Re: French verb conjugation: "je harcèle"? or "je harcelle"?

On Mar 27, 6:09 am, mb <azyth...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mar 26, 8:50 am, "Peter T. Daniels" <gramma...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

...

If membership in Group 1 or Group 2 is in fact arbitrary and
unpredictable, then it is indeed impossible to know how to spell the
3sg. of Brel's nonce verb "bruxel(l)er." If, however, French-speakers
agree on whether it's bruxelle or brux`ele, then there is _some_ rule
operating, which it is possible to determine

Your logic is leaking again. The correct premise you use, i.e. that
"group membership" for the treatment of some finite tenses is
basically unpredictable, cannot automatically be assumed to be the
sole factor that determines ...the form of the infinitive. As it
happens, it is not. Origin and knowledge of the origin are an
important factor at play here. The origin is Bruxelles, a city.

To calm things down a bit, here's an enjoyable clip of Brel actually
singing Bruxelles:

http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrj7XN81E6g

The pronunciation of "Bruxellait" is quite easy to hear, particularly
in the final rallentando, which mimics a silent movie breaking down.

Nigel

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