Putting old board questions into ChatGPT

[Just_Asking_Questions]

Jan 2001:

The letter K in Latin kalendae

To this day, the Romance languages and Irish avoid using the letter* K*. They always use C (or “qu” in certain cases) to spell the /k/ sound. The reason for this is that the ancient Romans decided not to use K in Latin, substituting C instead. The Romans first adapted their alphabet from the Etruscans, who used a modified Greek alphabet, with K, of course, for the /k/ sound. The Etruscan language did not distinguish between voiced and unvoiced consonants, so the Etruscan gamma could be pronounc…

I asked “In latin, why did the letter K still did not die out; except for Kalendae, the name for the first day of each month?”

Google AI response:

The letter “K” persisted in the Latin alphabet despite being less common than “C” due to a few key factors, primarily the word “Kalendae” and its role in the Roman calendar. While the letter C generally represented the hard “k” sound (as in “cantus”), the letter K was used in specific instances, like the word for the first day of the month, “Kalendae”. This usage helped the letter K maintain a presence in the Latin alphabet, even though C was more widely used for the same sound.

That’s not an answer at all! It’s simply restating the question.

AI went on to note: “This word was consistently spelled with a K, and its importance in the Roman calendar ensured its continued use in writing.” Which is almost an answer, I’ll grant.

I’ll admit, “Why?” isn’t an easy question, but it’s been 24 years, and Latin has been studied forever, so it should be answerable.