Yogurt - Etymology and Spelling

Etymology and Spelling

The word is derived from Turkish: yoğurt, and is related to the obsolete verb yoğmak "to be curdled or coagulated; to thicken". The letter ğ was traditionally rendered as "gh" in transliterations of Turkish prior to 1928. In older Turkish, the letter denoted a voiced velar fricative /ɣ/, but this sound is elided between back vowels in modern Turkish, in which the word is pronounced .

In English, there are several variations of the spelling of the word, including yogurt, yoghurt, yoghourt, yogourt, yaghourt, yahourth, yoghurd, joghourt, and jogourt. In the United Kingdom and Australia, yogurt and yoghurt are both current, yoghurt being more common while yogurt is used by the Australian and British dairy councils, and yoghourt is an uncommon alternative. In the United States, yogurt is the usual spelling and yoghurt a minor variant. In New Zealand, yoghurt is preferred by the New Zealand Oxford Dictionary. In Canada, yogurt is most common among English speakers, but many brands use yogourt, since it is an acceptable spelling in both English and French, the official languages of Canada.

Whatever the spelling, the word is usually pronounced with a short o (/ˈjɒɡət/) in the UK, with a long o (/ˈjoʊɡərt/) in North America, Australia, Ireland and South Africa, and with either a long or short o in New Zealand.