Is it pronounced Seltic or Keltic?
The 1926 edition says “Seltic” is preferred, and the 1996 edition says that “Keltic” is preferred except for the Boston Celtics and the Glasgow, Scotland, soccer team called the Celtic Football Club.
What is the pronunciation of 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).
How do you say Celtic in Irish?
“In Irish and Scottish and Welch and so forth, the letter ‘C’ is always “kuh” and Celtic is ‘Celtic’ [with a hard ‘C’],” said Harbeck. The same goes for Classical Latin.
Why is Celtic pronounced two ways?
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 pronunciation of the word Celtic?
Though the original pronunciation of ‘Celtic’ was with an ‘s’ sound, the ‘k’ (kell-tik) pronunciation came about in the 18th century and has flourished since. Now, the ‘k’ sound is the standard pronunciation of ‘Celtic.’
Why are there two ways to say Celtics?
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/. This is because language historians desired the word to better reflect its Greek and Classical Latin origins. The soft “c” sound is usually reserved for sports teams now, like the Boston Celtics.
When do you hear Celt and Celtic in Irish?
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.
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.
