# English: entourage (pronunciation)



## Martoo

Hi everybody, recently I've found this word "entourage" and heard the pronunciation in the dictionary. Noticed that had a pronunciation similar to "massage" (speaking mainly of the end of the word) and not like others words as 'rampage', 'sabotage', 'vintage' or simply 'age'.
I know that massage is a word taked from the French but I would like to know if the same happens with "entourage".

Thanks!


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## Agró

UK:*/ˈɒnturɑːʒ/
US:/ˌɑntʊˈrɑʒ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(än′tŏŏ räzh*′*) 

*Etimology*

 French, equivalent. to _entour_(_er_) to surround (derivative of _entour_ around, equivalent. to _en_ in + _tour_ circuit; see tour) + _-age_ -age
 1825–35


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## elroy

Martoo said:


> not like others words as 'rampage', 'sabotage', 'vintage' or simply 'age'.


 "sabotage" works like "massage" and "entourage."

sabotage/massage/entourage /ɑ:ʒ/
rampage/age /eɪdʒ/
vintage /ədʒ/


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## Martoo

elroy said:


> "sabotage" works like "massage" and "entourage."



OH  Always thought (and pronounced) that sabot*age* sounded like "age"

thanks!


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## gburtonio

In more recent French loans like 'sabotage', 'massage' and 'entourage', the [aʒ] pronunciation is preserved. In older loans like 'vintage', 'age', 'language' the pronunciation tends to be /eɪdʒ/ or /ɪdʒ/ / /ədʒ/. There are three possible pronunciations of 'garage', though. 

Nigel Farage was once criticised by David Cameron for pronuncing his name in a "poncey, foreign-sounding" way (i.e. /ɑ:ʒ/).


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## berndf

gburtonio said:


> In older loans


Yes,  <-age> = /-eɪdʒ/ is the result of the great vowel shift and applies to older loans dating back to Middle English or Early Modern English.


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## elroy

gburtonio said:


> There are three possible pronunciations of 'garage', though.


 I know /ɑ:ʒ/ and /ədʒ/.  What's the third?


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## berndf

elroy said:


> I know /ɑ:ʒ/ and /ədʒ/.  What's the third?


/-ɑ:ʒ/ with stress on the first or the second syllable. /-ədʒ/ only with stress on the first syllable.


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## elroy

I thought @gburtonio meant three different pronunciations of the _-age_.

I didn't know /-ɑ:ʒ/ with first-syllable stress was a thing!  That feels like it violates English phonotactics!


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## AndrasBP

"*Outrage*" is an interesting example because it's a very old French loan from the 13th century, so it "should" be pronounced /ˈaʊtrɪdʒ/ or /'aʊtrədʒ/, but the pronunciation later changed to /'aʊtreɪdʒ/ when speakers reanalysed the word as "out" + "rage".


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## elroy

The pronunciation of "outrage" is explained by @gburtonio's observation: 





gburtonio said:


> In older loans like 'vintage', 'age', 'language' the pronunciation tends to be */eɪdʒ/* or /ɪdʒ/ / /ədʒ/.


 Do you disagree with him?


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## berndf

AndrasBP said:


> "*Outrage*" is an interesting example because it's a very old French loan from the 13th century, so it "should" be pronounced /ˈaʊtrɪdʒ/ or /'aʊtrədʒ/, but the pronunciation later changed to /'aʊtreɪdʒ/ when speakers reanalysed the word as "out" + "rage".


/-eɪdʒ/ is *only *in old loans. Stress on the first syllable may but not necessarily does lead to a reduced vowels in the second syllable.


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## Martoo

gburtonio said:


> the pronunciation tends to be /eɪdʒ/ or /ɪdʒ/ / /ədʒ/. There are three possible pronunciations of 'garage', though.



Curious...and what about the pronunciation with "æʃ"? -> like occurs in the word ash (please ignore the sound of the vowel, I only refer to the *sh*) 

That seems the common way to pronunciate that word in spanish (at least in my country )


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## jimquk

AndrasBP said:


> "*Outrage*" is an interesting example because it's a very old French loan from the 13th century, so it "should" be pronounced /ˈaʊtrɪdʒ/ or /'aʊtrədʒ/, but the pronunciation later changed to /'aʊtreɪdʒ/ when speakers reanalysed the word as "out" + "rage".



Also the meaning has been influenced by that re-analysis: in French the word is based on outre, = beyond, and might be calqued as "beyondage", ie going beyond limits, transgression. But I don't think that French carries the connotation of rage that seems clear in English.


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## AndrasBP

elroy said:


> The pronunciation of "outrage" is explained by @gburtonio's observation:  Do you disagree with him?


I wouldn't say his post explains why 'outrage' is different from other _two- or three-syllable_ words ending in -age, such as:
_courage, message, village, manage, image, savage, voyage, hostage, baggage, average, heritage, beverage, etc._

(_cage, page, stage_ only have one syllable)


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## gburtonio

AndrasBP said:


> I wouldn't say his post explains why 'outrage' is different from other _two- or three-syllable_ words ending in -age, such as:
> _courage, message, village, manage, image, savage, voyage, hostage, baggage, average, heritage, beverage, etc._
> 
> (_cage, page, stage_ only have one syllable)



The expected pronunciation is /ɪdʒ/ (or /ədʒ/) in 2+ syllable words. This also happens in modern neologisms like 'wattage'. The explanation given above for the /eɪdʒ/ pronunciation in 'outrage' seems convincing to me. 'Rampage' is different. It started off as a verb (attested from 1692), of uncertain etymological origin. According to the OED, as a verb it can be stressed on the second syllable, although I have never heard this pronunciation; the OED states that the stress in early use is uncertain. In any case, it's not a -age noun loan from French like the others, which probably helps explain the /eɪdʒ/ pronunciation (particularly if the stress started off on the second syllable).

Are there other 2+ syllable -age words with the unexpected /eɪdʒ/ pronunciation? I can't think of any.


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## berndf

gburtonio said:


> Are there other 2+ syllable -age words with the unexpected /eɪdʒ/ pronunciation? I can't think of any.


It has nothing to do with being 1 or 2 syllable but with stress pattern. It the _-age_ rhyme carries primary stress, it is regularly  /-eɪdʒ/; if not then the vowel is mostly reduced but not always.

In ME, _outrage _probably originally had 3 syllables (/oʊtrɑːdʒə/, /oʊtrɑːdʒi/ or /uːtrɑːdʒə/, /uːtrɑːdʒi/ in some regions) with only the 3rd syllable being fully unstressed. /eɪ/ is the regular late ModE outcome of ME /ɑː/.

Even if the third syllable had already been mute at the time of the loan from French/Anglo-French the /ɑː/ wouldn't necessarily have been reduced. Maybe similar to pronunciations in modern English loans from French like _garage_ = /ˈɡæɹɑːʒ/.


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## gburtonio

berndf said:


> It has nothing to do with being 1 or 2 syllable but with stress pattern. It the _-age_ rhyme carries primary stress, it is regularly /-eɪdʒ/; if not then the vowel is mostly reduced but not always.



Yes, I realise that. I just wrote 2+ to exclude single-syllable words where 'age' can only carry primary stress and /-eɪdʒ/ is therefore the expected pronunciation. I'm curious about the 'but not always' words – are there others apart from 'outrage' and 'rampage'?


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