Crosswords2 mins ago
how to pronounce 'celtic'
7 Answers
Hopefully someone can solve an arguement I've been having at uni :) This might be confusing, bear with me.
My lecturer last year pronouced it like the football team, ie 'sell-tic' when talking about folk in scotland etc. I'm sure he was mispronouncing it but even more so when he started saying 'celts' like 'selts'. It drove me mad but everyone else in the class thought he must be right as he's a lecturer specialising in linguistics and scottish history. Also he's in his 60s so must have been saying it for ages. Basically I want to know who is right, is 'selts' a word (but spelt 'celts' if you get me) or is it exchangable?
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This extract from an article (link)
"What is a Celt and who are the Glasgow Celtics?
The people who made up the various tribes of concern were called Galli by the Romans and Galatai or Keltoi by the Greeks, terms meaning barbarian. It is from the greek Keltoi that Celt is derived. Since no soft c exists in greek, Celt and Celtic and all permutations should be pronounced with a hard k sound.
It is interesting to note that when the British Empire was distinguishing itself as better and seperate from the rest of humanity, it was decided that British Latin should have different pronunciation from other spoken Latin. Therefore, one of these distinguishing pronunciational differences was to make many of the previously hard k sounds move to a soft s sound, hence the Glasgow and Boston Celtics. It is the view of many today that this soft c pronunciation should be reserved for sports teams since there is obviously nothing to link them with the original noble savegery and furor associated with the Celts."
"What is a Celt and who are the Glasgow Celtics?
The people who made up the various tribes of concern were called Galli by the Romans and Galatai or Keltoi by the Greeks, terms meaning barbarian. It is from the greek Keltoi that Celt is derived. Since no soft c exists in greek, Celt and Celtic and all permutations should be pronounced with a hard k sound.
It is interesting to note that when the British Empire was distinguishing itself as better and seperate from the rest of humanity, it was decided that British Latin should have different pronunciation from other spoken Latin. Therefore, one of these distinguishing pronunciational differences was to make many of the previously hard k sounds move to a soft s sound, hence the Glasgow and Boston Celtics. It is the view of many today that this soft c pronunciation should be reserved for sports teams since there is obviously nothing to link them with the original noble savegery and furor associated with the Celts."
The footy team is 'Seltic', the people 'Keltic'
Celts as a tribe are though to be named by Greeks from Keltoi, 'hiddden' and applied to a whole bunch of people in Europe, not just Ireland/Britain.
Have a read of Wikipedias info. on the Celts. Interesting stuff there if you have a few minutes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celt
Incidentally, the name Scots is believed to come from an old Irish word, scotos or scoth, meaning the best!! Ya beauty!!
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