Why does Hannukah have so many spellings?

Question

Or is it Channukah? Or Chanukkah?

Answer 1

Chanukah is not an English word. It is a Hebrew word and Hebrew uses a different alphabet. So the best you're going to get when you write it with an English alphabet is an approximation of the correct sounds.

Moreover, there is a sound that is very common in Hebrew (the chet sound) that does not occur in English. It is sort of like the sound you make while clearing ur throught.Most non-Hebrew speakers have trouble making this sound, unless they learn it in childhood. (Children have an easier time learning new sounds.) This sound is the first sound in Chanukah. Since we don't have that sound in English, there is no letter to represent that sound.

Some people use a ch for that sound, and some people use an h. But it doesn't sound like either of those spellings in English, so neither is exactly correct.

I prefer to spell it Chanukah, but there is no real correct spelling in English. (Although I've never seen the spellings Hanaka, Haneka or Hanika, and all look weird to me. I've never seen Khanukkah before either, but it actually makes some phonetic sense at least.)

Answer 2

People say its right and there not so then they spred a romor about it and then eveyone soon thinks its right. I think it is spelled Hannukah... Like how u spelled it.

Answer 3

because its not originally an English word.

Answer 4

eye Hav know idea y