Do you spell Hanukkah, Chanukkah? Or do you spell Chanukah, Hannukah?
When I looked up "Hanukkah" in the dictionary, Hanukah and Chanukah are listed as alternate spellings. Google searches have the most hits for Hanukkah but other spellings still get thousands of results. The reason there's so many spellings is because there's no exact English translation of the Hebrew word. There may never be a definitive answer. So lets take a vote.
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Here's my opinion on the CH vs. H for starting the word: Hebrew speaking people would use the guttaral sound "ch" when saying the holiday's name. (As in clearing your throat of a hairball kind of
sound.) Most Americans, who do not use the guttural sounds found in Hebrew, would simply make it an "H" sound. So I think it is a Hebrew vs. English pronunciation. As for the extra "k"s and what not. That is just a mystery to me!
Hanukah. But I was never known as a spelling champ.
What do you mean, there's no English "translation" of Hanukah? It's a proper noun. Should there be a Hebrew "translation" of Coca-Cola?
should there be a hebrew "translation of coca-cola?
Sure, why not?
http://www.terragalleria.com/middle-east/israel/jerusalem/picture.isra10299.html