L Talbott Publishing Consultant and Editorial Services

07/11/2025

Becca and her son Enzo enjoy Deborah Stevenson’s “An Armadillo on my Pillow”—edited by L Talbott Editorial

07/09/2025

06/28/2025

Language
What is “ç” and how is it pronounced?
The English language rarely relies on diacritical marks, whereas other languages do. Here’s a look at one accent mark in particular that can be found in Romance and Turkic languages around the world.

Capital and Small Letter Ç
Much like there’s a wide variety of pasta shapes, accent marks come in an assortment of shapes and sounds. Accent marks are also called diacritics, and while there are hundreds of choices across the world’s languages, we commonly see the tilde (~), the umlaut (ö), and the cedilla (Ç). The first two are sometimes used in loanwords, such as “piñata,” “jalapeño,” “über,” and “doppelgänger.” The latter is not found in English, as the words that used to contain the accent mark have dropped it in the English spelling (“facade,” for example). However, it’s commonly used in both Romance and Turkic languages around the world. Here’s a closer look at the cedilla and how it affects pronunciation.

The cedilla (pronounced “suh-DEE-yuh”) is often used in Romance languages, such as French, Portuguese, and Catalan. The accent mark appears as a squiggle at the bottom of a letter (usually “c”), but “ç/Ç” also exists as its own letter in various Turkic scripts, such as Albanian, Turkish, and Kurdish. The symbol is Spanish in its origin, evolving out of the “Visigothic Zet” that preceded it. The Visigoths ruled over Iberia from the fifth to eighth century, and their version of the letter “z” was written as “ꝣ” and sounded like a soft /ts/. As Visigothic influence in the region waned and the Spanish language began to take shape, “ꝣ” evolved to become “ç.”

The word “cedilla” dates to the late 16th century, coming from the Spanish cedilla (a diminutive term meaning “little z”). As it was adopted into French and Catalan, “ç” came to represent a soft-“c” sound, pronounced similar to the letter “s.” The cedilla was required to distinguish from the harsher “k” sounds sometimes associated with the letter “c” on its own.

For example, although the word “facade” has dropped the cedilla from its original French spelling façade, it’s pronounced “fuh-SAHD” thanks to the cedilla (or cédille in French), which softens the pronunciation of the “c.” If it weren’t for that small squiggly line, we may pronounce “facade” as “fuh-KAYD” (rhyming with “arcade”) instead.

To be clear, the cedilla refers to the dangling squiggly line itself rather than the entire letter. It’s most commonly used on a “c,” but “Ş” is used for a soft /sh/ sound, and “Ţ” represents a soft /ts/ sound.

06/20/2025

Another published author by L Talbott Editorial! Val Prest wants to share a positive message or two. We need as many as we can get!

06/19/2025

Another happy published author from L Talbott Editorial

03/25/2025

The Atlantic Magazine, the source that reported the recent and dangerous open discussion of war by Drunk Pete and Herr Miller, was founded by none other than the likes of Francis Underwood, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Greenleaf Whittier. These were all great Americans, and if you don't know who any of them were then that is truly a pity...especially if you're a writer. Please subscribe to The Atlantic if you can, and show your support for the great American traditions of mighty pens and journalistic integrity. And, you will be exposed to fine, truth-based reading as well.

03/10/2025

When you hear the phrase “mum’s the word,” you might assume a British person is talking about their dear old mother. But the expression has nothing to do with anyone’s parents. Instead, it means to stay silent, and it’s usually used in reference to keeping a secret.

The word “mum” comes from the Middle English “mommen” — a verb meaning “to speak softly or remain silent” — which was coined circa 1400. By the late 15th century, the word “mom” (sometimes spelled “mum”) came to mean “an inarticulate closed-mouth sound,” according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. This sound showcased an inability or unwillingness to speak openly and freely.

During the 16th century, people began to say “mum is counsel,” with “counsel” meaning “advice.” This phrase meant it was in someone’s best interest to keep their mouth shut. The Oxford English Dictionary cites several examples of this phrase throughout the 16th century. In the late 17th century, the words “is counsel” were swapped out for “the word,” and so “mum’s the word” became the most common wording thereafter.

The word “mum” by itself became particularly popular thanks to William Shakespeare’s 1591 play Henry VI, Part 2. During an Act 1 monologue, the character Sir John Hume says, “Seal your lips, and give no words but ‘mum’” — essentially duplicating the meaning of “mum’s the word.” Given Shakespeare’s popularity, it’s fair to say that his use of the term helped make it, and the relation to silence, more common in society’s collective vernacular.