{"id":8091,"date":"2021-06-10T09:25:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T13:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=8091"},"modified":"2021-06-10T09:25:54","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T13:25:54","slug":"silent-letters-in-english-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/silent-letters-in-english-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Letters in English"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_8092\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8092\" class=\"wp-image-8092 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-1024x622.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-1024x622.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-350x212.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-768x466.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-8092\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/@olly?utm_content=attributionCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=pexels\"><strong>Andrea Piacquadio<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/man-in-red-polo-shirt-sitting-near-chalkboard-3779448\/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=pexels\"><strong>Pexels<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ask anyone what makes learning English so difficult, and many will tell you it\u2019s because the words are very hard to spell. Many English words don\u2019t sound anything at all like the way they are pronounced, mainly because English has so many silent letters. There are also many words with combined double consonants, such as co<strong>mm<\/strong>ode, or le<strong>tt<\/strong>er. In a way, that second letter is silent. Previously, we discussed the silent E and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/silent-letters-in-english-a-history\/\">the history of silent letters in English.<\/a> Now it\u2019s time to look at some of the most difficult words in the language to spell and how to pronounce them.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s begin with some words with silent letters at <u>the very beginning<\/u> of the word. There are quite a few, but these are among the most common.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aisle \u2013 I-\u0259l. A passage where people walk, especially between seats.<\/li>\n<li>Gnarly \u2013 N\u00e4rl\u0113. Twisted out of shape or ugly.<\/li>\n<li>Heir \u2013 Air. A person who will inherit something.<\/li>\n<li>Honest \u2013 On-est. Truthful.<\/li>\n<li>Knife \u2013 Nahyf. A tool or instrument for cutting<\/li>\n<li>Knob \u2013 Nawb. A handle on a door or drawer used for opening.<\/li>\n<li>Psychology &#8211; S\u012b\u02c8k\u00e4l\u0259j\u0113. The science of human behavior.<\/li>\n<li>Wrap \u2013 Rap. To cover something, usually with paper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The letter <strong>B<\/strong> is usually silent when following an <strong>M<\/strong>, but that\u2019s not the only time it\u2019s silent.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bomb \u2013 Bom. An explosive.<\/li>\n<li>Debt \u2013 Det. Something that is owed, or has come due.<\/li>\n<li>Comb \u2013 K\u014dm. Used to arrange and style hair.<\/li>\n<li>Lamb \u2013 Lam. An adorable animal, often paired with mint jelly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are many words with a silent <strong>C<\/strong>, especially if preceded by an <strong>S<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ascend &#8211; \u0259\u02c8send. To go up something.<\/li>\n<li>Fascinate &#8211; Fas\u0259\u02ccn\u0101t. To draw the attention and interest of someone or something.<\/li>\n<li>Muscle \u2013 Muh s\u0259l. Physical strength and power.<\/li>\n<li>Obscene &#8211; \u0259b\u02c8s\u0113n. Offensive on moral principles to a majority.<\/li>\n<li>Scent \u2013 Sent. Fragrance or odor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As with B, if you see the letter <strong>N<\/strong> following an <strong>M<\/strong>, it\u2019s going to be silent.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Column &#8211; K\u00e4l\u0259m. A pillar.<\/li>\n<li>Damn \u2013 Dam. A curse word. It is said multiple times before the song \u201cI\u2019ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face\u201d in <em>My Fair Lady<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Solemn &#8211; S\u00e4l\u0259m. Formal and dignified.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The silent <strong>G<\/strong> is both maddening and common.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Assignment &#8211; \u0259\u02c8s\u012bnm\u0259nt. A task or job that was given to someone.<\/li>\n<li>Light \u2013 LYT. It\u2019s probably the first English word you misspelled.<\/li>\n<li>Foreign &#8211; F\u00f4r\u0259n. Something about a country or language not your own.<\/li>\n<li>Paradigm &#8211; Per\u0259\u02ccd\u012bm. A pattern of something, typical of something.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The silent <strong>T<\/strong> fools most English learners, especially when preceded by an <strong>S<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bristle &#8211; Bris\u0259l. A stiff, thin hair, such as on a brush.<\/li>\n<li>Hustle &#8211; Hus\u0259l. To hurry or push forcefully.<\/li>\n<li>Listen &#8211; Lis(\u0259)n. To hear something (but not a silent letter).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What silent letter is the most difficult for you to deal with? Please let me know in the Comment box below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"212\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-350x212.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-350x212.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-1024x622.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2-768x466.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/31\/2021\/06\/Silent-Letters-2.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Ask anyone what makes learning English so difficult, and many will tell you it\u2019s because the words are very hard to spell. Many English words don\u2019t sound anything at all like the way they are pronounced, mainly because English has so many silent letters. There are also many words with combined double consonants, such as&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/silent-letters-in-english-2\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":8092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[135139],"tags":[930,298611,146],"class_list":["post-8091","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-language","tag-english","tag-silent-letters","tag-spelling"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8091"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8093,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8091\/revisions\/8093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}