What’s the Deal with Silent Letters?
Since English is NOT a phonetic language, pronunciation in English can be very difficult for learners. Silent letters can be a tricky one since we might not know which letters are silent. This can make you get nervous and not want to speak English.
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Why Do Silent Letters Exist?
Think of them as linguistic fossils—left over from language evolution. The English language has changed a lot overtime. Silent letters tell tales of ancient pronunciations, borrowed words, and historical evolution. For example the ‘K’ in knight or knife were originally pronounced but over time the K sound was lost and just the N is pronounced.
SOME EXAMPLES WITH AUDIO!
TAKE A LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING SILENT LETTERS LISTEN TO THE AUDIO AND PRACTISE REPEATING THE SOUNDS
Silent B – B is not pronounced when following M at the end of a word.
| Word | Phonetic Script | Examples |
| Climb | klaɪm | He climbed the mountain |
| crumb | krʌm | There were bread crumbs all over the table. |
| dumb | dʌm | That guy is dumb. |
| comb | kəʊm | I need to comb my hair. |
Silent D – D is not pronounced in the following common words:
| WORD | Phonetic Script | Examples |
| Handkerchief | ˈhæŋkəʧiːf | My grandfather is old school and uses a handkerchief to blow his nose. |
| sandwich | ˈsænwɪʤ | Let’s pick up some sandwiches for the trip. |
| Wednesday | ˈwɛnzdeɪ | I have English class on Wednesday |
Silent K – K is not pronounced when followed by N at the beginning of a word.
| Word | Phonetic Script | Examples |
| Knife | naɪf | Be careful using that knife. It’s sharp. |
| knee | niː | I hurt my knee playing basketball |
| know | nəʊ | I don’t know him but I know his brother. |
Silent L – L is often not pronounced before L, D, F, M, K.
| Word | Phonetic Script | Examples |
| Calm | kɑːm | Stay calm. |
| Half | hɑːf | He only ate half his sandwich. He wasn’t very hungry |
| Salmon | ˈsæmən | I’ll have the grilled salmon please. |
| Talk | tɔːk | I would like to talk with the manager. |
| Would | wʊd | Would you like to go now? |
| Should | ʃʊd | Should I call a taxi? |
Silent S – S is not pronounced before L in the word ISLAND:
| Word | Phonetic Script | Examples |
| Island | ˈaɪlənd | I would like to be on an island in the sun. |
Silent T – T is not pronounced in these common words:
| Word | Phonetic Script | Examples |
| Castle | ˈkɑːsᵊl | We visited many castles on our trip to Scotland |
| listen | ˈlɪsᵊn | Listen to me |
| whistle | ˈwɪsᵊl | Whistle while you work.🎵 |
