Appendix:English words where C is pronounced exceptionally

The following English words contain the letter "c" pronounced in a way which is an exception to the rule described as Hard and soft C: the soft "c" occurs when the "c" comes before the letters "e", "i" or "y", and the hard "c" occurs elsewhere.

Hard c where soft c expected

 * arc ~ed, ~ing
 * Celt ~ic, ~s (by one pronunciation)
 * Cenozoic (by one pronunciation)
 * Cillian
 * ecce (by one pronunciation)
 * foci (by one pronunciation)
 * loci (by one British pronunciation)
 * pescetarian
 * Quebecer ~s
 * recce ~d, ~ed, ~ing, ~s
 * sceptic (first occurence)
 * soccer
 * supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (second occurrence)
 * synced, syncing
 * cyattie

Also, in any personal name beginning with the patronymic prefix or, the  is always hard, even if the name continues with ,  or. (In, the Mac- is not a patronymic prefix, and the c is soft.)

Soft c where hard c expected

 * acai, ~s. Should be spelled açaí.
 * caecilian, ~s
 * Caelum
 * Caesar, ~ean, ~eans, ~s
 * Caesarea
 * caesium
 * caetera
 * coelacanth (first occurrence), ~s
 * coeliac (first occurrence)
 * corpuscle (second occurrence), ~s
 * crepuscle, ~s
 * facade, ~s. Should be spelled façade.
 * lac (etymology 4), ~s
 * muscle, ~d, ~s, muscl~ ~ier, ~iest, ~ing, ~y. (Silent , actually.)
 * Percabeth (derived from "Percy").
 * septicaemia
 * soc ~s (etymology 1)

In many Latin loanwords, "ae" and "oe" are a single vowel resembling "e", and most such words are pronounced with a "soft" sound. This does not apply to all "cae" or "coe" words; in Caerleon and coefficient, the starting "C" makes the "hard" sound as would be expected.