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 is colonel not pronounced kernel?

By around the 17th century, the word began appearing in military treaties across Europe. So, the written form of the word (colonel) and the spoken ("kernel") were both being used. In English, a combination won out. Colonel was spelled c-o-l-o-n-e-l but pronounced "kernel."

Is L silent in colonel?

There is no silent letter in the word colonel. Here the word sounds like r. This is a clear case of dissimilation of spelling. The origin of this strange pronunciation starts in the middle Ages in Italy, where a military officer used to be addressed officially as “colonello.”

Why is colonel pronounced like that Reddit?

It derived from French coronell, which in turn came from Italian colonello (the leader of a "little column" of soldiers). The change from -l- to -r- in French was due to dissimilation. (Interestingly, the change of spelling to colonnel also happened in French, after the word had been borrowed into English).

Is it coronel or colonel?

So when the Italian word colonello was taken into French, it became coronel; and the word was borrowed by the English from the French in this form. Later the spelling colonel came to be used in order to reflect the Italian origin of the word. But by then the pronunciation with r was well established.

Why “Colonel” is Pronounced “Kernel”

What is the hardest word to say?

Why is Lieutenant pronounced 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.

Why is colonel not spelled with an R?

Why is the word “colonel” pronounced with an “r” sound when it is not spelled with an “r”? “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.

Why is it spelled Wednesday?

As it turns out, Wednesday actually has Germanic linguistic origins. It is derived from the Old English word, Wōdnesdæg, which honors the Germanic god Wodan.

How do the British pronounce sixth?

Finally, the word "sixth" has more than one possible pronunciation in English. It is usually pronounced SIKSTH in British English (pronounced as the word 'six', with 'th' as in 'thin' attached at the end), but can also be pronounced SIKST-TH.

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).

Which letter is silent in salmon?

171: The silent l in the word 'salmon' — Pronuncian: American English Pronunciation.

WHY IS Corp pronounced core?

Corps refers to a group, such as the Marine Corps. Its spelling does not change in the singular or plural, but it is pronounced \KOR\ when singular and \KORZ\ when plural. Core can be a noun, verb, or adjective, but usually refers to the center or most important part of something.

Why is H silent in herb?

“The word herb, which can be pronounced with or without the (h), is one of a number of words borrowed into English from French. The 'h' sound had been lost in Latin and was not pronounced in French or the other Romance languages, which are descended from Latin, although it was retained in the spelling of some words.

Why do Brits 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 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 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.

What word takes 3 hours to say?

You will be surprised to know that the longest word in English has 1, 89,819 letters and it will take you three and a half hours to pronounce it correctly. This is a chemical name of titin, the largest known protein.

Do you pronounce the r in February?

While "Feb-RU-ary" is still considered the standard pronunciation, most dictionaries recognize the pronunciation of February without the first "r" ("Feb-U-ary") as an acceptable variant.

What are the 10 most mispronounced words?

Why is the C silent in indicted?

We pronounce it indict because its original spelling in English was E-N-D-I-T-E, a spelling that was used for 300 years before scholars decided to make it look more like its Latin root word, indictare. Our pronunciation, however, still reflects the original English spelling.