Why do the British call it leftenant?

According to military customs, a lower ranking soldier walks on the left side of a senior officer. This courtesy developed when swords were still used on the battle field. The lower ranked soldier on the "left" protected the senior officers left side. Therefore, the term leftenant developed.

What is the difference between a lieutenant and a leftenant?

If you're not up to speed with your old-colonial vernacular, here's the deal: Canadian English dictates the word “lieutenant” be pronounced lefttenant, rather than lootenant. Linguists explain that the “f” is a relic of the country's British imperial history, while the alternate pronunciation comes from the U.S.

Do the British say leftenant or lieutenant?

A Lieutenant (a leader of a platoon) is pronounced 'Left-tenant' in the U.K. (as he/she is left the tenancy of command). In the US however, the word is pronounced as 'Lew-tenant', much to British distaste. Leftenant is the U.K. and Commonwealth pronunciation. USA pronunciation of the same rank is LOOtenant.

Why do some people pronounce lieutenant like leftenant?

Wikitionary claims that leftenant is an archaic spelling of lieutenant. It's an achaic spelling in English, but not in French. This spelling was to stick to the pronunciation, and not the opposite, as there is not "lefttenant" in old French.

What is the meaning of leftenant?

1 : an official who acts for a higher official. 2 : first lieutenant. 3 : second lieutenant. 4 : a commissioned officer in the navy or coast guard ranking above a lieutenant junior grade.

Why do we say lef-tenant when it's spelt lieutenant? There is a reason! | Grammar and Thongs

Why do Brits pronounce lieutenant with an F?

Over time the word "locum" evolved into the French word "lieu", which is pronounced in French as it is spelled. It is possible that when the English heard the French pronounce the compound word lieutenant, they perceived a slurring which they heard as a "v" or "f" sound between the first and second syllables.

Why is colonel pronounced weird?

“Colonel” came to English from the mid-16th-century French word coronelle, meaning commander of a regiment, or column, of soldiers. By the mid-17th century, the spelling and French pronunciation had changed to colonnel. The English spelling also changed, and the pronunciation was shortened to two syllables.

Why do the British say Zed?

The British and others pronounce “z”, “zed”, owing to the origin of the letter “z”, the Greek letter “Zeta”. This gave rise to the Old French “zede”, which resulted in the English “zed” around the 15th century.

Why do British say bloody?

Don't worry, it's not a violent word… it has nothing to do with “blood”.”Bloody” is a common word to give more emphasis to the sentence, mostly used as an exclamation of surprise. Something may be “bloody marvellous” or “bloody awful“. Having said that, British people do sometimes use it when expressing anger…

How do you pronounce lieutenant in Australia?

Lieutenant general (abbreviated LTGEN and pronounced 'lef-tenant general') is the second-highest active rank of the Australian Army.

Why do British people say mum?

Originally Answered: Why do most British people say 'mum' and most American people say 'mom'? Because vowel sounds change with accent. That's it.

When did lieutenant become lieutenant?

A: The word “lieutenant” came into Middle English in the 1300s from French—lieu for “place” and tenant for “holding.” (Originally a “lieutenant” was a placeholder, a civil or military officer acting in place of a superior. Think of the phrase “in lieu of” for “in place of.” )

Why is Derby pronounced Darby?

Derby means a horse race, a contest open to all comers or a sporting event between two local teams. In British English, derby is pronounced dar-bee. In American English, derby is pronounced dur-bee. Unfortunately, more often than not, I hear Americans — including a number of folks at The18 — pronounce derby as dar-bee.

Is captain higher than LT?

In the British Army and in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, a second lieutenant is the lowest ranking commissioned officer. Above him in those U.S. services comes a first lieutenant—lieutenant in the British Army—and then a captain.

Is sergeant rank higher than lieutenant?

State Police Ranks

The top police ranking is colonel. Below colonel is the rank of lieutenant colonel, then major, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, trooper first class, and trooper.

Is there an F in lieutenant?

There is not an F in lieutenant, but there used to be a V instead of a U. Lieutenant, spelled with a V would be pronounced levtenant. In the navy, they pronounce the rank with the U. However a lieutenant in the navy is a captain in the army, and a captain in the navy is a colonel in the army.

Why do British say oi?

"Oi" has been particularly associated with working class and Cockney speech. It is effectively a local pronunciation of "hoy" (see H-dropping), an older expression. A study of the Cockney dialect in the 1950s found that whether it was being used to call attention or as a challenge depended on its tone and abruptness.

Is Frick a swear word?

I know there are certain individuals who think c r a p is a swear word (even though it really isn't), but “frick” isn't a swear word by any sense of the meaning of “swear word”. No one is going to get offended by someone saying “frick”. If someone says “Frick”, they aren't going to start World War 3.

Which country swears the most?

Why is Thames pronounced?

“River” in both instances is just “river”.”Thames” is pronounced as “temz” in England, Canada and new Zealand. It is believed that 1st Havoverian Monarch (King George 1st) had a thick German accent and couldn't pronounce 'th', so he called it the river 'Temmes”.

Do British say mum?

One word in particular that stands out in English dialects is the word we use for our mothers. The British typically use 'mum', and the Americans, 'mom'.

Why is Ralph pronounced Rafe in England?

However, some Ralphs in the UK, like the actor Ralph Fiennes and the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, have pronounced their name as if it were spelled “Rafe.” Words were pronounced as they were spelled in Old English, which was spoken from roughly 450 to 1100. There were no silent letters.

Why is Wednesday spelled wrong?

As Wōdnesdæg moved from Old English to Middle English, its spelling changed. It became "Wednesdei" and the "d" remained, even as the word morphed into "Wednesday." Wednesday is just one example of words — like February and ptarmigan — where letters appear in a word's spelling but not in its pronunciation.

Why is GIF pronounced JIF?

The creator of the GIF image format, Steve Wilhite of CompuServe, when deciding on the pronunciation, said he deliberately chose to echo the American peanut butter brand, Jif, and CompuServe employees would often say “Choosy developers choose GIF(jif)”, playing off of Jif's television commercials.