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Pronunciation and Spelling:
Silent Consonant-Letters

This website uses symbols to transcribe phonemes (sounds). For an explanation of what these symbols represent, click here: vowels, consonants. The following special symbols are used:
ə Λ ā ē ī ō ū ű œ θ δ š ž č ĵ ŋ
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Note: an apostrophe ' is placed before the accented vowel.

Silent b (in -mb)

If a word ends with mb, the b is silent: lamb /l'am/, comb /k'ōm/, limb /l'im/. If endings are attached to these roots, the b remains silent: lambing /l'amiŋ/, combing /k'ōmiŋ/, combed /k'ōmd/, limbed /l'imd/.

The archaic word coombe /k'ūm/ meaning 'valley' has silent b. This occurs in some place-names such as Coombe Bisset /k'ūm b'isit/ and Ilfracombe /'ilfrəkəm/.

-cester in place names

Many English place names end in -cester or -chester (Old English cæster 'city' from Latin castra 'fort' or castra 'army camp'). Chester with ch is pronounced as its spelling indicates, /č'estər/: Manchester /m'ančestər/, Dorchester /d'orčestər/, Rochester /r'očestər/, Chester /č'estər/.

But -cester with c not ch at the end of place names is usually pronounced /stər/: Leicester /l'estər/, Bicester /b'istər/, Rocester /r'ōstər/. An exception is Cirencester /s'airənsestər/.

Silent g

Silent g usually derives from Romance languages (French, Italian, etc.) with spellings in gn, representing a palatal nasal [ñ], usually from Latin gn, ni or ng.

Sign /s'ain/ from Old French signe from Latin signum (Latin verb signare). So signs /s'ainz/, signed /s'aind/, signing /s'ainiŋ/, signpost /s'ainpōst/. But signal /s'ignəl/ (late Latin signalis), signature /s'ignəčər/ (Latin signare).
Reign /r'ēn/ from Old French reigne from Latin regnare. So reigns /r'ēnz/, reigned /r'ēnd/, reigning /r'ēniŋ/. But regnal /r'egnəl/ (mediaeval Latin regnalis).
Impugn /imp'űn/ from Latin impugnare, from pugnare 'fight'. So impugns /imp'űnz/, impugned /imp'űnd/, impugning /imp'űniŋ/. But pugnacious /pΛgn'ēšəs/ from Latin pugnax from pugnare.
Feign /f'ēn/ from Old French feign- from Latin fingere. So feigns /f'ēnz/, feigned /f'ēnd/, feigning /f'ēniŋ/.
Cologne /kəl'ōn/ from Latin colonia.
Align /əl'ain/ from Old French aligner from Latin ad lineam 'in a line'. So aligns /əl'ainz/, aligned /əl'aind/, aligning /əl'ainiŋ/, alignment /əl'ainmənt/.

The archaic word thegn /θ'ēn/ (also spelt thane or thain) is from Old English thegn. Its origin is as silent gh below.

Silent gh

Old English had a sound probably pronounced something like [x] (as the ch of German). It was spelt h or g. This sound disappeared many centuries ago, but words in which it once occured are still spelt with gh.

In many words, gh marks a long vowel:

Old English niht > Present Day English night /n'ait/. (In some Scottish dialects this is still pronounced /nixt/.)
Old English thurh > Present Day English through /θr'ū/ (same origin as thorough).

Old English combinations g/h after l or r often became /ō/ (or reduced to /ə/), spelt ough or ow:
Old English burh 'town' > Present Day English borough /b'Λrə/. This occurs at the end of many place-names, as Peterborough, often spelt burgh, as Edinburgh.
Old English thurh > Present Day English thorough /θ'Λrə/ (same origin as through).

Sometimes the consonant changed to /f/:
Old English ruh > Present Day English rough /r'Λf/.
Old English hlahhian > Present Day English laugh /l'af/ or /l'āf/.

The word haughty /hoatī/ comes from the French haut. Silent gh was added to the English spelling because many other English words containing the sound-sequence /oat/ are spelt with aught.

Some verbs change k, g or ch to silent gh in their past forms: seek /s'īk/ > sought /s'oat/, teach /t'īč/ > taught /t'oat/, bring /br'iŋ/ > brought /br'oat/.

Silent h

Many speakers in England and Australia always 'drop' h (fail to pronounce it). This is considered vulgar. Among speakers who do not do this, silent h occurs initially in a few words of French origin, as honest /'onist/.

In compounds, particularly ones formed many centuries ago, if a later, unstressed element starts with h, this is usually hot pronounced. This is particularly common if the late element is -ham (from Old English hám 'home'), -home or -holm(e): Oldham /ō'ldəm/, Pelham /p'eləm/, Chippenham /č'ipənəm/, Denholm, /d'enəm/.

Silent k (in kn-)

If a word begins with kn, the k is silent: know /n'ō/, knack /nak/, knife /naif/. If anything is added to the start of these words, the k remains silent: unknown /Λnn'ōn/.

Silent l

The letter l has become silent in many words when preceded by a a or o and followed by a consonant. The vowel usually becomes long if in the accented syllable: calm /k'ām/, half /h'āf/, folk /f'ōk/, yolk /j'ōk/, Holme /h'ōm/, Holmes /h'ōmz/, walk /w'oak/, chalk /č'oak/. The vowel is short in salmon /s'amən/, Salmond /s'amənd/, Alnwick /'anik/. The vowel has reduced pronunciation in an unaccented syllable in Malcolm /m'alkəm/, Denholm /d'enəm/. Silent l also occurs in one word with u, the name Hulme /h'űm/.

But other words still have the l pronounced: hold /h'ōld/, mold /m'ōld/, b'ald /boald/.

Silent w (in wr-)

If a word begins with wr, the w is silent: write /r'ait/, wrong /r'oŋ/. If anything is added to the start of these words, the w remains silent: unwritten /Λnr'itən/.

Silent w (in -wick, -wich)

The endings -wick and -wich occur in many place-names. These are often, but not always, pronounced with silent w: Catterwick /k'atərik/, Flitwick /fl'itik/. A particularly difficult place-name is Alnwick /'anik/.

Other silent w

The letter w is silent in two /t'ū/ and sword /s'ord/ but not in sward /sw'ord/.

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