# segue



## elroy

I just found out that this word, which means a smooth transition between two parts of a composition, is not spelled "segway." 

My question: does the fact that I have been spelling it incorrectly point to egregious ignorance, or it is relatively common to misspell it?

I'd also be interested in knowing how many of you who know and use the word just found out that "segue" is the correct spelling!


----------



## clapec

"segue" is an Italian word  
It means "(it) follows", "(it) continues"...


----------



## ElaineG

Maybe you were confused by that silly people mover/scooter thing, which is called a "segway." 

But I'm confused myself, because I pressed the wrong voting button.


----------



## foxfirebrand

ElaineG said:
			
		

> But I'm confused myself, because I pressed the wrong voting button.


That explains how "segway" got at least one of the three votes-- I've never in my life seen it spelled that way.

It's a musical term, like _da capo_ or _fortissimo._  Also a term used in comedy writing and stagecraft-- you have almost certainly heard Leno, or Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon complimenting or kidding each other about how good or bad the _segue_ into the upcoming commercial was.  A.k.a. a "blend."

I have heard of Skagway, though-- it's a seaport in Alaska, gateway to the Klondike.


----------



## Kelly B

I'd be tempted to spell it segué, but then I'd be wrong too, as it's Italian, rather than French. You don't need a little googaw to tell you how to pronounce the e. I got it right, anyway.


----------



## panjandrum

I came across segue first in a musical context, in written form. Following a short period of mentally pronouncing it "seeg" (emulating "league" without the "a") I looked it up. So when I heard it, I knew what it was.
Which I've just realised is not really relevant to your question. But now that I've typed it I'll post it anyway.

Ah yes, ffb, good old Scague.


----------



## Isotta

Actually it was not until I was a junior in high school that I found the real spelling. I remember that spell-check (for once) caught it, and I must have tried eight different ways until I found the right one.

I can empathize.

Z.


----------



## timpeac

Haha, I got it right but can't be too smug because like Panj I have only ever seen it written, and I would have pronounced it "seeg"


----------



## kiro

panjandrum said:
			
		

> I came across segue first in a musical context, in written form. Following a short period of mentally pronouncing it "seeg" (emulating "league" without the "a")


Exactly the same with me, although in my case I really did pronounce it that way until one day someone burst out laughing when I said it and informed me of the correct pronunciation.


----------



## el alabamiano

ElaineG said:
			
		

> Maybe you were confused by that silly people mover/scooter thing, which is called a "segway."


Since segue, segway, Sigourney Weaver aren't words I use in my daily vocabulary, I would have went with that definition, but then...I'm still fond of horse-drawn carts and Lady Godiva.


----------



## GenJen54

I voted for "segue," but don't remember when or how I figured out this was the "correct" spelling.  I didn't know about "segway" until I became aware of the people mover. 

I did hear someone give a speech one time (in front of about 300 people) and blatantly mis-pronounce it as seg-gyoo (yoo as in _view_).  A wave of chuckles spread throughout the room where the speech was taking place.  I don't know exactly when the speaker caught on, if she did at all.


----------



## bpipoly

I understand your pain elroy. I heard the word long before I ever decided to use it in writing, so I tried to "spell it the way it sounds." Since my spelling is already terrible and learning French has made it worse (no offense meant), I spent a good thirty minutes trying to figure out how to spell it after spell-check told me it was wrong. English is one of the worst language for those who rely on phonemes to spell.


----------



## elroy

Thank you, everyone, for your responses!

I find it interesting that some people had seen the word _written_ before they ever _heard_ it - so they could spell it but didn't know how to pronounce it. My situation was exactly the opposite: I have _heard_ the word plenty of times before but had never seen it written. I wrote it today for the first time and - alas! - the spelling was wrong.

I don't know which is worse. I guess that in any case I at least did not run the risk of embarrassing myself by mispronouncing the word.

Funny how English works. 

Edit: I just realized that in my original post I said "the fact that I _have been spelling_ it incorrectly," and then I said that I wrote it for the first time today. What I meant was that "segway" is the way I _would have spelled_ it were I to write it.


----------



## JLanguage

Elroy, since when is English spelling logical? Always go for the spelling choice that doesn't make sense, and you'll have a high chance of being right.


----------



## fletxa2001

I saw "segue" in the subtitles of an American movie "Laws of attraction", it meant to continue talking but changing the subject.


----------



## losilmer

The pronunciation is almost the same as in Italian.  
In this language they say *ˈsɛ-gwe*.  It means "There follows another melody". 
In English it is *ˈsɛ-gweɪ*.
A segue is the passing from a musical piece to another without interruption, like in a medley or "potpourri".


----------



## Adge

Hmm, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I had never seen it written until I just saw the title of your post, which I read as seg (as in the first syllable of seg-way).  Learn something new everyday!


----------



## xebonyx

Yeah,* segway* as I know it is a motor scooter (that annoying cops ride around on),haha.


----------



## stopmakinsense

I have had many arguments over this word.  I thought it was pronounced 'seeg', rather than 'segway', for the simple reason that we don't have a 'tongway' in our mouth, the UN wasn't formerly called 'The Leagway of Nations' and Bach didn't write 'Toccata and Fugway in D Minor'.  I think I'll still keep pronouncing it the wrongue...


----------



## JulianStuart

stopmakinsense said:


> I have had many arguments over this word.  I thought it was pronounced 'seeg', rather than 'segway', for the simple reason that we don't have a 'tongway' in our mouth, the UN wasn't formerly called 'The Leagway of Nations' and Bach didn't write 'Toccata and Fugway in D Minor'.  I think I'll still keep pronouncing it the wrongue...



That's pushing it a little further into your cheeque, no?
It has probably occurred to you that tongue and league were never pronounced with way at the end, they just got the weird spelling while the pronunciation kept on.  However, when segue came into the language, it came with a pronunciation all of its own and the spelling of its original language.  It all makes cents to me.


----------



## JamesM

stopmakinsense said:


> I have had many arguments over this word.  I thought it was pronounced 'seeg', rather than 'segway', for the simple reason that we don't have a 'tongway' in our mouth, the UN wasn't formerly called 'The Leagway of Nations' and Bach didn't write 'Toccata and Fugway in D Minor'.  I think I'll still keep pronouncing it the wrongue...



The word comes to us directly from Italian (as a musical instruction). So, do you also pronounce linguine "ling-gyne"? Just curious.


----------



## Ivan_I

I can't imagine in my mind how the cats were doing it. Can you help me imagine?

*He then threw to a clip of one cat massaging another cat as a segue.*


----------



## PaulQ

This is an informal use: a *segue *is a piece of music/film, etc that follows, without a break, another piece of music/film, etc.


----------



## Myridon

Ivan_I said:


> I can't imagine in my mind how the cats were doing it. Can you help me imagine?
> 
> *He then threw to a clip of one cat massaging another cat as a segue.*


Is your question about feline behavior (massaging) or using a film clip as a segue?


----------



## Ivan_I

Both as I wanted to know what role a segue played in feline behavior in that sentence.


----------



## Kelly B

It's a transition, or an attempt to make a transition feel less abrupt. 
(edited to add) ...an attempt to avoid a non sequitur, perhaps.


----------



## Packard

I've been careful about pronouncing words in public ever since I read out loud "militia" in 5th grade using four syllables. 

I pronounce it "segway".  

In speech I've only ever used it as a verb, and never in a musical context.


----------



## velisarius

Kelly B said:


> It's a transition, or an attempt to make a transition feel less abrupt.
> (edited to add) ...an attempt to avoid a non sequitur, perhaps.



That's how I've heard it used in American English: a lead-in to what is to follow. I suspect it's less familiar to a British ear but I may be wrong.


----------



## timpeac

velisarius said:


> That's how I've heard it used in American English: a lead-in to what is to follow. I suspect it's less familiar to a British ear but I may be wrong.


I agree. I don't think you hear this word much over here at all. In fact I see that I said above (9 years ago it seems!) that I had only read it and didn't know it was pronounced "segway". Moreover, I think the only place I had read it was in musical notation.


----------



## 2 Cents

I am only commenting here because I hear people pronouncing _segue_ as if it is homonym for *Segway*, the two wheeled transport device and acting very condescending to anyone who pronounces it differently. (That would not be me because I don't feel a need to use rare words to make people think I'm intelligent.) As an American polyglot, this seems to break the unspoken rule that if you borrow a foreign word, you're obliged to borrow its pronunciation. If people don't know the Italian pronunciation, they should not use the word. Am I in error or have the pompous people won as the did with the mispronunciation of French term _laissez faire_?


----------



## Packard

Part of the confusion is the fact that Segway has always owned up to the fact that the corporate name was derived from “segue”.

This from Merriam-Webster:

_The other segway is actually a trademark: it refers to a motorized, two-wheel personal vehicle. The confusion is understandable: *both segway and segue share a pronunciation*, and the spelling segway looks more logical to us than segue. It's become common to see Segway tours, or security on Segways—and perhaps because of the proliferation of Segways, it's becoming more common to see segway in print in place of segue._


----------



## Thomas Tompion

2 Cents said:


> this seems to break the unspoken rule that if you borrow a foreign word, you're obliged to borrow its pronunciation. If people don't know the Italian pronunciation, they should not use the word. Am I in error or have the pompous people won as the did with the mispronunciation of French term _laissez faire_?


I think there is no such rule, spoken or unspoken.

English speakers have much more trouble when using foreign expressions which contain sounds not occurring in English, like _ingénue_, or_ déjà vu_.

As for _segue_, I'm long familiar with it in musical contexts. Haven't I heard people use it in American English as a verb meaning _to turn into_ or _become_, eg._ the party segued into a trip to the seaside_?


----------



## dojibear

The term "segue" has been used in musical notation since the 1700s. It started to have other uses in American English (both as a noun and as a verb) in the 1900s.

The product "Segway" was introduced in 2001. The name was chosen to imitate the word "segue". The word "segway" isn't in the WR dictionary.

segue | Search Online Etymology Dictionary


----------



## kentix

No such rule. It's more chance and the time period in which it happened.

But if a word is adopted into English, as opposed to being used as a foreign word in italics in English, then all bets are off. It can be pronounced however English speakers want to (as a group). The same is true for other languages adopting English words (because at that point they are no longer English).


----------



## kentix

Segue is very commonly used in American English in specific (non-musical) contexts, when referring to a transition from one topic to another, not necessarily closely related, topic. In that use, it's common on radio and TV discussion programs and other entertainment formats such as monologues and TV shows comprised of several "segments".


----------



## Tower of Babel

2 Cents said:


> this seems to break the unspoken rule that if you borrow a foreign word, you're obliged to borrow its pronunciation. If people don't know the Italian pronunciation, they should not use the word.


Whaaat?

So people who don't know the French pronunciation of "restaurant" should not ever use the word?

Yikes.


----------



## Packard

Maybe 2Cents will modify his response.  I think enough sarcasm has been poured over this fire.

I will assume that 2 Cents will end becoming a valued member of the WR family. I’m going to look at other posts.


Of course when I said that “schpiel” seemed more logical than “spiel”, people were quick to jump all over that saying, “when was English ever logical?”  But whe Merriam-Webster says that “Segway” is the more logical spelling than “segue”, no one was quick to jump all over the editors at Merriam-Webster.


----------



## Mrs JJJ

elroy said:


> My situation was exactly the opposite: I have _heard_ the word plenty of times before but had never seen it written.



It was the same for me.  I had never really heard the word in England, but I had read all about the Segway means of transport - and indeed longed to try one out!   So when I came to the USA and started to hear the word segue being used all the time, I quite thought that segway was the spelling.  Thankfully, after a while I saw the word segue used in a newspaper, was covered with embarrassment at being surprised by the spelling and very relieved that I had never actually attempted to use it!

I think it is used a little more in England now, because some time ago, my sister used the word in an email she sent me. And although we both rarely have any difficulty with spelling, like me, she wrote it as _segway_. Remembering my own embarrassment, I hastily enlightened her and she was as surprised by the word as I had been. So if you want to take your research further, Elroy, I think it might be interesting to try to find out whether more Britons than Americans instinctively use the "segway" spelling, precisely because they've seen plenty of printed references to the vehicle in the media, but rarely the word 'segue" in print.


----------



## Mrs JJJ

Ack! I managed to post before I'd finished!  My postscript was going to be:
Oh and only about three years ago, I finally achieved my ambition and rode on a Segway.  In Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. I disagree with those who are scathing about it - I thought it was brilliant! And fun. Where I live now, the security guards use them to patrol the shopping mall.


----------



## natkretep

It depends whether you _hear_ it first or _see_ it first. I think of us were like panj (Post 6): saw the word and mentally said seeg.


----------



## Packard

The spelling (segue) is part and parcel with the pronunciation and the etymology. Largely, people ignore etymologies and spelling adapts. It would not surprise me if “segway” was listed in some dictionaries 20 years from now as an alternate spelling for “segue”.


----------



## 2 Cents

Packard said:


> The spelling (segue) is part and parcel with the pronunciation and the etymology. Largely, people ignore etymologies and spelling adapts. It would not surprise me if “segway” was listed in some dictionaries 20 years from now as an alternate spelling for “segue”.


Thank you! You have confirmed what I was moved to say and you have made clear how English will continue to evolve. Long live the most successful pidgin language that has conquered the world with its simplicity and adaptability.


----------

