Why do words that end with "gue" sound different? [closed]
Why do some words ending with "gue" sound different from other similar words?
Examples: rogue and argue.
- Rogue -> /'rəʊɡ/
- Argue -> /ˈɑːɡjuː/
They both sound different. What's the reason?
Solution 1:
Current pronunciation often (but not always) reflects the origins of the word. English has two major influences: Romance Languages and Germanic languages.
From the OED
Argue - Etymology: < Old French argue-r < Latin argūtāre -
French is a Romance language.
Rogue- Etymology: Origin unknown.
However, we have another example:
Tongue: Etymology: Old English and Middle English tunge weak feminine > Old Saxon tunga (Middle Low German, Low German tunge , Middle Dutch tonghe , Dutch tong ) = Old Frisian tunge,
Old Saxon is Germanic.
Solution 2:
English pronunciation has a lot of exceptions; in your specific case it is probably due to the origin of the two terms:
Rogue for instance:
- 1560s, "idle vagrant," perhaps a shortened form of roger (with a hard -g-), thieves' slang for a begging vagabond who pretends to be a poor scholar from Oxford or Cambridge, which is perhaps an agent noun in English from Latin rogare "to ask."
While argue has retained part of its original sound:
- c. 1300, "to make reasoned statements to prove or refute a proposition," from Old French arguer "maintain an opinion or view; harry, reproach, accuse, blame" (12c.), ultimately from Latin arguere "make clear, make known, prove, declare, demonstrate,
(Etymonline)