Why do people pronounce “Celtics” (as in Boston Celtics) with a soft s of some kind, so “seltiks” instead of “Keltiks”?

Question

Why do people pronounce “Celtics” (as in Boston Celtics) with a soft s of some kind, so “seltiks” instead of “Keltiks”?

In: 6706

Answer 1

By normal phonological developments, the Latin word *Celtic-*, which was originally pronounced “Keltic,” came to be pronounced in English, like every other *c* before an *e*, with a soft *c*, i.e. “Seltic.” The pronunciation of the Boston “Seltics” thus simply represents the natural evolution of the sound.

Entering into the 20th century, however, the Irish nationalist movement sought to de-englishify the pronunciation of the word “Celtic” and thus started the trend of pronouncing it as “Keltic” in line with the original Latin. This pronunciation then diffused through academic circles and is now essentially the standard when talking about the history or culture of the (hard-c) Celts.