with two syllables: /FOR-TAY/. The French word, an adjective meaning "strength" or "strong point," is pronounced with one syllable: /FORT/. British English dictionaries allow both pronunciations in the second instance, and 'FOR-TAY is by far the more common pronunciation here. 22. Halloween -- The word for the holiday Americans celebrate with such enthusiasm on October 31 derives from "Hallowed Evening," meaning "evening that has been made holy." The word "hallow" comes from Old English halig, meaning "holy." Notice the a in the first syllable and say /HAL-O-WEEN/, not /hol-lo-ween/. Agreed. And it is as often spelt 'Hallowe'en' here in Britain. 23. height -- The word ends in a /T/ sound, not a /TH/ sound. Say /HITE/, not /hith/. Again this reflects non-standard dialect (both in America and Britain) rather than error. 24. heinous -- People unfamiliar with the TV show Law and Order: S.V.U. may not know that heinous has two syllables. (The show begins with this sentence: "In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.") Say /HAY-NUS/, not /heen-i-us/. 'HAY-NUS' is regarded as an error here in Britain. 'HEE-NUS' is normal. 31. library -- Notice where the R comes in the word. Say /LI-BRAR-Y/, not /li-ber-ry/. Much the same problem as with February! 32. medieval -- The word has four syllables. The first E may be pronounced either short [med] or long [meed]. Say /MED-EE-EEVAL/ or /MEE-DEE-EEVAL/, not /meed-eval/. This must be predominantly an American problem. And here in Britain MEEDI- is not an option.