Expert: Fabio Anderle - 5/19/2010

Question
Why is the basketball team pronounced "seltics" when the ancestry is pronounced "Keltic".
Thanks

Answer
Hi Lee,

I had answered this question before, so I'll just copy and paste the previous one:

I think we are... "out of bounds" with this one, since I usually answer only basketball related questions, but thanks to the fact that my university years touched the semantic topic, I'll do my best....
The word "Celts" is derived from ancient Greek "Keltoi" which meant to define the barbarian tribes living between the Danube and the Rhone rivers. The Romans took the word as "Celtae" (pronounced Keltae) and later suffered a semantic phenomenon called "palatalization": the K became a C and in english was pronounced like an european S (confront with latin "kellarium" - german "keller" but english "cell"; or latin "Kaesar" - german "Kaiser" but english "Caesar").
So, to me, both Keltic and Celtic are ok. It is just a matter of what kind of.... word you decide to use: the arcaic form, or the "current" one. "Keltic" may be more historically accurate, but languages are never idle, they keep changing each and every day.....
I hope this helps


Fabio