A-Z of English words with surprising origins
Giovanni Drogo wrote:
On Thu, 27 Nov 2008, Ariadne wrote:
Spelling in English is not so regular. We spell "sonata"
But "sonata" is a perfectly legitimate italian word ! There are many
cases of italian words which alternate "uo" and "o" (open o !), with the
"o" form being preferred in Tuscan or central-italian vernaculars.
Yes, nowadays almost nobody will use the verb "sonare" and everybody
will prefer "suonare" (to sound), with participle "suonato", and the
substantive "suono" (sound). But Tuscans may use it, and the term could
be found in literature until 40 or 50 years ago.
But the musical term "sonata" was "frozen" as such a lot of time ago,
and is the only proper form.
Why is "crocodile" rendered in Italian as "cocodril"?
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