Davin Valkri Posted:

Can one of you Boston fans explain to me why they say “Celtics” so unusually?

I mean, most people, including actual Celts would pronounce it “kell-ticks”, with a hard c,

but I’m given to understand that in Boston it’s pronounced “cell-ticks”, with a soft one?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Celts#Pronunciation

“Until the mid-20th century, Celtic was usually pronounced with /s/ in English except by academics, but the pronunciation with /k/ has been gaining ground recently. Following the usage of philologists, /k/ is now almost invariably used with reference to Celtic culture even in non-academic contexts.[9] However, the /s/ pronunciation remains the most recognised form when it occurs in the names of sports teams, most notably Celtic Football Club and the Boston Celtics basketball team.”