Yesterday, had a little language note, particularly on “forte,” meaning strong point or expertise. It is pronounced “fort” (not “fortay,” which we reserve for the musical marking). That provoked a lot of mail, as you might imagine, and one of our readers said that he had stopped using the correct pronunciation altogether. The reason? He was sick of being corrected incorrectly (or of being thought incorrect).
Yes, this is a problem – you have it on “short-lived” and “err,” too. Pronounce these words correctly, and you are apt to be thought incorrect, or strange. Pronounce “coup de grâce” correctly, and people will look at you funny. (Because people have taken to saying “coup de gras,” as in “foie.”)
Inevitably, incorrect pronunciation will swamp correct pronunciation – so the incorrect will become the correct. Take “err.” For another generation or two, people will be saying “air,” and voilà: That will be correct. (Why do people pronounce “voilà” with a “w”?)
And the pattern holds not just with pronunciation – people have been saying “alternate universe” for so long, instead of “alternative universe,” that “alternate universe” is etched in millions of minds.
A further note on “err”: Years ago, I edited a review of a book about the 1948 presidential campaign (or touching on that campaign). And the book said that Truman had been terribly defamatory toward his opponent, Dewey. So I titled the piece “To Slur Is Truman.” (The old wisecrack was, “To err is Truman.”)
Of course, with the new, wrong pronunciation – “air” – that title had no charm.
A final word: Some years ago, Mark Helprin told me that he and I were the only people in the world who still said “short-lived” and “long-lived” correctly. I think there are many more. Maybe we can form a club (before the correct is utterly swamped by the incorrect)?