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’s the difference between a lieutenant and a 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 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).
When did lieutenant become leftenant?
The word arrived in English from French in 1375 and within 100 years the English were pronouncing it “left-tenant” as if there were a “right-tenant” as well.
How do you say lieutenant in UK?
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/.
Why do Brits 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 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 say us instead of me?
It’s just an old English way of speaking. Many people say “us” but if they are writing will use the word “me”. I was born in Sunderland and I use it some times, depends who I am talking to. “us” meaning you and me sounds like “uss”.
Why do we say an R 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.
Why is there an F in lieutenant?
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.
Is it leftenant or lieutenant in the Royal Navy? It is spelled ‘lieutenant’ and it is pronounced as ‘leftenant’.
Does a lieutenant outrank a sergeant?
The LT absolutely does not outrank the sergeant major or first sergeant. Sure, on paper, all Army officers outrank all enlisted and warrant officers in the military.
Do Irish people say leftenant?
It is ‘lef-tenant’ over here. But in American and Ireland it’s ‘loo-tenant’.”
What does England call their army?
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty’s Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies.
Why do British say Nought instead of zero?
This distinction is that “nought” is primarily used in a literal arithmetic sense, where the number 0 is straightforwardly meant, whereas “naught” is used in poetical and rhetorical senses, where “nothing” could equally well be substituted…
Why do Brits call it maths?
Math is an abbreviation of mathematics, which is a count noun in British English because there are different types of maths (geometry, algebra, calculus, etc.) and a mass noun that happens to end in an ‘s’ in American English (like gymnastics in both dialects).
Why do British people say love?
British people call people love or ‘luv’ as it is sometimes spelled in its short form in exactly the same way as Americans would call someone honey or ‘hon’ for short. It is just an informal form of language used in certain walks of life and is something people have just grown up with.
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 say lift or elevator?
Everyone knows that for the Brits, an elevator is a “lift,” an apartment is a “flat,” and those chips you’re snacking on are actually called “crisps.” But British people also say some other really weird, confusing things.
How do the British say mascara?
Below is the UK transcription for ‘mascara’: Modern IPA: masgɑ́ːrə Traditional IPA: mæˈskɑːrə 3 syllables: “ma” + “SKAA” + “ruh”