silent letters (1)
There are many letters in English that are NOT pronounced. Today we will look at some of them - remember they can create problems when you speak - but also when you are listening!
Silent b
The letter b is not pronounced at the end of the word when it follows an m.
e.g.
/lam/ - lamb
/bɒm/ - bomb
/dʌm/ - dumb
The letter b is not pronounced before the t in the following words:
/det/ - debt
/daʊt/ - doubt
Silent c
The letter c is often silent when it follows the letter s
e.g.
/sʌɪənˈtɪfɪk/ - scientific
/siːn/ - scene
/ˈmʌsl/ - muscle
Silent d
The letter d is not pronounced in these common words
/ˈhaŋkətʃɪf/ - handkerchief
/ˈwenzdeɪ/ - Wednesday
/ˈɡransʌn/ - grandson
Silent e
The letter e is usually at the end of a word, but it changes the sound of the vowel that precedes it, which becomes long
e.g.
fat - / fat/ fate - /feɪt/
bit - /bɪt/ bite - /bʌɪt/
dot - /dɒt/ dote - /dəʊt/
it is pronounced when there is a double e, as in
/biː/ - bee
/ɪmˈplɔɪiː/ - employee
/friː/ - free
and of course in the verb to be
People's names can sometimes be very confusing if they contain a silent letter, as in this scene