why do the English pronounce 'Lieutenant'.....lefttennant ??

Answer 1

As with many pronunciation/spelling discrepancies in English, esp. those involving foreign words borrowed into the language, the key seems to be dialectal differences and the spelling from one dialect becoming standard, while the pronunciation from another diaclect is most widely adopted.

The word was borrowed from the French in the 14th century. But there seems to have been some difference in how English people HEARD the word. Some believe the gliding sound of the W-sound at the end of "lieu" sounded like an "f" of "v" to the English.

As a result, in 14th century English there were a variety of spellings of this word in English, including leef-, leve-, lyff- and later lief-, live-, liev-, and luff-. Alongside this was a spelling that reflected a "w" pronunciation, such as lu-, lieu-, lyue-, and lew-.

So what happened is that two sets of spelling and pronounciation were around. Each made sense in its own right, but the "lieu" SPELLING "won out", while the /f/ pronunciation of other dialects became dominant.

http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000107


(This also looks a lot like what happend with some other FRENCH words brought into English. The older English spellings matched their own pronunciation. Then scholars insisted on "correcting" the spelling to match the French spelling of their own day. But they could not change how most people PRONOUNCED the word! Something like that happend with "colonel", though in that case the spelling was changed to its current one when the FRENCH changed it... but the English pronunciation still followed the earlier pronunciation, which HAD matched its spelling.)
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-col1.htm

Answer 2

In English the word is pronounced leftenant, except in American English in which it is pronounced lootenant. However, the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth navies traditionally pronounced the word as leftenant, though increasing usage of the first pronunciation has all but extinguished this version[citation needed]. The American pronunciation was originally the same as the British[1], but by the end of the 19th century had almost completely been replaced by the current pronunciation.

In Canada and New Zealand leftenant is standard for all branches of the Armed Forces and for other usages such as lieutenant governor or Quebec lieutenant. Australia follows the British system, with the Royal Australian Navy officially using the /lə'tɛnənt/ pronunciation.

The English pronunciation was prevalent during the 14th and 15th centuries with the word being variously spelled as lieftenant, lyeftenant or luftenant. It may have originated from a mistaken reading of the 'u' as a 'v' (u and v originally were written as the same letter), with v eventually assimilating in voice to /f/. Some sources state that the original French word lieu had an alternative form spelt and pronounced lieuf, and that the modern standard English form retains the former spelling 'Lieutenant' and the latter pronunciation, 'Leftenant'.

It has also been speculated that it may have come from a fanciful etymology which associated it with the verb 'to leave', as the lieutenant only took up his duties once his superior officer had 'left'.

Another theory comes from the fact that in typical propriety the person or persons standing to the rear-left of a gentleman held power and were typically those directly second to him. The person or persons standing to the rear-right were considered to have no or less standing than those to the rear-left, such as aides, bodyguards, wives, etc., often holding this position for simple facility rather than societal importance. This tradition remains in military parades, with lieutenants standing to the rear-left of the commanding officer (when facing the advance).

Answer 3

The word lieutenant came into Middle English from Middle French, sometime between 1325 and 1375, as a noun use of the adjective phrase lieu tenant 'place-holding'. The ultimate source of the British pronunciation "lef-TEN-ant," while not completely shrouded in mystery, remains uncertain. There are, however, a few clues.

In the time of Chaucer (1340?-1400), the distinction between the letters u and v did not yet exist in writing. Once they separated, people remained uncertain as to which sound each of these letters represented. As late as the 18th century, the use of the sound "v" for the letter "w" (and vice versa) was being roundly criticized by grammarians.

Another theory focuses on auditory rather than visual confusion. According to some scholars, the gliding sound "w" at the end of French lieu, a sound made with the lips, was heard by speakers of English as either of two other sounds involving the lips: "f" and "v." This theory has some merit if we consider that the "w" may well have been accompanied by some degree of audible friction, a kind of blowing sound.

In any case, the pronunciations with "f" and "v" are reflected in various 14th-century English spellings of lieutenant, which included leef-, leve-, lyff- and later lief-, live-, liev-, and luff-. Other early forms reflected a "w" pronunciation, among them lu-, lieu-, lyue-, and lew-.

Even after the the spelling of lieutenant settled, the "f" and "v" pronunciations remained, and variations of "lef-TEN- ant" are the usual British pronunciations today. In 1721, Dr. Isaac Watts, in his The Art of Reading and Writing English, complained that such terms are "pronounced in a very different Manner from what they are written, according to the Dialect or corrupt Speech that obtains in the several counties of England." He added that such pronunciations occur "especially among the Vulgar." John Walker, in the 1836 edition of his A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary and Expositor of the English Language, agreed, writing optimistically that "the regular sound, as if written Lewtenant, seems not so remote from the corruption as to make us lose all hope that it will in time be the actual pronunciation."

This did not happen in England, but it did happen here, largely because of the influence of Noah Webster--not only through his dictionaries but through his widely distributed American Spelling Book (1788), which sold more than 60 million copies. A passionate supporter of American linguistic independence, Webster almost single-handedly promulgated American pronunciations as well as American spellings.

Answer 4

Because that is the correct pronunciation of the word. Look in the English dictionary.

One mustn't forget that Americans do not speak English, they speak American. It's an official language and distinctly different.

Answer 5

Same reason many of our words with ough at the end are pronounced differently. Our language, and to confuse as many people as possible.

Answer 6

Well, i personally think that the reason behind this is the same as why some of us on one part of the world pronounce 'tomato' as 'to-may-to' although some on the other part of the world pronounce it as 'to-mah-to'...
Cheers!!

Answer 7

Actually, a better question would be
Why do people in the United States pronounce
it Lew-tenant? Leftenant is the pronounciation used in all other English speaking countries.

Answer 8

So you can tell they are English.
Same as the krautischers pronounce Loit-nant
and the Yanks Loo Tennant, which sounds like a bloke whats s****ing hisself.

Answer 9

They pronounce it according to their pronunciation rules for English.
Likewise, Americans pronounciation for some words is weird for non-natives. For example: Arkansas - Arkansaw

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

we're right, you're wrong.

omg my pet hate is americans who think they speak english, when they dont. they speak some kind of strange dialect which IS NOT ENGLISH.

sorry. rant over.

we say it like that because that is how it is meant to be pronounced - see various other answers which aren't as angry as i am.