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ArchivesRe: My column on Cedric
in reply to a message by clevelandkentevans
There is also a Harry Potter connection! From one novelist to another ...
How is Cedric pronounced in the US? I'm sure that the English actor you cite, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, pronounced it SEEDric; here in South Africa I've only known one, and he was SEDric, as I'd have expected. And, thinking of pronunciation, Cedric sounds a whole lot better than Cerdic, which would be close to Sir Dick in modern English, and most unfortunate.
How is Cedric pronounced in the US? I'm sure that the English actor you cite, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, pronounced it SEEDric; here in South Africa I've only known one, and he was SEDric, as I'd have expected. And, thinking of pronunciation, Cedric sounds a whole lot better than Cerdic, which would be close to Sir Dick in modern English, and most unfortunate.
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I had no idea that Hardwicke pronounced the first syllable of his name as "see". I have never heard that in the USA. I have only heard the first syllable rhyming with Ed or Fred here.
Also, "C" was NOT pronounced as "S" in Old English but like "k" before a back vowel or "ch" as in "charm" before a front vowel. So I think Cerdic was pronounced something like "chair-dick" in Old English.
Also, "C" was NOT pronounced as "S" in Old English but like "k" before a back vowel or "ch" as in "charm" before a front vowel. So I think Cerdic was pronounced something like "chair-dick" in Old English.
This message was edited 9/13/2021, 6:39 AM
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The timing of the change from a plain palatal /c/ (as distinguished from the velar /k/) to the partially palatal sibilant /tʃ/ is uncertain. In modern English palatal /c/ becomes the full sibilant /s/ (primarily in introduced words, native words having already transitioned to /tʃ/ spelled |ch|). Some OE runic scripts distinguish between the palatal and velar versions of "c", but text alone can't tell us whether and when the palatal version is a stop or fricative.
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