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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2019 January 7

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January 7[edit]

Forth Worth[edit]

Is forth an American English alternative to fort? I am specifically thinking of Forth Worth, is this a valid alternative spelling of Fort Worth or just a moderately common typo? ϢereSpielChequers 08:09, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Just a common typo. The Forth is a river in Scotland. Dbfirs 08:14, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
The Firth of Forth, the Forth of Fifth, etc. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 08:49, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
It's a type of speech error known as "regressive assimilation" (see Assimilation#Anticipatory assimilation at a distance), but definitely incorrect as the name of the city... AnonMoos (talk) 08:17, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry... AnonMoos (talk) 19:43, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
There is a surprising number of Google hits for "Forth Worth". One of countless weird English oddities. Like pronouncing "height" as if it had a trailing "th". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 08:49, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, I will wait a few days in case others have a contrary view, and then raise steam on my AWB machine. ϢereSpielChequers 08:54, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Why wait? You could do it forthwith. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 08:58, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I won't have access to my AWB machine for a few days yet, it needs a full decoking and I hope to upgrade the pressure rating in the january sales. ϢereSpielChequers 09:14, 7 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
WereSpielChequers I think Bugs was making a joke. Rojomoke (talk) 15:39, 7 January 2019 (UTC) [reply]
If you're wondering what the "Forth of Fifth" is, May the Fourth be with you. 2A00:23C1:3182:5700:7CC7:A834:9968:AA51 (talk) 16:13, 12 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]