<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article contains IPA phonetic symbols . Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters . For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help: IPA . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article contains IPA phonetic symbols . Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters . For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help: IPA . </Td> </Tr> <P> In the Latin - based orthographies of many European languages (including English), a distinction between hard and soft ⟨ c ⟩ occurs in which ⟨ c ⟩ represents two distinct phonemes . The sound of a hard ⟨ c ⟩ (which often precedes the non-front vowels ⟨ a ⟩, ⟨ o ⟩ and ⟨ u ⟩) is that of the voiceless velar stop, (k) (as in car) while the sound of a soft ⟨ c ⟩ (typically before ⟨ e ⟩, ⟨ i ⟩ and ⟨ y ⟩), depending on language, may be a fricative or affricate . In English, the sound of soft ⟨ c ⟩ is / s / (as in "citrus"). </P> <P> There was no soft ⟨ c ⟩ in classical Latin, where it was always pronounced as / k / . Modern English pronunciation of early Latin often uses / s / instead, as with Caesar (Latin pronunciation: (kae. sar)) becoming / ˈsiːzər / . </P>

When is a c pronounced as an s