Why is Celtic pronounced both ways in English?

Why is Celtic pronounced both ways in English?

Celtic may be pronounced either way in standard English—even if this bothers some people. A lot of antagonism over language use stems from misconceptions about correctness, such as the common belief that there can be only one correct form of a word (one meaning, spelling, pronunciation, etc.), and that variants are therefore wrong.

Is there a consensus on the pronunciation of the Celtic accent?

It’s as strong a consensus as you’ll find. People speak like the people around them. They develop accents like those of their families and peers and pick up usages from friends and colleagues. This is one reason the pronunciation of Celtic varies between groups but tends to be consistent within a group.

What does Celtic mean in Irish?

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/.

How do you pronounce the name Celt?

Following its French and Latin predecessors, early pronunciation of Celt was actually \\SELT\\. (In French and Latin, the ‘c’ is pronounced \\s\\, as in the last name of the French painter Paul Cézanne and in Latin century .) The pronunciation \\KELT\\ started being heard as early as the 18th century, which,…

Is Celtic pronounced sel-Tik?

Decades later, Burchfield observes a different trend: “Except for the football club Celtic (in Glasgow), which is pronounced [SEL-tik], both Celt and Celtic are pronounced with initial k in standard English.”.

What is the difference between Keltic and 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.

When did people start pronunciating \\K\\ as the default for Irish?

By the mid-20th century, \\k\\ became the norm, which is fitting since the pronunciation is in line with that of the Celtic family of languages that include Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, and the now-extinct (or, depending on who you talk to, nearly extinct) languages Manx and Cornish. Apparently, people appreciated the ethnic pronunciation.

What does celtioc mean?

Celtic. noun. Definition of Celtic (Entry 2 of 2) : a group of Indo-European languages usually subdivided into Brythonic and Goidelic and now largely confined to Brittany, Wales, Ireland, and the Scottish Highlands — see Indo-European Languages Table.