Are we celebrating Hanukkah or Chanukah this week? Neither the English language nor American Jews would seem to have decided which way to spell the word. One sees it in both its H- and Ch-forms, and while it’s my impression that the former is steadily gaining, the contest shows no sign of ending soon.
The problem lies in the English transliteration of the first letter of the Hebrew word חנוכה. The name of this letter is usually spelled het in English—unless it’s spelled chet—although sometimes it’s ḥet—except if the Hebrew in question is that of Ashkenazi (Central and East European) Jewry, when it’s often khes. And the sound the letter stands for has been a subject of contention, too.
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