I am much confused to use whether 'Lac' or 'Lakh', So which word is correct to use? (In terms of money)
asked Mar 12, 2015 at 8:59
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2I added a tag 'Indian English' to keep this question in a proper category.– Maulik VCommented Mar 12, 2015 at 10:09
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2 Answers
I understand your confusion.
At least in India, both are in practice. However, if you typically go by its Hindi origin 'लाख', the spelling 'Lakh' is proper.
It's worth noting that OALD has an entry for 'Lakh' and not 'Lac'.
[Personally, I prefer/practice 'Lakh'].
answered Mar 12, 2015 at 10:08
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Is the "h" pronounced in any way? What words does it rhyme with?– JasperCommented Mar 12, 2015 at 23:04
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1As someone who has had very limited exposure to Indian English, but is familiar with the word, lakh is the only version I've ever seen, too. I only know lac as either an Alpine glacial lake or something you use in making varnish (as in shellac). @Jasper Hindi distinguishes aspirated and unaspirated consonants, and lakh has an aspirated k (like an initial k in English). If you exaggerate the k, it rhymes with a non-rhotic pronunciation of park, more or less. Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 0:03
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no, @Jasper you literally pronounce it as in Burj Khalifa (kh). And I'm afraid, there's no 'kh' word in English.– Maulik VCommented Mar 13, 2015 at 4:37
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1@MaulikV When initial in a stressed syllable, regular /k/ is quite heavily aspirated in (non-Indian) English, sounding like [kh]. So the /kh/ in lakh in Hindi is basically pronounced the same as the /k/ (spelt as |kh|) in khaki in English. But the second /k/ in khaki (spelt as |k|) is pronounced differently, like a regular /k/ in Hindi. Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 22:39
Though both spellings are in use, Lac also means a resinous material.Preferably we should spell it as Lakh which has no other meaning.
