In a recent comment to this blog, a friend reminded me about the confusion regarding the pronunciation of “forte .”  Is it “fort,” as in “port”?  Or is it “for-TAY”?

Seems the online dictionaries prefer it to rhyme with “sort,” but offer “for-TAY” as an alternate pronunciation when “forte” is used to mean “one’s strong suit.”  Like, “While he’s a great writer, grammar is not his forte.”

And, it appears that Kia, the car company, pronounces it that way (“for-TAY”) in its commercials for the Kia Forte.  But, considering how car companies make up words to name their cars, I guess this isn’t much help.  They might as well make up pronunciations too.

It appears that this is another situation where the dictionaries are following trends in pronunciation – which is only slightly less troubling than following trends in meaning.

Since the first two pronunciations in the dictionaries online rhyme with sport, I’m going to go with that.

Of one thing though, we may be sure.  “Cache” is a one-syllable word.  The pronunciation of “cache” is “kash,” like in “bash.”  It’s not “ca-SHAY,” like in “sashay.”

A “cache” is a ”hiding place,” a “collection,” or a “stash,” as in “a cache of weapons.”  And, there’s only one way to pronounce it correctly – it rhymes with “splash,” no matter how so many commentators on CNN pronounce it as though it were “cachet.”  As we all know, “cachet” is a “quality,” “status” or “feeling of distinction.”  Like:  “That restaurant used to be cool, but it has lost its cachet.”