poppy Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Keep Christ in Christmas! This expression makes me wonder, why is the "t" in Christmas silent, when the "t" in Christ is not, and obviously that is the root of the word "Christmas". I am guessing it is similar to the reason that "soft" has a t sound while "soften" does not. What is the name of that grammar rule (if that's what it is?)What language family does this come from? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I always thought the word Christmas comes from Christ mass, and over time it grew into one word with the pronunciation we have now...so in other words, no grammar rule, just evolution of a phrase. But I could be wrong on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Elision.It's not a grammar rule, though it is a rule of language change. When you have a combination of sounds that is hard to pronounce - in this case, s-t-m - you drop one to make it easier to say. Humans are lazy, and human laziness drives a great deal of evolution of language :) The real question is: "Why do we stick to a long-obsolete spelling?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 No answers to your questions... but just an interesting note: SweetChild is in a show-choir-type group and they do a holiday show. Some songs they emphasize the "t" in Christmas" and others they are instructed not to... It seems like they emphasize the sound in the Gospel songs, but not the popular songs. It works for them- the Gospel songs sound sloppy if they sing "CrissMiss" and the pop songs sound silly if they sing "ChrisT Muss". (OK, not fully a "muss" sound, but not "mass" either...) I can't sing... I just drive and sew marbou back onto skirts. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFG Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Re: "soften" - maybe this article will help explain. http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2012/01/silent-t.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 I always thought the word Christmas comes from Christ mass, and over time it grew into one word with the pronunciation we have now...so in other words, no grammar rule, just evolution of a phrase. But I could be wrong on that. It's not just Christmas though, there is also Michaelmas (Feast of St. Michael), a UK holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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