Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Re: it is not my forte

 La posso usare sistematicamente o č meglio qualche sua variante?
I suspected somebody was pulling your leg, but the Ragazzini says:
QUOTE (Dizionario Ragazzini 2003)
forte (1) 
n.
1 forte; punto forte: Mathematics is not my forte, la matematica non č il
mio forte
[...]
UNQUOTE
Bye, FB
-- 
"Come, dear, we have already missed five, if not six, trains. To miss any
more might expose us to comment on the platform."
("The Importance of Being Earnest", Oscar Wilde)

Si tratta di un'espressione diffusa?
La posso usare sistematicamente o č meglio qualche sua variante?
ciao.
Valentino

I don't get it.  Why would someone be pulling his leg?
  It's not an uncommon term in English.  In fact, I use it quite
frequently, even in this NG.
ciao
ari

 I don't get it.  Why would someone be pulling his leg?
Because it is a perfect translation of "non è il mio forte", and as I
wasn't acquainted with the English expression... I should think someone
would be pulling someone's leg if he told him that we say "tirare la gamba
di qualcuno" meaning "to tease someone".
[...]
Bye, FB
-- 
"Hey, Mr. Gilmore. Best wish... Congrat... Nice suit!"
(Gilmore Girls - 513)

Beh non e' che l'analogia sia proprio corretta.
You are pulling my leg e' una frase che ha un significato diverso da
quello che si potrebbe pensare, come "to kick the bucket" o "to pay
through the nose".  "Forte" e' *solo una parola* che e' parte di una
frase e che in inglese (almeno nell'inglese che sento io) ha lo stesso
significato della parola italiana.  Cioe', tu vorresti dire che "it's
not my forte" potrebbe sembrare un idiom come "you are pulling my leg"?
 Non capisco perche'.  In inglese ci sono moltissime parole italiane
che sono usate allo stesso modo e con lo stesso significato.  Non vedo
la differenza tra "forte", e altre parole italiane come "opera" o
"maestro".  I am not trying to be argumentative...I just don't see the
analogy.
ciao
ari

 "maestro".
Tra l'altro, tutte e tre le parole citate provengono dal linguaggio
musicale...
Daniele

 not my forte" potrebbe sembrare un idiom come "you are pulling my leg"?
"It's not my forte" sembra un'espressione italiana trasferita di peso in
inglese con intento umoristico. L'analogia si fermerebbe qua. Non so, se io
leggessi "That girl makes the milk  come to my knees", penserei a una presa
in giro, a una battuta.
[...]
Ciao, FB
-- 
"Something to take to the country." (holding out a bunch of flowers)
"Flowers come _from_ the country, Charles."
(Cold Comfort Farm, the film)

 presa in giro, a una battuta.
Non è un'espressione italiana, ma invece francese. Si dice 'forte' con
accento francese.


beh anche bravo viene detto spesso alla francese .... ma da qui a che non 
sia italiano .......
e come già hanno rilevato sono appunto derivazioni da "prodotti culturali" 
di esportazione dell'epoca (musica)
;)
A. 

 sia italiano .......
The word forte, coming from French fort, should properly be pronounced
with one syllable, like the English word fort. Common usage, however, prefers
the two-syllable pronunciation, which has been influenced possibly by the
music term forte borrowed from Italian. In a recent survey a strong majority
of the Usage Panel, 74 percent, preferred the two-syllable pronunciation.
The result is a delicate situation; speakers who are aware of the origin of the
word may wish to continue to pronounce it as one syllable but at an increasing
risk of puzzling their listeners. 

 with one syllable, like the English word fort.
The SOED says that "forte" as a direction is pronounced ['fO:ti]. When it
means "the strong point of a person; the thing in which one excels", it is
pronounced ['fO:tei], ['fO:ti] or ['fO:t].
[...]
Bye, FB
-- 
"Golden orb... The golden orb... The golden orb..."


 increasing risk of puzzling their listeners.
Indeed, this is my dilemma. As a consequence, I say 'strength' instead.

 with one syllable, like the English word fort. Common usage,
however, prefers
The word is of French origin (forte), but I think the French
pronunciation in English is rare, and sounds strange to me. Although I
know French, I would never use the French pronunciation for this word,
in English, and I can't recall ever having heard the word pronounced
as one syllable in English.
Some have suggested that there is something humorous about the use of
this word, but it is a common word, without any connotation of humor
or irony for English speakers, and I fail to fathom how it may be
perceived as humorous. "It's not my forte, it's not my strong suit,
it's not one of my strong points."
For-tày: Languages are not my forte. The accent on the last syllable
is probably a nod to the French origin of the word, while at the same
time ignoring the French pronunciation.
But, in musical notation, forte is from the Italian, and is pronounced
as the Italian.
Fòr-tay: Forte (f); fortissimo (ff); mezzo forte (mf) (softer than
forte, louder than mezzo piano).
Joe from Massachusetts