Lexicographers report that the \ahn-velope\
pronunciation is used just as frequently as the \en-velope\
pronunciation, and that both pronunciations are considered acceptable. So why do
some commentators deride \ahn-velope\ as "pseudo-French" or "a strange,
ignorant mispronunciation"?

It is true that the name for those flat, usually paper
wrappers came into English from French, and English speakers trying to anglicize
the French enveloppe would probably say \ahn-velope\. Further, the
\ahn-velope\ pronunciation has role models in such non-controversial
French borrowings as en route, encore, and entrepreneur (all
pronounced with the Francophone \ahn\).

Why does \ahn-velope\ so \ahn-rage\ (or enrage)
the experts? The word has been part of English for hundreds of years, and
apparently some people think it should be fully anglicized by now. Regardless of
their arguments, they object strongly to that pronunciation, and if you want to
avoid censure, stick with the \en\ instead of the \ahn\.

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