RE: English Spelling

From: Alain LaBonté  (alb@sct.gouv.qc.ca)
Date: Sun Dec 12 1999 - 16:35:03 EST


À 10:56 1999-12-10 -0800, Reynolds, Gregg a écrit :
>How should it be pronounced? Surely not with an oink. I always thought
>(going purely by eye) that /wanyo~/ was the correct pronunciation.

"oñõ" is the standard French prononciation... almost the same as English
"onion" (it is the same word indeed, just spelled differently), but with
the "on" nazalized, "à la française".

Some people indeed say it as written, though, "wañõ".

The reason for the "wa" to be pronounced "o" in front of "gnon"[ñõ], imho,
is just that it is difficult to pronounce without slowing down for most
French speakers. « oñõ » is much easier to pronounce for everybody, in
particular in "un oignon"... With the liaison, "<u~>n_wañõ" would be a bit
too much...

Alain LaBonté
Montréal (pronounce Mõ-ray-al, the t is mute),
          because it is 2 words(*) indeed, agglutinated,
          and ending t's are not prounonced in French.

*: "Mont réal" old French for "Mont royal", i.e. "Royal Mount".



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