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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475 |
But my guess is that it changed to controller because deleting the p (and changing the m to an n) made it much easier to pronounce.
Actually comptroller used to be pronounced the same as controller, but its spelling started to influence the way people pronounced it. (Cf. perfect which came into Middle English from French, and was pronounced as spelled, parfit; the later etymological spelling soon changed how people pronounced it, too.) The reasoning behind the -mpt- spelling was the thought (in the minds of those who knew little Latin and less Greek) that the word controller had something to do with count (var. compt < Latin comptus < computo 'to calculate'). Control, OTOH, came from Medieval Latin contrarotulo 'to check by duplicate regist' < contra 'against' and rotulus 'roll, register' (< rota 'wheel').
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866 |
"Comptroller" is not used in Australia.
I'll also hazard a guess that it's never been in mainstream use here....
Mind you; the Auszie accent would make both sound the same anyway. The "on" and "omp" would be shortcut to a hybrid "mm / nn" sound for both words in regular speech.
stales
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Stales! Oh yay, you and raju and rav are ALL back, today! <grin> Good to see you!
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