Is the first c pronounced as a "k" like "kel-tic" or is it pronounced with an "s" sound "cel-tic"
2007-05-16 17:35:56 · 9 answers · asked by lizapt 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
K sound... it sounds like "Keltic" and is written as, "Celtic".
2007-05-16 17:39:17 · answer #1 · answered by jenn w 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 1931 edition of "Funk & Wagnall's" dictionary lists both seltik and keltik as correct pronunciations. Both pronunciations are still really correct although "seltik" grates on the nerves of some of today's younger Irish and Scottish fans.
When I was going to high school and college in the 1960's and 70's, most Americans didn't know who the Celts were in an educational system that was still very Anglocentric even though they had all heard of the basketball team The Boston Celtics - which they pronounced as "Boston Seltiks."
The "Keltik" pronunciation emerged basically in the 1980's with a renewed interest on the part of many Americans in their Irish and Scottish heritages. Celtic also includes a few other peoples too like the Welsh, the Cornish (Southwest England) and the Bretons of western France.
The word comes from "Keltoi" the name given by the ancient Greek colonists of Marsalia (Marseilles) in southern France to the local native tribes, some of whom spoke Gaulish, a language related to modern day Breton, Welsh and Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
The Germans had always pronounced the word as "keltish" (i.e. keltisch) but it came into English in the eighteenth century through French - celtique - with a soft 'c' sound.
2007-05-16 18:02:48 · answer #2 · answered by Brennus 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even though the "s" sound should prevail, and does in certain areas, the most popular pronounciation is "k" as keltic... so that "Celtic" becomes more often "keltic" than "seltic"... Any other time, a word beginning with the letter "c" followed by a vowel, would be pronounced "s"... but... this is an exection of sort!!! by popular demand, you might say!
Did you know that most "exceptions" to rule stem from the fact that a king, would write it differently and instead of correcting him, they would opt to simply make it an exception to the rule!!!
2007-05-16 17:41:05 · answer #3 · answered by Terisina 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
K, like kel-tic is the preferred pronunciation.
2007-05-16 17:38:59 · answer #4 · answered by Neil S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually Celtic is a term which refers to all Celtic people, and it is pronounced as a hard "C" which sounds like a K. A hard C appears in words such as cook, cabbage, corn, etc.
2007-05-16 17:47:07 · answer #5 · answered by Dee Gee J 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If the next word starts with a consonant, "thuh". ex. Thuh calculator had over 50 buttons. ex. Thuh cat jumped over thuh fence. If the next word starts with a vowel, you would use "thee". ex. Thee apple orchard glistened with morning dew. ex. Alligators aren't thee only dangerous animal in Florida Everglades.
2016-05-20 16:50:02 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kel-tic for the language, Sel-tic for the team (I think...)
2007-05-16 17:38:42 · answer #7 · answered by Celano Bella 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Spelling: CELTIC
Pronunciation:
'Keltic' for Celts
'Seltic' for the football club
2007-05-16 21:37:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
k. and it's smelled Celtic, not Seltic.
2007-05-16 17:38:18 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋