role, role, role your boat

[arethinn]

Does anyone know why the word "role", as in "a role in a play", is often spelled with a circumflex, "rôle"? Generally to me this would indicate a pronunciation guide, that is, that the default pronunciation is something other than "roll" (as said in American English, anyway), so we need the circumflex to tell us the right way. What is this other "default" way? "rahl"? I can't figure it out.

Comments

[skatche.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that's because it comes from French (as do many English words), and the French spelled it rôle.

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

I have no French. How does it change the pronunciation?

[stonemirror.livejournal.com]

That's the French spelling... It doesn't change the pronunciation in any way, not even in French.

Usually a circonflex indicates that there used to be a "s" following the vowel in question (e.g. hôpital is French for "hospital", hôtel, French for you-guessed-it, is related to the word "hostel", etc.)

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

So this was "rosle"?

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

"French rôle, from Old French rolle, roll of parchment (on which an actor's part was written)" http://www.answers.com/role&r=67

[stonemirror.livejournal.com]

Seems doubtful, but who knows? My grasp of French etymology isn't as good as my grasp of French...

[ex-casteylan314.livejournal.com]

In French, the circumflex tells you to pronounce it as "roll" and not as, for example, "roh-le"

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU. This is what I needed to know. Yii.