Appendix:English words where C is pronounced exceptionally
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The following English words contain the letter "c" pronounced in a way which is an exception to the rule described as Hard and soft C: the soft "c" occurs when the "c" comes before the letters "e", "i" or "y", and the hard "c" occurs elsewhere.
Hard c where soft c expected
- arc ~ed, ~ing
- Celt ~ic, ~s (by one pronunciation)
- Cenozoic (by one pronunciation)
- Cillian
- ecce (by one pronunciation)
- foci (by one pronunciation)
- loci (by one British pronunciation)
- pescetarian
- Quebecer ~s
- recce ~d, ~ed, ~ing, ~s
- sceptic (first occurence)
- soccer
- supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (second occurrence)
- synced, syncing
- cyattie
Also, in any personal name beginning with the patronymic prefix Mc or Mac, the c is always hard, even if the name continues with e, i or y. (In Macy, the Mac- is not a patronymic prefix, and the c is soft.)
Soft c where hard c expected
- acai, ~s. Should be spelled açaí.
- caecilian, ~s
- Caelum
- Caesar, ~ean, ~eans, ~s
- Caesarea
- caesium
- caetera
- coelacanth (first occurrence), ~s
- coeliac (first occurrence)
- corpuscle (second occurrence), ~s
- crepuscle, ~s
- facade, ~s. Should be spelled façade.
- lac (etymology 4), ~s
- limacon, ~s
- muscle, ~d, ~s, muscl~ ~ier, ~iest, ~ing, ~y. (Silent <c>, actually.)
- Percabeth (derived from "Percy").
- septicaemia
- soc ~s (etymology 1)
In many Latin loanwords, "ae" and "oe" are a single vowel resembling "e", and most such words are pronounced with a "soft" sound. This does not apply to all "cae" or "coe" words; in Caerleon and coefficient, the starting "C" makes the "hard" sound as would be expected.