Celtic - pronounciation, please
Mar 18th, 2005, 06:47 AM
#21
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A little Googling produced this. Here I am, of Celtic origin, and I've been swayed by the masses. 'tis embarrassing, for sure.
The reason \KELL-tick\ is a correct pronunciation is because that is how many educated people pronounce it. That is the only logic in the \KELL-tick\ pronunciation's favor. The standard rules of English, the rules of language, long use and practice, all argue in favour of \SELL-tick\, not \KELL-tick\. The only thing \KELL-tick\ has in its favor is that \KELL-tick\ is how many people actually do pronounce "Celtic". Because, and only because, enough people do it, it is a correct pronunciation. (This is, by the way, the standard way for variant pronunciations to become considered correct -- simple weight of numbers.)
But it still remains that \SELL-tick\ is a long-established, traditional pronunciation of the word in English. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pronouncing "Celtic" as \SELL-tick\.
The reason \KELL-tick\ is a correct pronunciation is because that is how many educated people pronounce it. That is the only logic in the \KELL-tick\ pronunciation's favor. The standard rules of English, the rules of language, long use and practice, all argue in favour of \SELL-tick\, not \KELL-tick\. The only thing \KELL-tick\ has in its favor is that \KELL-tick\ is how many people actually do pronounce "Celtic". Because, and only because, enough people do it, it is a correct pronunciation. (This is, by the way, the standard way for variant pronunciations to become considered correct -- simple weight of numbers.)
But it still remains that \SELL-tick\ is a long-established, traditional pronunciation of the word in English. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pronouncing "Celtic" as \SELL-tick\.
