Why do the British say leftenant instead of lieutenant?

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.

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.

Do Canadians say lieutenant or leftenant?

The British pronunciation of the French word "lieutenant" (as "lef-tenant") is the official pronunciation as used by the Canadian Armed Forces, but the American pronunciation of "loo-tenant" (which is closer to the original French pronunciation) is sometimes heard outside of the military.

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.

Lieutenant - Left-tenant/Loo-tenant - An apology from Britain

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.

Do the British still say leftenant?

Left - tenant will eventually become archaic usage here. Language changes are speeding up as global communication smooths out the differences. Regional accents will always create some anomalies but those cases where there is an obvious sense in pronouncing as spelt - such as lieutenant - will disappear.

What is a British leftenant?

Lieutenant (UK: /lɛfˈtɛnənt/; Lt) is a junior officer rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above second lieutenant and below captain and has a NATO ranking code of OF-1 and it is the senior subaltern rank.

Why do British people 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…

Why do some Brits pronounce TH as F?

Because TH-fronting was not a common feature of English before it spread across the globe, this tells us that TH-fronting didn't develop from just one accent. Instead, it's a progression of language change as people try to make our language easier to speak.

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.

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 pants?

In British English, pants means underpants or, informally, nonsense. In American English, pants means trousers; the singular form is used as adjective. [BrEn] He thought we were going to be absolute pants. [AmEn] His pant leg was broken.

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.

Is it pronounced leftenant 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.

How do you pronounce lieutenant in the Royal Navy?

No one can really say why in the British Army the word is pronounced “left-tenant” but it's notable that in the Royal Navy the pronunciation seems half way across the ocean. They drop the “f” and say “le-tenant.”

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.

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.

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 do British pronounce clerk as Clark?

It was spelled both clark and clerk. Because the word clerk was pronounced with (är) rather than (ĕr) in the south of England, the vowels in the word did not become (ûr).

What is sidewalk in British English?

It is called a sidewalk in American English, but can also be called a pavement (mainly British English and South African English), a footpath (Australian English, Irish English, Indian English and New Zealand English) or footway (Engineering term).

What do British call shorts?

The British English term, short trousers, is used, only for shorts that are a short version of ordinary trousers (i.e., pants or slacks in American English).