Geuss I ain't ever gonna pronounce this damn language correctly . You can't blame this on French tho because in that language it's saumon pronounced somon. They didn't drop a consonant in the middle of the word.

[–] samus12345 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The word comes ultimately from the Latin salmon, but we got it by way of French, as we did with so many other food words. The French, as was their wont, had swallowed up the Latin L in their pronunciation, so by the time we English borrowed the word, it was saumon, no L in the spelling and so no L in the pronunciation.

https://katherinebarber.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-l-in-salmon.html

True, we kept the L, but we got the pronunciation from them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Pronouncing the word based on how another language says it is strange to say the least. Imagine if train had the same treatment. In French it's a short tr-un instead of English tr-ayn.

[–] samus12345 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Pronouncing the word based on how another language says it

French influence on English is rather unique in this regard. French was the language of the upper class, so an effort was made for English to sound more French when possible.

My favorite example of how this has carried into modern day is the expressions "cordial reception" and "hearty welcome." They both effectively mean the same thing, but the first, which is latin-derived, sounds fancy, while the second, which is germanic-derived, sounds more informal.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I know this but didn't fully apprehend how deep the affect was.

If I ever visit an English speaking country I'll have to remember to say half the words in French to sound very haut class. Lol

[–] samus12345 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It hasn't been this way for hundreds of years, so you'll most likely just confuse people! Unless you're in Canada, maybe.

[–] Brekky 2 points 11 months ago

You mean they swa'ed up the letter? ;)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Sallemonne /s

Edit: Looked it up, the French word is actually "saumon". The L in the English word probably isn't from French.

[–] samus12345 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The word comes ultimately from the Latin salmon, but we got it by way of French, as we did with so many other food words. The French, as was their wont, had swallowed up the Latin L in their pronunciation, so by the time we English borrowed the word, it was saumon, no L in the spelling and so no L in the pronunciation.

https://katherinebarber.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-l-in-salmon.html

So no, the L isn’t, but the pronunciation is.

[–] Ultraviolet 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

No, but you do pronounce it in salmonella. English is not a language governed by logic.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I think it's optional in "salmonella". I was a biology student in college and heard both pronunciations all the time.

[–] TheCheddarCheese 1 points 11 months ago

you do? i always said it without the l