Quote Originally Posted by withm
It would seem that proper grammar is not everyone's forte.

Even the FRENCH pronounce it "fort." Where do people get the idea that it's for-tay?
Probably the same reason we pronounce "crêpe" as if it were "crape," while the French word actually rhymes with English "step." It's a word that's been borrowed from French, and its pronunciation has been adapted/changed.

(note the use of "it's" and "its" )

In fact, the French word is "fort," pronounced like "four" (with a French R, of course, but no T). It's the masculine form of the adjective that can be used as a noun (to mean the opposite of a weakness). The T of the feminine adjective "forte" is pronounced, but the E is not. We (speakers of English) just made that up.

I am sure you were all losing sleep over this one.