CHAT French unde's (was: French undies (was: Re: Linguistic Terminology))

Raymond A. Brown wrote:

> >I think i've only heard it, throughly (or pretty much) Anglicized, as
> >/lan dZ@ 'rej/ .
> Weird - why pronounce and ending spelt/spelled -RIE as /rei/ or /rej/ ???
Ennuye, declasse, outre, touche, rose, blase, souffle, parfait, charge,
distingue, fiance, divorcee, ballet, bidet, cafe (au *lait*), naivete,
beret, Jean Nate /dZin n@tej/ (at least in the US, a line of bath
products like body powder and apres shower body splash), and the jocular
"Target"...

Accent on the last syllable, ending in /ej/ lets us know immediately
we're in French country, which still puts instant sophisticated spin on
anything you might want to say (which you probably would when hawking
intimate apparel; negligee - nightgown, you choose).

Too, (freeforming here), there's some mixing and matching between /i/
and /ej/ when word final. Eg. (at least in Boston) some folks pronounce
the days of the week ending in /i/: Sunday /sVndi/ etc.; karaoke veering
perilously toward /k&rioki/; in pop songs, words like baby, maybe,
crazy, cozy final vowels regularly head toward /E/ and /e/ (no doubt
'cause lower vowels are easier to sing -- how many opera tunes have
singers hold, say, an umlaut u over high C?). To say nothing of
Hollywood French accent schtick ("Ah feeeeel so luckAY to be 'ere weef
yoooo."

Kou