How are we supposed to pronounce Celtic?

Both.

Yes. Both are correct. Depending on their use.

September 2, 2008, 8:54 PM EDT

Keltic, unless you’re from Boston.
The Celts pronounce it with a hard C.

Thanx, that has plagued me for a while.

Never gave it much thought (I always used the K sound). But if you get all hot about linguistics (I do) there’s a really cool article on wikipedia about this that goes into some detail about the origins of the pronunciations.

@paulc: just the opposite here. I checked several dictionaries and they listed “kel-tik” first, but frankly, I do not recall hearing it pronounced anything but “sel-tik” (even the on-line dictionary that lets you hear the pronunciation gave it as “sel-tik”). But then, again, I’ve lived a somewhwt sheltered life (although I suppose I can grow to dislike the Boston Keltics as much as I do the Celtics).

Generally, when a used as a noun or part of a noun, it is pronounced seltik. When used as an adjective, it is pronounced keltik.

@lefteh So when you say so and so was a Celt, is it Kelt or Selt?

Could Celtic a la Red Auerbach merely be a bad Americanization, though? I have heard celt pronounced kelt as a noun.

For example, the Grand Teetons (fake phonetics) or Des Moines, Iowa.

Hard C. Bad NBA! Bad!

And Peer, the capital of S. Dakota; Albuhkerkee, NM: Twosohn, AZ; Montpeelier, VT., Whuster, MA…lots of bastardization.

(and the issues with a soft or hard “G.” Call me Jail, I guess.)

Both are certainly acceptable, but the original pronunciation was with a /k/ sound. Like paulc, I really “get into” linguistics.

I tend to go with the hard c-sound. Perhaps because of the link to The Book of Kells

Ah, yes! The Christian/Celtic band Iona did an album by the same name.

@Marina: Des Moines is said like the French. Are you thinking of Des Plaines, IL? /des plainz/?

@andrew Hmm, I have heard many people pronounce the s in the Moines, which would not be the case in French, but perhaps it is the error of a few?

Certainly your example of Des Plaines being pronounced as if Tattoo saw more than one plane landing on Fantasy Island matches what I was trying to exemplify.

Des Moines isn’t pronounced quite like it would be in French.
It would be something along the lines of day-mwahn.

Dame Juan?
Friend of Dame Edna perhaps?

@lefteh Quite so.

I’ve always heard it “Da Moyne.”

Right, that’s the accepted English pronunciation.