In most (or many) words that start with the letters "que", there's generally a Kw sound, such as in "question", "queen" or "quest". However, with the word "queue", it's more of a "Ky" sound. Is there any reason for this exception, or is it arbitrary? Are there any other words that also have this "ky" sound, while starting with "que"?
- Anybody can ask a question
- Anybody can answer
- The best answers are voted up and rise to the top
Many borrowings from French often have "qu" denoting /k/ rather than /kw/: quiche, maquette, then ending -esque. However it is true that older borrowings usually have /kw/.
I believe that what is going on here is that the vowel is a rising diphthong /ju/ (like you), and the sequence /kwju/ (qu-you) was unstable nd became reduced. But I have not looked for firm evidence of this.