It’s believed that at some time before the 19th century, the British read and pronounced the “U” at the end of “lieu” as a “V” and the “V” later became an “F”. This may explain why we in Singapore and most other Commonwealth countries pronounce “Lieutenant” as “lef-tenant”, while Americans pronounce it as it is spelt.
Why do British people 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.
Why do the British pronounce lieutenant differently?
The Oxford English Dictionary states the pronunciation is “difficult to explain,” but suggests the old French word originally had a “w” sound at the end of the first syllable, and that eventually got confused with an “f” or a “v” and created the British way of saying the word.
How does the UK pronounce lieutenant?
lef-TEN-ant
Lieutenant has two different pronunciations. In American English, the word is pronounced “loo-TEN-ant” /luˈtɛnənt/, whereas in British English, it is pronounced “lef-TEN-ant” /lɛfˈtɛnənt/.
Do the British army still say leftenant?
Unlike some armed forces which use first lieutenant, the British rank is simply lieutenant, with no ordinal attached. The rank is equivalent to that of a flying officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Why do Brits say bloody?
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 Brits 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).
Why do British say fillet?
Britons do not pronounce the ‘t’ in valet because it is a French loan word. They pronounce the ‘t’ in fillet because they are not French and though the word shares a common Latin origin with the French word filet, it is neither spelt nor pronounced in the same way.
Why do British people not pronounce R’s?
British English is non-rhotic. The letter “r” is not pronounced after vowels, unless it is also followed by a vowel. The letter r can indicate a change in the quality of the vowel that precedes it. So “hard” /hɑːd/” but “had” /hæd/.
Why is the R silent in Colonel?
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.
Is it pronounced leftenant or Lootenant?
Confusion sometimes arises because, in the U.S., the word is routinely said “lootenant” (or sometimes “lyootenant”), while in the United Kingdom and other countries of the British Commonwealth the preferred pronunciation is “leftenant.” The “American” pronunciation is, however, becoming commonplace in countries like
What is the difference between lieutenant and leftenant?
Q: What’s the difference between leftenant and lieutenant? A: leftenant is not a word, but it is the pronunciation of lieutenant in England. In the US, it is pronounced liu-tenant or loo-tenant.
Do Irish people say leftenant?
It is ‘lef-tenant’ over here. But in American and Ireland it’s ‘loo-tenant’.”
Is Canada a lieutenant or leftenant?
How should I pronounce Lieutenant Governor? IPA : /lɛf’tɛnənt/ In Canadian English, one pronounces the first syllable of lieutenant as “left”. This pronunciation is regarded as standard and is typical throughout the Commonwealth.
Why do you not pronounce the P in Corps?
Corps comes from French where it is pronounced as cor. It means body and we have the other form of this ancestor word in English as well, corpse. A feature of French is that many letters in words are not pronouced, but the writing tells us that it came from a time when it was pronounced.
What does lizard mean in the British army?
This is a term used to describe people who are perceived to be substandard and it is increasingly common in everyday military use. ‘Lizard’ is a metaphor for bad leadership and a culture of followership that doesn’t feel capable of calling it out.
What is the most offensive word in the UK?
Every swear word in the English language has been ranked in order of offensiveness. In 2020 the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom, interviewed more than 200 people across the UK on how offensive they find a vast array of rude and offensive words and insults.
Mild:
- Arse.
- Bloody.
- Bugger.
- Cow.
- Crap.
- Damn.
- Ginger.
- Git.
Is it rude to say knackered?
“Knackered” ISN’T a swear word. Neither is it an off-colour one. “Knackered” is just a colloquialism or slang (or both) to mean tired and exhausted.
How do you cuss like a Brit?
Brit Language: Ten tips to swear like a Brit
- If something goes wrong and you need a handy profanity, try “oh blast it!”, “fiddlesticks”, or “bloody hell” instead of the predictable.
- Mild vexation could call for “oh botheration”, “bloomin’ heck”, “bottoms”, “pants” or “chuffing heck!”.
Why do Brits say Darby instead of Derby?
Because, in Old English, it was spelt Darby. When we migrated to modern English, we spelt it Derby. If you look on old maps, it will be spelt as, Darby. For the same reason Muricans pronounce Arkansas as Arkinsaw.
Do British people say Hoover?
For the electrical appliance that cleans surfaces through suction, North Americans tend to use vacuum cleaner, or just vacuum, and Britons tend to use hoover. Both words also function as verbs, inflected vacuumed, vacuuming, hoovered, and hoovering.