K (letter): Difference between revisions
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'''K''' is the eleventh letter of the [[English alphabet]]. Its name is pronounced like the girl's name ''Kay''. | '''K''' is the eleventh letter of the [[English alphabet]]. Its name is pronounced like the girl's name ''Kay''. | ||
==Use in English== | ==Use in English== | ||
'''k''' | '''k''' has the sound of '''c''' in '''cát''' or '''q''' in '''quîte'''. Examples (the accents show stress and pronunciation: see [[English phonemes]]): '''Ként, kéttle, kítsch, loòk, tâke, toòk, lâke, báck, dóck, bríck, åwkward''' (*åwquəd), '''hácker'''. | ||
c is more common for this sound at the beginning of a word - and it can also be written ch as in chŏrd, álchemy, schoôner. | '''c''' is more common for this sound at the beginning of a word - and it can also be written '''ch''' as in '''chŏrd, álchemy, schoôner'''. | ||
At the end of a word, k is usual after a double or long vowel, and after l | At the end of a word, '''k''' is usual after a double or long vowel, and after '''l''', '''n''' and '''r''': '''pêak, mâke, sínk, boòk, tánk, thánk, àrk, bàrk, sínk, mínk, mílk, tålk, jërk, quïrk, wörk, përk, lürk, Türk, besërk'''. | ||
The l in fôlk is silent (as it is also in hālf and cālf). | |||
The '''l''' in '''fôlk''' is silent (as it is also in '''hālf''' and '''cālf'''). | |||
Final -ke can have colloquial ring: blôke, nûke (abbreviation of nûclear), bîke (of bîcycle), Jâke (of Jâcob) and, similarly, jûkebox. | Final -ke can have colloquial ring: blôke, nûke (abbreviation of nûclear), bîke (of bîcycle), Jâke (of Jâcob) and, similarly, jûkebox. | ||
Revision as of 16:38, 27 November 2008
K is the eleventh letter of the English alphabet. Its name is pronounced like the girl's name Kay.
Use in English
k has the sound of c in cát or q in quîte. Examples (the accents show stress and pronunciation: see English phonemes): Ként, kéttle, kítsch, loòk, tâke, toòk, lâke, báck, dóck, bríck, åwkward (*åwquəd), hácker.
c is more common for this sound at the beginning of a word - and it can also be written ch as in chŏrd, álchemy, schoôner.
At the end of a word, k is usual after a double or long vowel, and after l, n and r: pêak, mâke, sínk, boòk, tánk, thánk, àrk, bàrk, sínk, mínk, mílk, tålk, jërk, quïrk, wörk, përk, lürk, Türk, besërk.
The l in fôlk is silent (as it is also in hālf and cālf).
Final -ke can have colloquial ring: blôke, nûke (abbreviation of nûclear), bîke (of bîcycle), Jâke (of Jâcob) and, similarly, jûkebox. Also: tâke, brâke car = breâk broken.
After c, k merely reinforces the hard c sound and the preceding short vowel: clóck (*clók *clóc) lúck, súck, néck, báck, thíck, blóck wood (= blóc nations), tíck clock (= tíc spasm, which has no k because it is, like blóc, from French), tíckle, crícket, wícket, tícket, níckel, ríckety, búcket. And so k is added to the ending -ic before suffixes -ing and -ed: politícking, tráfficking, frólicked, pánicked.
Thus the ck combination does not occur after long vowels - you don’t see *-êeck, *-oôck, *-orck, *-àrck etc. And similarly, final k on its own is rare, and foreign-looking, after a single vowel: trék, flák, wók.
c or ck are generally used instead of k when forming clusters, with the exception of wóks etc. and of kl as in boòklet, especially in nkl (nk is pronounced ngk: sínk, thínk, tánk): ánkle (cf. úncle), wínkle, ínkling, tínkle, tínkling.
Silent k occurs initially before n: knôw acquaint, understand (= nô negative), kneŵ acquainted (= neŵ fresh), knôwn (cf. nòne), knîght Sir (= nîght dark), knít, knáck, knóck, knéll, knóll, knâve cad (= nâve church).
kh is the sound of ch in lóch in words from Arabic, Urdu &c - although many people merely pronounce it k: Khàn (*Kàn).
kk is very rare. It occurs in púkka and Dékker and accidentally, with an extended k sound, in boòkkeeper.