How do you pronounce morte in La Morte d'Arthur?

Question

I know it doesn't have an accent on the last vowel, but I've heard it two ways--as in forte. How do most teacher/professors pronounce it?

Thanks John--a typo. I had a British professor who continually pronounced it as "Le Morte" putting stress on the last vowel. I am now recalling some of the issues with the pronounciation (that you mentioned in your response).

Thanks for the research!

Answer 1

With a "silent" e - as if it were Mort (It's "Le" not "La")
The title's pronounced:
Le Mort da Tour

But here's some research:

"In general, French words and expressions used in Medieval English have to be taken with a grain of salt and not necessarily as actual French of the period as spoken in the Ile-de-France (Paris area), let alone Modern French. Malory should not be taken as an expert on French. His title "Le Morte d'Arthur" should be of course "La mort d'Arthur" (Arthur's Death), but the spelling shows (a) the English confusion about the unstressed vowel of the article, coupled with the lack of grammatical gender for inanimate nouns in English, and (b) the pronunciation (still current at the time in France) of the final consonant of the French word "mort".

Answer 2

La Morte D Arthur

Answer 3

Parts, It's a compilation of French ad British Arthurian Romances, I'm more interested in the Arthur in the Mabinogion. reading that book is kinda like a punishment.

Answer 4

La Mort Dar TUR.

Answer 5

i say it as Mort, let it flow into the d'Arthur

Answer 6

mort

Answer 7

like FORT - don't pronounce the E

Answer 8

it takes a bit of a tonge roll........morllltttay the (d) is attatched. french is close to spanish. i could be off a little ,,,,iget by .........................................don't forget the (d)) which makes the e come back