Because language is wonderfully insane 🙂 The musical term “bass” is not only pronounced like “base”, but also it means “base” (as in “low”), and indeed is essentially the same word. Both of these “base” words originated with the Greek word βάσις (“basis”).
Is bass pronounced base or base?
Bass, when pronounced as base, means the lowest pitch, an adult male who sings in the lowest pitch, any number of instruments that play the lowest pitch. Bass may be used as a noun or an adjective, it comes from the Late Latin word bassus meaning short, low, and was probably influenced by the Italian word basso.
How do the British pronounce base?
Below is the UK transcription for ‘base’: Modern IPA: bɛ́js. Traditional IPA: beɪs. 1 syllable: “BAYS”
Is it called bass or bass guitar?
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six strings or courses.
Why do we pronounce bass as base?
basson, comparative of bathys “deep.” So bass in the musical sense has its origins in base, and the current spelling is influenced by the Italian basso. In other words, the spelling changed out from under the pronunciation.
Is the L really silent in salmon?
In Latin, the word for fish is salmo, and the L is pronounced. Even though the English word spelling changed from samoun to salmon, the pronunciation stayed the same, making the L silent. We are allowed to pronounce the L in Salmonella but are not supposed to pronounce the L in the fish, salmon.
Is it pronounced Bose or Bose?
Looking at the word Bose, you’d expect it to be pronounced the same way that it’s spelt, but apparently not. Instead of pronouncing “Bo-ce” as most people do, the correct pronunciation is “Bo-ze,” with an emphasis on the (non-existent) Z.
Why do British pronounce the T in fillet?
They pronounce the ‘t’ in fillet because they are not French and though the word shares a common Latin origin with the French word filet, it is neither spelt nor pronounced in the same way.
How do Brits pronounce Nike?
Those in America, for example, might pronounce it with a long “e”, whilst those in the UK might pronounce it with a singular syllable to rhyme with “bike”.
Why do the British pronounce an F in Lieutenant?
“Lieu” means place and “tenant” means holding. So a Lieutenant is someone who “holds a place” or functions as a deputy of a superior. It’s believed that at some time before the 19th century, the British read and pronounced the “U” at the end of “lieu” as a “V” and the “V” later became an “F”.
Why bass is not a guitar?
Differences between a bass and a guitar
The frets on a bass guitar are wider than those on a guitar. Bass strings are wider (i.e. have a larger diameter) than guitar strings. (Bass strings can’t be used on a guitar, and vice versa.) Bassists generally play single note lines and don’t usually play chords.
Is the base a guitar?
The bass guitar is typically slightly larger than the standard electric or acoustic guitar. With four strings, it is quite similar to the guitar, except for the fact that its notes are about an octave lower than the guitar. Because of this, its typical role in a band is to act as a supporting instrument.
Why bass is harder than guitar?
Bass can be more painful to play than the guitar as it is more physically demanding. The bass has a longer neck, thicker strings, and larger frets. You need more strength/pressure to press the bass strings against the fret.
Is it bass player or base player?
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or trombone.
Is the D in Sandwich silent?
In the word ‘sandwich’, if you looked that up in the dictionary, you WOULD see the D sound. But it’s actually never pronounced that way. So Wednesday, Handsome: the dictionary says no D.
Why do you not pronounce s in Island?
Island was long written with different spellings which didn’t include ‘s’, so it has presumably always been pronounced without /s/. (The derivation is not from Latin insula but from various Germanic forms, which also had no ‘s’.)
Is the T in catch silent?
Catch, itch, retch, hatchet, botch etc. The list is huge. They all have different origins, and yet they have the silent ‘t’. But words like achieve, lecherous, spinach don’t have the silent ‘t’.
Is the L silent in the word almond?
More recent standard dictionaries say we can now properly pronounce “almond” either with or without the “l” sound.
Is it pronounced Carmel or caramel?
Caramel is pronounced with three syllables. Carmel, the city, is pronounced with two syllables. You can use the number of syllables in each word to link it with other nouns of the same type: caramel and aerogel are both three-syllable common nouns, while Carmel and Arnold are both two-syllable proper nouns.
Is it pronounced Porsche or Porsche?
If you’re asking “Is Porsche Italian?”, the answer is no, it’s German. While some people pronounce the Italian brand name, “Porsh”, the correct pronunciation is as a two syllable word, like this: “Por-shuh”. Or, if you’re into pronunciation keys, this is how you pronounce it: /ˈpɔɹʃ/, /ˈpɔɹʃ. ə/, /ˈpɔɹʃ.
Do Americans say Nike or Nikey?
The brand was founded in the US and they say it’s pronounced Nikey.