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Normally the French ch is pronounced like the English sh, as in French words like choir, chouette, choisir, etc. But in technique and its derived words, it's pronounced as a k.

Why is that? Is this simply an exception owing to etymological history, or is there a rule about ch followed by a consonant?

temporary_user_name
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  • Since you saw your question has already been asked you didn't you delete it altogether? I gather you noticed the duplicate after you'd asked the question. – None Mar 16 '17 at 06:44
  • Well I clicked delete and it told me it did not recommend doing so since it deprived future readers etc etc. I figure we have the option to "close as duplicate" for a reason. I only ever delete if I answer the question for myself before anyone posts an answer. – temporary_user_name Mar 16 '17 at 06:55

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Chœur, chorale, chiasme, echo, dichotomy are all pronounced [k]. For a consonant after the ch, we have: strychnine, chlore, chronomètre, chthonien, chrysanthème, Chaldée, scholastique, chiromancie, orchestre, orchidée, schizophrénie, psychologue, chrétien, chélidoine, chorégraphie ... looks to me like the Greek origin of all those words led to a [k] sound. Those ch were χ in Greek, and that would be the rule, rather than a rule depending on what's before or after the [ch]. A rule with exceptions no doubt.

This thread has more details.

This french.stackexchange.com thread also looked at the question.

And the "ultimate" reference is here.

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Frank
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  • I've been wondering about this since that cedilla post: does "ch" perhaps follow the same rules as "c", i.e. hard [k] before certain vowels and consonants and soft [ ʃ ] before other vowels? (Then cœur and chœur could be consistent.) I have to think of examples to validate either your etymological hypothesis or this one... – Luke Sawczak Mar 16 '17 at 05:30
  • chaud, chapeau = I'm likely wrong. :p Meanwhile, chaos = you're likely right. – Luke Sawczak Mar 16 '17 at 05:34
  • I think it's more related to the etymology. We have the same graphie ch for words that have different etymology. ch was used to render the Greek chi or the latin c, and that resulted in different pronunciations. The trick is to confirm where the French ch comes from - the Greek side of the story is IMHO quite clear. – Frank Mar 16 '17 at 05:34
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    @LukeSawczak - etymology from Greek or Latin seems to be the primary factor, then there are many secondary rules and/or exceptions. – Frank Mar 16 '17 at 05:47
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    This will probably be closed as a duplicate. If that happens, let's beef up the answer that survives with whatever wasn't there, if anything. – Frank Mar 16 '17 at 05:48
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    Dichotomy isn't French, dichotomie is. – Fatalize Mar 16 '17 at 10:25