How do you say the word Celtic?

How do you say the word Celtic?

Celtic pronounced “Keltic” is an outlier in English phonology. Nearly every other English word beginning ce- has a soft-c sound: cedar, ceiling, cell, cement, cent, cereal, certain, cesspit, and so on (cello, with its “ch-” onset, is another anomaly).

Why is Celtic pronounced with an S?

Celtic refers to Irish culture and heritage, along with the historical people who migrated from the British Isles throughout much of Europe. While the early pronunciation was with an /s/ sound, reflecting its nearest origin in French, the modern standard is a hard “c” sound like /k/.

Which is the correct way to pronounce Celtic?

Celtic had a soft c, like “Seltic,” in Celtic Football Club, and a hard c, like “Keltic,” elsewhere— Celtic mythology, Celtic music, The Celts. I wondered about the discrepancy but didn’t figure it out until later. Celtic pronounced “Keltic” is an outlier in English phonology.

What’s the soft sound in the word Celtic?

The soft “c” sound is usually reserved for sports teams now, like the Boston Celtics. Be it in the pub or in the halls of academia, whenever the topic of Irish culture, language, music, literature—basically, anything Irish—is brought up, the words Celt and Celtic are bound to be heard.

How did the Celtic language get its name?

English borrowed Celtic in the 17th century from French celtique, soft- c, and from Latin Celtae, also soft- c in Britain at the time (unlike Classical Latin, which used a hard c ). Centuries later the pronunciation changed, because language, but it didn’t switch from “Seltic” to “Keltic”—it just added the variant, which then spread.

Which is the correct pronunciation Celtic or Burchfield?

Burchfield is referring to the Scottish Celtic Football Club, founded in 1887. In America, there is basketball’s Boston Celtics, founded in 1946, whose name is also pronounced with an initial \\s\\. The European away support that Celtic enjoys is phenomenal.