this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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Macabre. Why do you need two silent letters?
Blame the French.
Please wait in the queue with four unpronounced letters
I always pronounce this "quayway"
What you spelled there would be pronounced key-way haha
British English voices those letters in most accents. I think the two silent letters is just a North American thing.
Similar to herb.
Not saying you're wrong at all, it's not exactly a common word to hear said out loud. But I've never heard anyone do this and the very idea of it blows my mind.
(NE England, here)
The last syllable is usually pretty subtle, like the br- in bread, but very quietly voiced. I'd say I hear it maybe 75% of the time I hear the word. Currently in Yorkshire, via SW England, London and NW England. The syllable is a lot less subtle in a West Yorks accent!
Did you learn French at GCSE level? Possibly there's a relationship between that and pronouncing the re like that in French-derived words. Cadre is another example. If it is related to learning French, then it's probably on the decline as French teaching is on the decline and foreign languages are no longer compulsory at GCSE.
Clearly I need to work this word into more conversations with people and listen closely! That said I only just found out recently that most of the country pronounces the middle weekday as "Wensday" so contrary to stereotypes I think we might be the ones talking properly up here ๐
(schools around me were generally an even split between French and German for GCSE, dunno how that affects your theory, also I had no idea languages were going away from school and this makes me sad to learn)
Why use a French word then?
Ma-carb, much better
"queue", 4/5 letters are silent.
Wait how is that pronounced? I've always read it as Mah-Ca-Burr. It's one of these words I learned through text exposure rather than English classes...