# Proper Pronunciation of 'Celtic'. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2019, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-pronunciation-of-celtic/843533 "2019-11-16T08:26:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-pronunciation-of-celtic/843533/21 "2019-11-19T00:18:30Z")
My derailer (or derailleur, if you like): my Brit BIL taught me to say “Tems”. When I moved to Baltimore I moved right onto Thames Street. Took awhile to get the hang of alternate pronunciations. Dan ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-pronunciation-of-celtic/843533/22 "2019-11-19T01:02:31Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > I wondered for some time, but I guess I was afraid to ask anyone. > > The proper noun Celtic. How do you pronounce it? . . . And, to pick another nit, “Celtic” isn’t a proper noun. It’s an adjective - the adjectival form of the noun “Celt”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2019, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-pronunciation-of-celtic/843533/23 "2019-11-19T01:08:46Z")
In the Gaelic languages (Irish and Scots dialects), the letter “C” only makes one sound when followed by a vowel, which is the K sound. (When followed by an “h”, obviously, it changes into the clearing-of-the-throat sound). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-pronunciation-of-celtic/843533.md?page=1)