How do you pronounce "tarot" aloud? (simplified poll)

Which of these most closely represents how pronounce the word "tarot" when speaking?

  • Emphasis on FIRST syllable, with SILENT T (something like TA-ro)

    Votes: 69 72.6%
  • Emphasis on FIRST syllable, with a T sound at the end (something like TA-rot)

    Votes: 6 6.3%
  • Emphasis on SECOND syllable, with SILENT T (something like ta-RO)

    Votes: 18 18.9%
  • Emphasis on SECOND syllable, with a T sound at the end (something like ta-ROT)

    Votes: 2 2.1%

  • Total voters
    95

MsRed

I voted for option three when I speak/think in English.
In German it would be "Taaah-roo" with a long "a" like in "alpha" and a slightly shorter "o" at the end but no heard "t" at the end. The German pronunciation is close to the French one.
 

celticnoodle

I voted #1, and put the emphasis on the first part of the word. It sounds like sparrow still to me. tarot.

and, if it needs to be plural, just add an 's' to the end for "tarots" like you would for the plural of sparrow--"sparrows".
 

FLizarraga

In my mother language it is usually pronounced ta-ROT, with a loud T at the end.

For years now I pronounced it ta-RO like in French --without the Frenchified "r", of course-- for the simple reason that it sounded right to me.

But most people I talk with pronounce it either TAR-oh or TEAR-oh, so I find myself increasingly confused.... :bugeyed:
 

garmonbozia

I know French, I just didn't make the connection with English, them being two different languages with different rules, which I learned way back in school.

There are no solid pronounciation/spelling rules in English. I guess people have tried to define them, but it seems to end up being more complicated than the U.S. tax code. I honestly have no idea how native speakers of other languages manage to learn English at all. I never really gave this much thought until I started studying other languages and realized that other languages actually have rules - simple ones - and that you could read anything perfectly once you knew them (even if you had no idea what you were saying).
 

Grizabella

Voted the first one, but I say it more like TARE-oh.

Yep, me too.

No - the first. It's the name of an English publishing company, and is pronounced excactly the same way as the man on a horse rider. At the risk of Issues - R-EYE-der.

But thanks - that explains why so many people here seem to SPELL it Raider, which drives me nuts :D

Oh yes, same here. That explains it, I guess, but it still will probably be fingernails on a chalkboard every time I see it. :)
 

swimming in tarot

I voted #1, concurring with Mab and Gregory; arrow, sparrow, tarot. If I had to pluralize it, I'd add and pronounce the s, but I don't quantify the tarot. Tarot decks, tarot systems, but not tarots.

I'm in BC with an Anglo-Scots heritage, which in itself doesn't matter, as tarot was not a household word; but that did influence which dictionary I reached for, to find out how to pronounce tarot: the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. (I've never seen, much less lifted, the longer OED.)
 

Emily

I voted #1 - Tarow - like sparrow :)
 

urbandryad

I'm Italian-Canadian So its sort of a Taw-roh. A bit of a roll on the r. X)
 

kalliope

Voted the first one, but I say it more like TARE-oh.

I thought this delightfully simplified poll was dealing only with the stress and the final letter - vowel sounds are so TOTALLY mutable

Yes, gregory's right, we're trying to concentrate only on the syllable emphasis and final T here! When voting, don't worry about which which vowel sound you use. (Although the discussion of vowels and accents in the other thread was kind of fun. :D )

As an aside, when walking in New York City the other day I saw a sidewalk board advertising "Psychic Taro Readings". I guess we can assume that person doesn't pronounce the final T! Or maybe they're doing strange readings with root tubers... :joke:
 

FLizarraga

As an aside, when walking in New York City the other day I saw a sidewalk board advertising "Psychic Taro Readings". I guess we can assume that person doesn't pronounce the final T! Or maybe they're doing strange readings with root tubers... :joke:

ROFLMAO