Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish · 4 months agoWhat is the (subjectively) weirdest word in the English language?message-squaremessage-square228fedilinkarrow-up1153arrow-down12
arrow-up1151arrow-down1message-squareWhat is the (subjectively) weirdest word in the English language?Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.worldEnglish · 4 months agomessage-square228fedilink
minus-squareEiri@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up6·4 months agoI dunno if it’s the weirdest but “pronunciation” is pretty weird. Why is it “pronUnciation” but “pronOUnce”?
minus-squaretigeruppercut@lemmy.ziplinkfedilinkarrow-up1·4 months agoSimilarly I hate that restaurateur drops the n in restaurant
minus-squareEiri@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkarrow-up5·4 months agoIf it consoles you, I can explain the reason for that one. They both come from the verb restaurer (to restore). Restaurant being the present participle in this case. In French, “ant” is equivalent to the English suffix “ing”. And restaurateur is “one who restores”.
I dunno if it’s the weirdest but “pronunciation” is pretty weird.
Why is it “pronUnciation” but “pronOUnce”?
Similarly I hate that restaurateur drops the n in restaurant
If it consoles you, I can explain the reason for that one.
They both come from the verb restaurer (to restore). Restaurant being the present participle in this case. In French, “ant” is equivalent to the English suffix “ing”.
And restaurateur is “one who restores”.