Silent and invisible letters in English: Difference between revisions
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Sient '''A''' is found in: '''hë'''a'''rd lë'''a'''rn Múrr'''a'''y = Mòr'''a'''y nébul'''a'''ê'''; [[British English|BrE]] words ending in -a'''ry''': '''sécond'''a'''ry díction'''a'''ry'''; and all examples from Latin of a'''ê''': '''nébul'''a'''ê''' (in the latter case, the [[American English|American]] spelling omits the 'a') | |||
'''B''': '''thúm'''b''' dúm'''b''' núm'''b''' clîm'''b''' lím'''b''' dé'''b'''t dòu'''b'''t sú'''b'''tle | |||
Revision as of 18:03, 11 July 2009
Silent letters constitute a notorious phenomenon in English: in wréstle, for example, only four out of the seven letters are actually sounded (*résl), and there can be strings of them in place names, exemplified by the trio Léicester, Glóucester, Worcester (*Léster *Glóster *Wùster). (The accents show stress and pronunciation, see English phonemes.)
But redundant letters can serve to distinguish between words that sound the same:
knôw knowledge = nô negative
knót tie = nót negative
wráp parcel = ráp knock, talk
wrîte read = rîght correct = rîte ritual
chéck verify = BrE chéque money
Typical silent letters are b finally after m or before final t (-mb -bt); g or k initially before n (gn-, kn-); gh finally or before final t ( -gh -ght); l after à and before final f or m (-lf -lm); n finally after m (-mn).
List
Sient A is found in: hëard lëarn Múrray = Mòray nébulaê; BrE words ending in -ary: sécondary díctionary; and all examples from Latin of aê: nébulaê (in the latter case, the American spelling omits the 'a')
B: thúmb dúmb númb clîmb límb débt dòubt súbtle