelandic word is óþægindi /ˈouːθai(ː)jɪntɪ/ (roughly 'ouwe-thighinti ) and the Esperanto word angoro [anˈɡoro] (pronounced similar to Italian or Spanish, without a ng-sound, roughly un-goro).
惑乱 Wakuran (
talk)
16:29, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Understanding a foreign language text
Besides human translation (expensive) and automatic translation (cheap, but often poor results); what tools (software or any procedure) do linguists use to understand a foreign text, when they don't master the language? Would they go word by word and check a dictionary? Would they generate some kind of automatic grammatical analysis?
Bumptump (
talk)
18:24, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
An English-speaking linguist who is a specialist in, say, Old Norse, will probably not have much luck deciphering the meaning of a text in Sumerian, also not when equipped with a dictionary and grammar of the language. Being a linguist will not give them much of an advantage. Without a reasonable degree of mastery of the language, generating automatic grammatical analysis is out of the question. They'll basically have to learn the language like anybody else. --
Lambiam19:24, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Envelope vs. ensemble
In English, envelope (a word beginning with en of French origin) is usually pronounced as one would expect. But ensemble (another word of this kind) is pronounced "onsomble". Are there lots of English words beginning with en that are of French origin whose pronunciation varies sometimes?? (Any word that meets this criterion is sufficient; there's no need to limit this discussion between these 2 words.)
Georgia guy (
talk)
19:14, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
I've heard my fellow Americans say either "en-velope" or "on-velope", possibly depending on where they live or what their education level is. It's like saying "roof" to rhyme with "goof" or "good". Or saying "often" as "off-ten" vs. "off-en". Or "route" as "rout" or "root" (to rhyme with "goof", not "good"). ←
Baseball BugsWhat's up, Doc?carrots→
01:47, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
There are not many en- words with dual pronunciations, but another one is envoy, with US pronunciations / ˈɛn.vɔɪ/ and / ˈɑn.vɔɪ/. --
Lambiam07:22, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
I thought it might be due to how long ago the word (in some form) was adopted into English, with "more French" pronounciations being more recent, but to my surprise, the dictionary of word origins I consulted says "envelope" was adopted in the 18th century but "ensemble" in the 15th. I suspect it might be down to frequency of usage: "envelope" is a common word that (particularly in the "age of mail", to coin a term) most people used frequently, but "ensemble" is quite specialised, so much so that, though BrE with only 'O' Level French (50 years out-of-date) I sometimes pronounce it fully as a French word. Pretentious? Moi? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195}
90.213.18.208 (
talk)
07:05, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Because in English, vowels tend to be reduced in unstressed syllables; we only really pronounce stressed vowels carefully. So depending on how your particular dialect may pronounce the "en" at the beginning will vary because it is stressed, but when it is in an unstressed position, it just becomes some minor variation of a
schwa. --
Jayron3211:26, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Mostly because it's one of those words in English where the French pronunciation is (to some approximation) maintained. Ensemble, croissant, bouquet, words like that tend to retain some of the original French pronunciation, but approximated using English phonemics. Not every word in English (or any language) rigidly obeys any strict rules. --
Jayron3209:23, 4 May 2023 (UTC)reply
I pronounce some words the French way, e.g. envelope, corps, café, route, croissant, coup d'état, main-gauche and baguette.
Sleigh (
talk)
22:53, 4 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Most English speakers do. I've never (except in jest) heard things like "COOP-DUH-TAT" instead of "COO-DAY-TAH", for example. --
Jayron3212:45, 5 May 2023 (UTC)reply
If we'd split hairs, it'd technically be an Anglified French way, though, as the phonetic systems of French and English are rather different...
惑乱 Wakuran (
talk)
14:25, 5 May 2023 (UTC)reply
If I hadn't already split those hairs already, your comment would be less redundant. You see, when I said "original French pronunciation, but approximated using English phonemics" what I actually meant was "original French pronunciation, but approximated using English phonemics" I hope that clarifies matters. --
Jayron3215:41, 5 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Welcome to the Wikipedia Language Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a
transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the
current reference desk pages.
It's a bit unclear which sense of "distress" you would refer to, but according to Wiktionary, The Icelandic word is óþægindi /ˈouːθai(ː)jɪntɪ/ (roughly 'ouwe-thighinti ) and the Esperanto word angoro [anˈɡoro] (pronounced similar to Italian or Spanish, without a ng-sound, roughly un-goro).
惑乱 Wakuran (
talk)
16:29, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Understanding a foreign language text
Besides human translation (expensive) and automatic translation (cheap, but often poor results); what tools (software or any procedure) do linguists use to understand a foreign text, when they don't master the language? Would they go word by word and check a dictionary? Would they generate some kind of automatic grammatical analysis?
Bumptump (
talk)
18:24, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
An English-speaking linguist who is a specialist in, say, Old Norse, will probably not have much luck deciphering the meaning of a text in Sumerian, also not when equipped with a dictionary and grammar of the language. Being a linguist will not give them much of an advantage. Without a reasonable degree of mastery of the language, generating automatic grammatical analysis is out of the question. They'll basically have to learn the language like anybody else. --
Lambiam19:24, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Envelope vs. ensemble
In English, envelope (a word beginning with en of French origin) is usually pronounced as one would expect. But ensemble (another word of this kind) is pronounced "onsomble". Are there lots of English words beginning with en that are of French origin whose pronunciation varies sometimes?? (Any word that meets this criterion is sufficient; there's no need to limit this discussion between these 2 words.)
Georgia guy (
talk)
19:14, 2 May 2023 (UTC)reply
I've heard my fellow Americans say either "en-velope" or "on-velope", possibly depending on where they live or what their education level is. It's like saying "roof" to rhyme with "goof" or "good". Or saying "often" as "off-ten" vs. "off-en". Or "route" as "rout" or "root" (to rhyme with "goof", not "good"). ←
Baseball BugsWhat's up, Doc?carrots→
01:47, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
There are not many en- words with dual pronunciations, but another one is envoy, with US pronunciations / ˈɛn.vɔɪ/ and / ˈɑn.vɔɪ/. --
Lambiam07:22, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
I thought it might be due to how long ago the word (in some form) was adopted into English, with "more French" pronounciations being more recent, but to my surprise, the dictionary of word origins I consulted says "envelope" was adopted in the 18th century but "ensemble" in the 15th. I suspect it might be down to frequency of usage: "envelope" is a common word that (particularly in the "age of mail", to coin a term) most people used frequently, but "ensemble" is quite specialised, so much so that, though BrE with only 'O' Level French (50 years out-of-date) I sometimes pronounce it fully as a French word. Pretentious? Moi? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195}
90.213.18.208 (
talk)
07:05, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Because in English, vowels tend to be reduced in unstressed syllables; we only really pronounce stressed vowels carefully. So depending on how your particular dialect may pronounce the "en" at the beginning will vary because it is stressed, but when it is in an unstressed position, it just becomes some minor variation of a
schwa. --
Jayron3211:26, 3 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Mostly because it's one of those words in English where the French pronunciation is (to some approximation) maintained. Ensemble, croissant, bouquet, words like that tend to retain some of the original French pronunciation, but approximated using English phonemics. Not every word in English (or any language) rigidly obeys any strict rules. --
Jayron3209:23, 4 May 2023 (UTC)reply
I pronounce some words the French way, e.g. envelope, corps, café, route, croissant, coup d'état, main-gauche and baguette.
Sleigh (
talk)
22:53, 4 May 2023 (UTC)reply
Most English speakers do. I've never (except in jest) heard things like "COOP-DUH-TAT" instead of "COO-DAY-TAH", for example. --
Jayron3212:45, 5 May 2023 (UTC)reply
If we'd split hairs, it'd technically be an Anglified French way, though, as the phonetic systems of French and English are rather different...
惑乱 Wakuran (
talk)
14:25, 5 May 2023 (UTC)reply
If I hadn't already split those hairs already, your comment would be less redundant. You see, when I said "original French pronunciation, but approximated using English phonemics" what I actually meant was "original French pronunciation, but approximated using English phonemics" I hope that clarifies matters. --
Jayron3215:41, 5 May 2023 (UTC)reply