When I was writing and publishing "Lieutenant Katia in Afghanistan", there was quite a discussion about my use of "Leftenant" in the story, so I finally corrected it to be what the majority wanted. I am just now watching "Corvette K-225" made in 1943 and they are speaking the word Leftenant. I have no idea if the movie was made in the US, Canada, or the UK.
So there. Tongue sticking out >>> :)
Smartly
Gwen
Comments
Spelling vs. pronunciation
Lieutenant is the correct spelling. (Lef)tenant is the pronunciation used in the UK and current or former Commonwealth countries.
Whichever way it is pronounced, the spelling is the same.
Corvette K-225 is a Canadian
Corvette K-225 is a Canadian production, I believe.
"Leftenant" is the UK pronunciation of Lieutenant, the words are spelled the same.
It was filmed in Canada with
It was filmed in Canada with Canadian ships but the actors were almost all American as was the production company and studio.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
Spelling v pronunciation.
Having been a Lieutenant in various forms and then a Lieutenant Commander I agree on the spelling. However in 23 years i found that the pronunciation in England can be either a fairly soft "left" or lieu dependent on the speaker. I did however in my dealings with the USN note that when speaking they never seemed to use the "Lieu" form but a more emphatic "left".
US Army
The US Army and US Air Force use the "lew" not the "lef" pronunciation. Or did fifty years ago. I was in the Army but stationed mostly on Air Force bases.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
As far as I know, being
As far as I know, being Retired AF; is that British military and some of their Commonwealth countries use the Leftenant pronunciation.
The US has pretty much always used Lieutenant.
There was a short period of time(Colonial and just after) when we also used the title "Ensign" in the US ARMY to designate what is now a 2nd Lieutenant.
By the way, in case it comes up in one of your stories someday.
The American 2nd Lieutenant grade DID NOT have a bar until 1917 when they were given the gold colored one (called "butter bar").
Lieutenants
When I was a lieutenant back in the mists of time the British armed forces had quite separate pronunciations of the same word. In the Army and the Royal Air Force it was ‘leftenant’. To us in the Royal Navy it was not so. The first vowel sound was elided so that it almost didn’t exist. I don’t know how to write that without phonetic symbols. My best try would be ‘L’tenant’
As a young officer I was, for a few days only, an observer on an American destroyer, part of their Pacific Fleet. Their pronunciation seemed to me to be more like ‘loootenant’. As pointed out above it was always spelled Lieutenant.
Digressing somewhat, I have always been fascinated by the way our language uses the same word for entirely different things. ‘Fast’, for instance, means either ‘moving very quickly’ or ‘not moving at all’ (as in ‘stuck fast’)! I am sure there are lots of other examples.
My favourite example of spelling and pronunciation differences is ‘ghoti’ which, of course is pronounced as ‘fish’.
A Girl From Nova Scotia
After finishing the movie, I looked it up on IMBD, which explained it all.
Actually, the young woman in the movie used "Lef", while everyone else seemed to use "Leu".
I was a US Army MP from 66-69, and never heard the "Lef". The only time I heard Ensign was for Navy folk newly out of West Point, Um, I think.
Gwen
Lef or Lew/Leu
I was watching a WW2 period film the other day. The US Navy seemed to go overboard with the "U" being very hard. Almost LEWtennant or LEUWtennant.
As it started with the main characters at West Point where the rules are, if it moves Salute it and emphasise the rank, if it does not move, paint it the exageration seemed warranted.
Ummm Gwen....
The long gray line out of West Point is for the US Army. Navy Ensigns are hatched at US Naval Academy in Annapolis. :-)
Gwen, One of my favorite
Gwen, One of my favorite unknown movies! It's leftenant. That movie was made in Canada.
Karen
Earlier Corvettes
One book I read about the North Atlantic war had the earliest Corvettes with an open wheel. I can not imagine that.
It was not joke. . They weren
It was not joke. . They weren't meant for ship to ship fighting and the Germans lacked aircraft carriers and with the addition of anti-aircraft guns on the cargo ships the few aircraft that could strike at them would be in trouble. They were meant for convoy duty and coastal patrols and did them well enough to be fondly remembered by those who sailed alongside them.
I am not an expert but I have always had a soft spot for these spunky little ships.
I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime
Corvettes, WWII
I have not seen the movie, however the Corvette used the most by the Royal Navy (and Canadian) was the Flower-class Corvette. The Flower's had an open bridge which tended to suck for North Atlantic winter convoys. The Wheel House was under the Bridge and the Bridge crew often vacated the Bridge for the Wheel House in bad weather. The primary armament for the Flowers was a four inch gun on the forcastle, a two pounder pom-pom above the Quarterdeck and a 20mm Oerlikon abaft the funnel. Some also got re-fitted for twin Oerlikon's on either beam. For anti-sub warfare they have 2 depthcharge racks at the stern. Flowers are not very elegant and were fairly slow compared to Frigates, Destroyer-escorts and Destroyers. However, they had good endurance. A typical crew consisted of the Commanding Officer, First Lt and 2 Subbies and about 80 enlisted.