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Originally Posted by BobK I see no reason for that pronunciation, except in emphatic contexts such as I have mentioned.
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I've been thinking about this further ('mulling it over'), and I can't think of such a context. In exceptional circumstances, I suppose an exchange like this
might be possible:
"How long will it take to get that report ready?"
"Ages."
"Weeks?"
"Fortnights, more like." [Joking - this is almost a neologism.]
"Well, I need it sooner than that -
a fortnight."
But I can't honestly imagine this happening; in all real contexts, I don't believe 'fortnight' can have a plural; and that means it can't have a contrastive (stressed) singular either.
b