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'Conservatoire vs. 'conservatory'

From Marianne Hansen
Posted June 28, 2012 at 04:45 PM

I guess it may indicate the person's background. For example, people with French or Russian influence (Russia has been strongly influenced by the French culture) are probably more inclined to use 'conservatoire'.

As the song goes:

You say "legayto" and I say "legahto"
You say "staccayto" and I say "staccahto"...

Anyway, in my book, a conservatory is a glass-covered enclosure where you grow plants, and a conservatoire is a place where you grow musicians.

For those who don't know: Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania is one of the top liberal arts colleges in the U.S., and it's for women only (not very common in the U.S.).

There is a pair of words in my business - incunabulum and incunable - which mean the exact same thing: a book printed in Europe before Jan. 1, 1501. The one is 17th-century Latin; the other is an anglicization of the first. Rare books folks are generally divided on which is a better word to use, and the reasoning for either choice limns linguistic and class borders; concern for historical precedence; knowledge of Latin and its history of neologism, and one's tolerance for late Latin; etc. In short, as soon as you choose one of those words, you have taken a stand on many issues.

So - how much of that applies to conservatoire and conservatory when used in English? Is Trevor correct?

John, Noswaith dda!

We have the New England Conservatory of Music, and I can't think of any music institution in hte U.S. called 'conservatoire,' off hand. I'd say the U.S. has less interest in the Frenchification of the language now than previously: I've not seen an etiquette book/column discussing 'serviettes' instead of napkins for several decades, as an example.

Is the person who plays flute a flautist or a flutist? that's the same issue between German and English.

The French have always tried to maintain strict control on their language--that's what the French Academy is for. [A side note: one of my professors, James Anthony, wrote what was then the seminal book on *The French Baroque.* The French Academy insisted that when it was officially(!) translated into French, the title had to be changed since the French didn't acknowledge they HAD a 'baroque' period (the word being derogatory in French) so in French, his book is titled "French Classical Period."

The U.S. has nothing similar to the Academy, and words seem to enter (at least online) dictionaries faster here than in any other Indo-European language with which I'm familiar, except maybe border Spanish, which is fast developing into a pidgin unique to the culture.

Sorry for the ramble; it's something I am interested in.

1. The conductor, Pierre Boulez - I've usually heard his name with the "z" pronounced. But a couple of people have told me that they think it should be pronounced "Boo-LAY" If his name were spelled "Boulet", I'd have no doubt of that. But with the "z"?

2. Perlman's Strad is known as the "Soil". Few people pronounce it as you would potting earth. But I've heard suggestions ranging from "Soy-EL" to "Shwah". Anybody know for sure?

Marjory made a good point about connotative vs denotative. In the US, a "conservatory" can also be used for plants. But the meaning is clear in the context. And while we're at it, "cello" or "violoncello"? "Violin maker" or "luthier"? "Vibrayto" or "vibrahto"? OK, maybe not!

Still waiting to solve the pronunciation of the "Soil" Strad.

The luthier/violin maker is a good one, since technically a luthier makes lutes! (I chuckled when I realized that the German for 'luthier' is, naturally, "luther"--the Reformer certainly was not one)

However, at the first rehearsal, at my first solo (there are a number of CM solos in that Opera) it did not go very well. I said to the conductor: "Could we try that again? I was in the wrong clef." He said "Sure". The scary thing is that I don't think he got my joke re the clef!

I've often wondered how violists get on if they are also cellists - they both use the C-clef, but it is on different lines of the stave. My cello teacher was a professional symphony player on both the cello and the viola, but I never thought to ask him how he tackled it, or whether it had ever been a problem for him.

Interesting how these word uses become so ingrained. Like Students in the US who are still going to school, when they are in college or uni. I remember as a child being quite confused by that terminology.

In France "école (primaire)" goes from 6 to 10 years old, "collège" from 11 to 14, and "lycée" 15 to 17.
"Conservatoire" is sometimes replaced by "école de musique", or even "académie" in the private sector.

I've never heard anyone in the US refer to having attended a "conservatoire." I have a hunch that the French pronunciation would result in uncontrollable giggles from everyone else, and an immediate reputation as a bit of a, well, . . .