gregory said:
My point was not historical - just that in the UK people say Paris because that is the English way of saying it. The French say Paree (whatever they used to say - we are looking - are we not - at how we pronounce things today ?)
I thought the question had bifurcated - one, "how do you say 'tarot'"?; two, (which you asked - to paraphrase -) "what is the reason for the 't' at the end of the word 'tarot'?"
So, the reason for the historical digression of question number 2.
The Germans say Bare-leen - we in the UK say Burr-linn. I know about the vanishing s in France (and the weird result that we now have the words hotel and hostel from the same root.) But the fact is that different people pronounce things differently and there's nowt wrong wi that (as they say in Geordie...) ! or with the way they do pronounce them. There's room for all, as long as we understand each other.
Exactly. I hope I made it understood that *my* opinion is the same - say the "t" if you want. Any presumed archaic pronunciation is not more correct.
As you point out, it is not necessary for an English speaker to say "Pa-ree"; it is anglicized as "Pear-iss".
But the English pronunciation of "tarot" is not as uniform or settled. Tarot's history in English speaking countries is much shorter than their acquaintance with the city of Paris or the French in general, so that the pronunciation of certain borrowed words, like "tarot", is still in flux.
I think, like thoth=goth, tarot=carrot is fairly widespread. But all the English dictionaries I have say it's pronounced "taro" (no "t" at the end) so this pronunciation is not officially recognized (like "nukular" for "nuklear" - a good illustration of the simple and natural way words change over time in particular dialects).
