The Letter C

The letter C “is no letter at all” John Baret 1580.

The letter C is a problem letter that has been talked about over the centuries. (Watch the video and/or read on)

The letter c can have five sounds and be silent: "k" / "s" / "ch" / "sh" / "q- cue".

In this lesson, we're looking at its sounds, rules and history

Hard c "k" sound (before a, o, u) cod, cat, curl, cold, cross
Soft c "s" sound (before e, i, y) city, nice, face, circle, cement, cigarette, cinema, cyst, cycle, flaccid
Hard c "k" sound with -cc- account, soccer, accrue, occupy, yucca, occasion
Soft c "s" sound with-cc-  accept, eccentric, occidental
"ch" sound: cello, vermicelli, cappuccino. These are foreign borrowed words
"sh"sound: special, liquorice, ocean
Silent c: muscle, science, indict
"q" "cue" sound: cue, cucumber, cure, curiosity

We can have the British kerb vs. American curb, and disk (British) v disc (American).

Since the 1700s, the Q, K, S sounds are or have been used for Islam’s holy book: Coran, Koran to the now-favoured Quran or Qur’an.

Let's look at the history of this letter and why it's a 'strange' one.

In Anglo-Saxon English, C was pronounced "k" or "ch" then the French invaded in 1066 and introduced the soft C ("s" sound).

The French scribes wrote C before i and e making it a soft "s" sound: cell, city, procession, cellar, citizen, grace, palace

Modern words follow this old rule:

A soft c "s" before i, e or y: cinema, decide, celebrate, cemetery, cyber, cigarette, cylinder, centre/center, decision, cent, acceptance.

A hard c "k" before a, o, u, or a consonant, or at the end of words: can, could, cut, class, public, back, colour/color, Canada, claim

Some words can have both sounds:
bicycle
cycle
cybernetics
reconcile ( re con cile - hard c before o and soft c before i

It’s a good rule but with all rules there are exceptions so look out for them. 

Let's do a spelling test. Have you got a piece of paper and pen?

Enjoy! Make mistakes and learn from them — that’s the key to being great!

Keep revising, reviewing and repeating to remember.

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Answers

Check your spelling carefully, letter by letter. Start to think about your mistakes and learn from them.

1. I received some exciting news yesterday.

2. To succeed in life it's necessary to keep learning.

3. Can you come to the cinema on Saturday?

4. I've decided to accept the job offer.

5. She's an accountant in Canada.

6. The decision to move out of the city centre/center (American English) was a hard one.

7. In America they call football soccer.

8. I'm certainly looking forward to celebrating my promotion.