Why is the British pronunciation of lieutenant "leftenant"? And on a side note, is there a "rightenent?"
by 
Nelson - Jetpacking from bed
ANSWERS: 6
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This is just a guess, but the word has its origins in French. From the Middle Ages France and Britain were frequent enemies and so I think the word was deliberately corrupted to make it sound less French. On a side note I ignored the second part of the question.;-)
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Just one point, as the royal navy was establisted before the US Navy, you might want to ask why the yanks pronunce it incorrectly! Love the yanks!
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1. Straightforward British contrariness. The US pronunciation is more faithful to the French original. 2. You give up all rights when you join the military.
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In the military the position of honor is always to the right. The commander, either the Captain for a Company or a Colonel for the Regiment was positioned to the right with his Lieutenant (for a Captain) or a Lieutenant Colonel (for the Colonel) to the left. Lieu = to the left = a place holder.
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Have you ever thought it's called speaking "English" so the British must be right as the language originated there in the first place.
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Stumbled on this thread when looking into a place called Leucadia. The "lieu"-tenant vs "left"-tenant thing has always troubled me as well. This sheds light on nothing and at most adds a little murky eddy, but Leucadia can refer to a Greek island known as Lefcada. Where's the French influence there? Btw the reason lieutenants and other trusted subordinates found themselves to the left of their commanders was because as most men wielded their swords with the right hand, the left was most vulnerable.
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