A silent letter in an alphabetic writing system is a letter that in a word does not match to any sound in the word’s pronunciation.
A silent letter—a term used informally in English pronunciation—is a letter or letter combination of the alphabet that is frequently not uttered in a word. The b in subtle, the c in scissors, the g in design, the t in listen, and the gh in thinking are all examples.
Silent letters can be found in a lot of words. “Roughly 60% of words in English have a silent letter in them,” according to Ursula Dubosarsky, author of The Word Snoop (Dubosarsky 2008). Continue reading to learn about the many sorts of silent letters and how they effect pronunciation and language development in English.
Silent Letters Come in a Variety of Forms
A Survey of English Spelling author Edward Carney divides silent letters into two categories: auxiliary and dummy. He divides the two groupings into the following categories.
Auxiliary Letters
Auxiliary letters are part of a set of letters that spell a sound that isn’t represented by a single letter. As an example,
There’s /th/ thing /th/ there /sh/ share /zh/ treasure /ng/ song.” “
Dummy Letters
“There are two types of dummy letters: inactive letters and empty letters.
Inert letters are letters that are sometimes heard and sometimes not heard in a word segment. As an example,
resignation (g is not heard)
withdrawal (g is heard)
heinous (g is not heard)
(There is a g heard).”
“Like auxiliary letters and inactive letters, empty letters have no purpose. The letter u in the word gauge, for example, is blank. Silent consonants can be found in the following words:
d: bridge, ledge, edge c: indict ch: yacht
g: sign, design, assign, foreign
h: spaghetti, rhinoceros
knuckle, knee, knit, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob, knob
m: mnemonic n: autumn, column l: calf, talk, could, should, would m: mnemonic
p: raspberry, receipt
t: castle, whistle
w: “answer,” “wrap,” “wring,” “wring,” “wring,” “wring,” “wring,” “wring,” “wring,” “wring,” “w (Carney 1994).
Silent letters are more difficult to predict than empty letters in new words. “There are no standards that we can apply to words with empty letters[;] you just have to use them and remember their spelling,” Strausser and Paniza, authors of Painless English for Speakers of Other Languages, say. (Strausser and Paniza 2007, for example).
In the spelling sequences mb and bt, the letter b is always silent in the word-final position: comb, numb, bomb, limb, debt…
In the spelling sequence dj: adjective, adjunct, neighboring…, the letter d is always silent.
In the spelling sequence gm or gn, the letter g is silent: phlegm, gnarl, champagne, sign, gnat, gnaw…
In the spelling sequence gh and in the word-final position: ghost, ghetto, aghast, ghastly, ah, eh, oh… h is silent in the spelling sequence gh and in the word-final position: ghost, ghetto, aghast, ghastly, ah, eh, oh…
In the word-initial spelling sequence kn, the letter k is always silent: kneel, knee, knob, knight, knave, knowledge, knife, knock,” (Sadanand and colleagues, 2004).
Why Do We Use Silent Letters in English?
You might believe that silent letters aren’t essential because they aren’t pronounced, yet they make a huge difference in the meaning of words, and they even have the ability to change their pronunciation!
When Did Silent Letters Become Popular?
If you look back at the history of the language, you’ll notice that around 90% of it was phonemic (this means that the words sounded the same as they looked). Silent letters were rare at the time, although this began to change about the 15th century.
To make English appear more Latin or French, several words from other languages were imported.
This created issues because the new words did not follow the same grammatical standards as English! That’s why, despite the fact that the spelling for those woes has already been corrected, some letters became silent.
What Is the Purpose of Silent Letters?
Because the Latin alphabet was adopted into the English language, only 26 letters are used to express around 41 different significant sounds. As a result, an attempt was made to use letter combinations to represent sounds, ensuring that all of the major sounds in English were covered.
Silent letters are fascinating because they allow you to observe the history of each word as it is spelled and track its origins!
What are the English Rules for Silent Letters?
Don’t worry, there’s a (kind of)’solution’….there are certain rules that describe which letters are intended to remain silent before and after particular letters (the only’minor’ issue is that, like all English regulations, there are typically some exceptions!).
It will become easier to recall which letters are silent in some terms and which words they are supposed to be pronounced once you start practising these rules and using any new vocabulary you acquire.
Even if you think so, silent letters aren’t there to perplex you! Identifying and comprehending them will probably strengthen your spelling, speaking, and writing abilities, as well as your self-assurance!
Silent Letters and Their Uses
When readers must discriminate between homophones, they can be useful (these are words that have the same sound, but different definitions and different spelling). Homophones include words that are similar but not identical.
know/no, knot/not, their/there/they’re, band, prohibited, and to/too/two are some of the words that come to mind.
Even though they are quiet, silent letters can alter the pronunciation of words! As an example,
rat/rate, sin/sign, grim/grime, cop/cope
Knowing where they are and when they are used is therefore highly useful, as it will aid you in deciphering the meaning of the term!
When pronounced alone, the letter ‘H’ should sound like ‘aitch,’ however when used at the beginning of most words beginning with H, it retains its pronounced sound (e.g. hotel, house, ham).
However, it is generally absent in words with a French origin, such as
Honesty, heir, and honour are all words that come to mind when I think of the word hour.
If you’re interested in etymology (word origins), you’ll find learning silent letters intriguing because they contain so much information about the history of words!
Silent G Words
gnat /næt/ n. a very small flying insect
gnome /noʊm/ n. a fictional being like a dwarf
gnash /næʃ/ v. to grind the teeth together
sign /saɪn/ n. a symbol
foreign /ˈfɑrən/ adj. from a different place
campaign /kæmˈpeɪn/ n. a series of actions for one goal
align /əˈlaɪn / v. to put in a line
Silent G words in Sentences
gnome We hide a spare key under the garden gnome.
gnat - A gnat is a small biting insect.
gnu - The gnu is an African antelope.
gnash - Did you hear the dog gnash his teeth?
gnarled - The trunk of the old tree was gnarled.
sign - The sign showed which way to go.
design - We are looking for someone to design our logo.
resign - His decision to resign from the position was regrettable.
align - I hope the stars will align for us.
assign - We need to assign roles to each employee.
benign - A malign tumour is malignant; a benign one is not malignant.
malign - A malign tumour is malignant; a benign one is not malignant.
deign - Will the boss deign to attend our party?
reign - We lived under a reign of terror.
foreign - We love foreign travel.
sovereign - A reigning king or queen is a sovereign.
campaign - Will you support my campaign for better food?
consignment - A consignment of goods was sent from the factory.
