Why the C in acai is different: The Cedilla Explained
                                
                                
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                                    4 min read                                
                            
                                According to linguists, the confusion surrounding acai's pronunciation is a classic example of applying English phonetic rules to a foreign word. The distinctive sound of the 'c' in acai is not an anomaly but the result of a diacritical mark called a cedilla, which profoundly changes how the letter is spoken.