On December 20th Jewish people from around the world will begin their Hanuukah celebrations. Children learning about the traditions of this oft celebrated holiday will surely be happy to nosh into the yummy Latkes. They will also learn about the Menorah, as well what the festival of lights is all about. A popular question that will likely arise between many is why are there so many spellings of Hanuukah? Great question, but not that difficult to answer.
The word Hanuukah comes from the Hebrew language. There are over 15 ways to spell the word. The meaning is the same, but the spelling and how the word sounds varies. When an English speaking person looks at the word they will sound out the letters. For example if the word starts with H, it will sound like Hawn Ah KAH. Others that see the word spelt with a CH will sound out the word as though they were saying Ch sound. Either way the spelling of the word starts with H, CH or even X in some history books. Depending on when and where the translation occurred, the ending of the word sounds out as an A, or AH. Middle variation is that of NN and KK, some just with single letters.
The Hebrew language does not have vowels as such, so when the translation to the English language occurs they addition of various consonants as well vowels were interpreted some solo, some matched.
However you spell it, kids love Hanukkah!
So hopefully this little article provides you with the answer to your question of why are there so many spellings of Hanuukah. Or did you mean Chanukka, or was it Hanukkah, some maybe think it was Hannukah, Hanuka, Channuka, Hannukkah, Chanuqua would also be correct.
For Jewish people one thing is for certain. There is only one way to spell Hanukkah in the Hebrew language so teaching this aspect to their children is quite easy. For those that are raising their children in this day and age the English version that is most popular is Hanukkah. I suppose it would make sense to have one universal spelling. So hopefully this helps explain why there are so many spellings of the word Hanukkah.
