Modern pronunciation of 'Cicero'

[James Lawrie]

Why do moderns pronounce 'Cicero' with a soft 'c'?

[guy]

Obviously, the letter “c” is pronounced with a “k” sound in Classical Latin. In Ecclesiastical Latin Cicero would be pronounced as “Chi-che-ro.” This is similar to modern Italian.
 
In English the “c” before “i and e” are usually pronounced with an “s” sound. To pronounce it otherwise would be pretentious.

The link below attributes the sound shift to Medieval French influences. I don’t know about that. Spanish is similar to English: casa /k/; cena /s/; cine/s/; correr /k/; cuando /k/

I have failed to grasp most of Latin, but certain rules are mostly immutable. 

 

https://www.pronounceitright.com/pronunciation/cicero-15272

Edited November 1, 2022 by guy

[guidoLaMoto]

Languages are livng and evolve. They tend to dissapate from more highly rigorous, complicated grammar & pronunciation to simpler forms. Italian is to Latin as Ebonics is to English. The joke is that in black neighborhoods, "Toys R Us" becomes "We B Toys"... "Ap" is an abrieviation for "application" and now part of the vocabulary...etc etc.

In biological evolution, a migrant group may retain as a common trait one that is more rare in the origiinal population if it was represetned in a high proportion of the original migrants-- Cf-  retained epicanthal fold ("slanted eyes")- very common in orientals, but still observable in some members of modern central/east African populations...So it is with "Kaiser"  (Caesar) in German while most members of the original population in Italy have dissiapated it to "Chez-ar-ay."....The more often a word/term is used, the more likely it will  evolve to mutated forms-- That's the reason verbs like "to be" or "to have'' are usually irregular--  the "rules" have given way to dissapation.

[caesar novus]

20 hours ago, guidoLaMoto said:

Languages are livng and evolve.

I believe television influenced english for the last 65 years by presenting an aspirational alternative to those otherwise immersed in regional accents. I grew up among the quirky accent of a remote region of lumberjacks and farmers, and when I watched national TV or even better the then-posh accents coming over the border from Canadian TV, well I decided I need not talk like my hick neighbors. I find it puzzling how anyone maintained a regional accent in the TV age, altho not going forward.

I think TV influence is about over now, with the Orwellian ESG mafia clogging 90% of all commercials with patronizing afro influenced accents, or weed-puffing huskiness, or other fringe stuff. I am about to enable streaming on my TV to escape this decadent mess which can't be avoided even by frantic channel switching. I like watching 60+ year old Perry Mason shows which have amusing language quirks now ironed out by TV.

With the TV age maybe over, I notice the effect of the internet bringing disruptive diversity back to fortress America. For example British use of prepositions have been picked up by the US in a way that can be very confusing: "different to" vs. "different from". I don't care which convention, but let's stick with one per country altho nationalities of anonymous ones setting an example online may be unclear.

Edited December 12, 2023 by caesar novus

[guidoLaMoto]

You're certainly right about the effect of radio & TV homogenizing language across large nations. It's certainly true in the US and Italy....Italy still has remnants of the feudal age in its poitical organization, cuisine, and certainly language. Linguists actually consider Napolitan and Sicilian as separate languages from Italian. Both are now used mostly within the family at home, although they can be  understood with some difficulty by speakers of Italian- kinda like following  the speech of someone from the deep rural South, for instance. ...Ever notice how Oprah and Barack, both excellent public speakers of standard American, can slide so easily into "Ebonics" when addressing black audiences?

My father, born in the US to his immigrant Volga Deutsch parents, didn't learn English until he started grammar school. His English was impeccable Chicago American vernacular, but he was subjected to a short special investigation when inducted into the Army in '43, after being "turned in" by a fellow inductee in basic training after he absent mindedly said "make the light out"- the way it would be said in German, rather than "put the light out" or "turn off the light," the usual form in English.

As Oscar Wilde said- Britain and America are two countries divided by a common language.

The Roman conquest of such a large area- from the Semitic speaking east thru Egypt and Greece, up thru the Germanic &  Celtic areas brought that homogenizing aspect of a common language to unify the empire.