Why do the English say leftenant instead of lieutenant? - Wise-Answer A lot of times, the way words are spelled in English can leave many people scratching their head. Why exactly do the British say lieutenant as 'leftenant'? The lower ranked soldier on the "left" protected the senior officers left side. Over time the word locum evolved into the French word lieu, which is pronounced in French as it is spelled. Historically, the "lieutenant" was the deputy to a "captain", and as the rank structure of armies began to formalise, this came to mean that a captain commanded a company and had several lieutenants, each commanding a platoon. Therefore, the term leftenant developed. In the film clip, Keeley Hawes appears to be playing the Prime Minister, whose bodyguard addresses her as maam with the reduced vowel. Historically the lieutenants in a ship were ranked in accordance with seniority, with the most senior being termed the "first lieutenant" and acting as the second-in-command. Conventionally, armies and other services or branches that use army-style rank titles have two grades of lieutenant, but a few also use a third, more junior, rank. CLTs may be promoted to the rank of senior cadet lieutenant (S/CLT), which has a rank insignia of a pip and two bars below it.[100]. So maybe they encouraged the alternate pronunciation to keep rank and file soldiers from making a joke of their superiors' title? Leftenant is the U.K. and Commonwealth pronunciation. [2] You might want to rule the world from Washington but its still English. Some areas of Britain say darbee, some say derbee. How do you spell luitenent? The French version of the word, coronel, then made its way into English. The lower ranked soldier on the "left" protected the senior officers left side. Is lieutenant pronounced leftenant? The rank was used as the entry level officer rank for the Ordnance Department and the Corps of Artillery until March 1821. Armchairlinguists on both sides of the Atlantic offered up various answers and suggestions: heres a selection for your interest and entertainment , Because its the correct pronunciation. Nomad, London, England, The Brits are weird jon, cambria, United States, So we have the profound and highly informative answer from an American, he says: The Brits are weird. That's how Americans pronounce it. Why is lieutenant pronounced leftenant? Explained by Sharing Culture Like I said I have actually nothing at all to back this up, it's a wild stab in the dark I came up with because I've wondered the same thing for years and could never find any information about it. How do I enable in-stream ads on Facebook? This spelling was to stick to the pronunciation, and not the opposite, as there is not lefttenant in old French. It comes easier after a few tries. It is possible that when the English heard the French pronounce the compound word lieutenant, they perceived a slurring which they heard as a v or f sound between the first and second syllables. How Many Classes The Article Are Divided Into In English? and our Some police departments split the rank of lieutenant into two separate grades. The Lieutenant Governor is an official in state governments of 45 out of 50 United States. Pronunciation of lieutenant as / lftnnt / ( listen) lef-TEN-nt is generally associated with the armies of British Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland, while / lutnnt / ( listen) loo-TEN-nt is generally associated with the United States military. Compare the best options for 2023. Therefore, the term leftenant developed. Lieu means place and tenant means holding. A Lieutenant (a leader of a platoon) is pronounced 'Left-tenant' in the U.K. (as he/she is left the tenancy of command). Infographic : Using Cognitive Functions To Unlock the ENFP Personality Types Unique Gifts , Creative Advertising : Showcase and discover creative work on the world's leading online platform f. 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. If someone says Frick, they arent going to start World War 3. During the early days of the naval rank, a lieutenant might be very junior indeed, or might be on the cusp of promotion to captain; by modern standards, he might rank with any army rank between second lieutenant and lieutenant colonel. Why do Brits pronounce lieutenant as leftenant? - Kyoto2.org Assistant Superintendent(Bangladesh Police), Assistant Superintendent(Indian Police Service), Police Lieutenant(Philippine National Police), Police Lieutenant(National Police of Ukraine), US Police 2nd Lieutenant(Police ranks of the United States), US Police 1st Lieutenant(Police ranks of the United States), In the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the rank of lieutenant (LTA) is the second-lowest commissioned rank. Why do Brits pronounce lieutenant leftenant? And what is it with these Americans, who speak of British English and a British version hello!! Therefore, the term leftenant developed. . It is roughly equivalent to an inspector in the British and Canadian police forces. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The British typically use mum, and the Americans, mom. What rank is leftenant? Therefore, the term leftenant developed. What money is available for senior citizens? This word was then adopted by the French, who translated the term in their own language, converted the word colonnello to the word coronel. The senior grade of lieutenant is known as first lieutenant in the United States, and as lieutenant in the United Kingdom and the rest of the English-speaking world. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Lieu from french shows up in English phrases like in lieu of meaning in place of, so lieu means place and lieutenant essentially means placeholder. Learn More 17 Anonymous 2 y Related According to military customs, a lower ranking soldier walks on the left side of a senior officer. How To Spell (and Pronounce) Colonel and Lieutenant - LanguageTool Insights The rank is also used in fire services, emergency medical services, security services and police forces. All replies must be a genuine effort to answer the question helpfully; joke answers are not allowed. Why do Brits pronounce lieutenant "leftenant"? - Glossophilia 2 Is there a difference between lieutenant and leftenant? In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for the governor when they are absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated. Then some Italian texts began influencing the English written form and we ended up with the l making its way back into the word, but the French pronunciation had already stuck. :) , To read the more informative answers (including ahypothesis offered by Sean from Colorado that in British slang, of which he observes there is a great deal, the word, refers to a toilet, and therefore he assumesthat they do not want to give the impression that a leftenant is a resident of a toilet, as in loo-tenant), read the full piece at. What is the meaning of the French word lieu? In short, English borrowed the word from French, which borrowed it from Italian. No, they are not. The Salvation Army also uses lieutenant to denote first time officers, or clergymen/women. Zero is a little bit longer to pronounce, hence the oh. In Portugal, sub-lieutenant is the rank of a junior naval officer graduated from a civil university or promoted from a NCO rank, while the equivalent rank of an officer graduated in the naval academy is designated midshipman. In the 19th century, British writers who considered this word either an imposition on the English language, or difficult for common soldiers and sailors, argued for it to be replaced by the calque "steadholder". By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. He was later elevated to Lieutenant-General of Police. Why do Brits pronounce clerk as Clark? Is Bosnia a developing or developed country? In Germany it is called Oberleutnant (senior lieutenant). Well show you how to always write maintenance correctly. John. As a given-name, St. In the US Navy, the rank was called master until 1883, when it was renamed lieutenant, junior grade. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In the 17th century, the term "lieutenant" corresponded to "deputy" (i.e. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Well thanks for that gem, Einstein. In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant, but in Brazil it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain it is the second highest non-commissioned rank. The word, lieutenant is a French word, as are most military ranks. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Lets and lets are homophones, meaning theyre pronounced the same but have different meanings. In the US however, the word is pronounced as Lew-tenant, much to British distaste. I always suspected--and I have never seen anything to back this up--that this pronunciation was adopted because "lootenant", as the Americans pronounce it, sounds like "Loo-tenant," i.e., "individual occupying the loo (toilet)." "Leftenant" would then be easier to pronounce than "levtenant." hurricanelantern 9 yr. ago Which routine is best for gaining muscle? The insignia of an additional half-thickness stripe between the two full stripes of a lieutenant was introduced in 1877 for a Royal Navy lieutenant of 8 years seniority, and used for lieutenant commanders upon introduction of their rank.[93]. In most cases, newly commissioned officers do not remain at the rank for long before being promoted, and both university graduates and officers commissioned from the ranks may skip the rank altogether. This courtesy developed when swords were still used on the battle field. [2] The early history of the pronunciation is unclear; Middle English spellings suggest that both pronunciations may have existed even then. Havent you got a chat show you can go off and whoop woo at or something? Tel McCormack, Rochdale, UK, Because thats what it should be called. Leftenant is the British pronunciation, lieutenant is the American pronunciation.