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Why is the "C" in the Boston Celtics pronounced with a soft sound instead of a hard sound?

Question #96441. Asked by star_gazer.
Last updated Nov 29 2016.

avatar
McGruff
Answer has 6 votes
McGruff
24 year member
3694 replies avatar

Answer has 6 votes.
Kel-tic, unless you are talking about the basketball team, the Boston Celtics, which for reasons unknown to me, is pronounced Sel-tic.

link http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=celtic

Mar 15 2006, 1:32 AM
lettawench
Answer has 2 votes
lettawench
19 year member
23 replies

Answer has 2 votes.
Always Keltic.

From the Greek word for us: keltoi.
The "c" is never soft - it is always hard in Irish.

Mar 15 2006, 1:34 AM
avatar
McGruff
Answer has 6 votes
McGruff
24 year member
3694 replies avatar

Answer has 6 votes.
The Glasgow Celtic football (soccer) team is also pronounced "sel-tic".
link http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/Is_Celtic_pronounced_seltic_or_keltic

Response last updated by Terry on Sep 03 2016.
Mar 15 2006, 1:47 AM
Kccq940
Answer has 2 votes
Kccq940

Answer has 2 votes.
This is the definition of Keltic:
A subfamily of the Indo-European language family comprising the Insular and the Continental branches.

And this it the definition of Celtic (not very helpful):
Of or relating to the Celtic people and languages.

Mar 15 2006, 7:24 AM
truefaithmom star
Answer has 11 votes
Currently Best Answer
truefaithmom star
17 year member
240 replies

Answer has 11 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
"The soft S was definitely an introduction from France. The term had possible origins in the Norman Invasion of 1066 as well as a later reinforcement after the French Revolution (1789-1799)...
No matter what the rest of us say, they always use the "Seltic" pronunciation at the Paradise Football ground in Parkhead in the east end of Glasgow when they cheer their Celtic Football Club. Similarly, the Belfast football fans call their team the Celtic, pronounced "Seltic". The term Celtic is an adjective in both cases. Never fear ... the Irish basketball fans in Boston call their team the Celtics, pronounced "Seltics", to declare their independence from the English language by creating an ungrammatically plural adjective...
It is noteworthy that British dictionaries give preference to the "K" pronunciation, and American dictionaries usually place the "S" pronunciation first."
link http://www.greatclanross.org/htext8~Q8.html

"It is derived from a Greek word for the peoples above the danube the word for those people was Keltoi. The S sound was started by the English priests with vulgate Latin... however there was also phonetic changes in spoken latin in the centuries proceeding the gothic sack of rome in 476. During this change the modern formulation of the soft 'C' came into being in most instances where the 'C' is followed by an I or an E. This is evident in all modern latin languages. Hence in fact the Romans at one point were saying 'seltic' also." link http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_Celtic_pronounced_seltic_or_keltic

Jun 07 2008, 10:06 PM
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ollington star
Answer has 3 votes
ollington star avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
In addition, the scottish soccer team Celtic (Glasgow Celtic) do the same, perhaps again to diffrentiate from English culture. At the same time however, Celtic Manor golf course is pronounced with a hard sound. Strange indeed.

Jun 08 2008, 12:18 PM
queproblema
Answer has 3 votes
queproblema
18 year member
2119 replies

Answer has 3 votes.
I have to disagree with these answers.

Several years ago old fuddy-duddy me was involved in a discussion with the younger set on how to pronounce "Celtic." The team was named back when everybody pronounced it with the soft /s/ sound. The current trend is to pronounce it with the hard /k/ sound, but nobody's changing the long-established way of referring to the Boston Celtics.

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_Celtic#Pronunciation

Jun 08 2008, 12:20 PM
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zbeckabee star
Answer has 6 votes
zbeckabee star
Moderator
18 year member
11752 replies avatar

Answer has 6 votes.
A little more information:
...while the pronunciation remains in use mainly for certain sports teams (eg. the NBA team, Boston Celtics , and the SPL side, Celtic F.C. , in Glasgow ). (The pronunciation with /s/ reflects historical Palatalization of the letter 'C' when it occurs before 'I' or 'E' in words of Latin origin; in the Classical era Latin 'C' was always pronounced as /k/. The modern pronunciation with /k/ is a reversion to the original, whereas the pronunciation with /s/ has not been reverted.) The word spelt as "Celtic" is (arguably) English, as the Latin was "Celticus" or "Celticum", the Welsh is "Celtaidd", and the Irish/Scottish Gaelic is "Ceilteach". By this argument, a pronunciation with /s/ should therefore be acceptable.

link http://angusmacinnes.yuku.com/topic/3554#.WD2T7bJ95aQ


[ informationdelight.info/encyclopedia/entry/celt no longer exists ]

Response last updated by gtho4 on Nov 29 2016.
Jun 08 2008, 1:08 PM
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