Silent letters

English pronunciation and spelling are notoriously difficult, for native speakers, and especially for second language learners. This is due to the complex history of the language. English began as a form of Anglo-Saxon, or rather, a group of Old Germanic dialects spoken by the original Germanic invaders of England in the fifth century C.E. It was influenced by Dutch and Norse influences, due to invasion and its proximity to those languages. With the Norman conquest of England in 1066, a large infusion of Old French and Latin roots came into English. Each of these languages had its own spelling and pronunciation schemes, but nonetheless these linguistic influences blended into Middle English, and then Modern English. With the transition into modern English came the Great Vowel Shift, whereby the pronunciation of some English vowels underwent drastic changes. With the Modern English period, English became greatly influenced by Latin, modern French, and Greek. Some spelling patterns, for example, in French and Greek, are not pronunceable in English, so the original Greek or French spelling do not reflect modern English pronunciation. Hence, the spelling patterns of English are rather complex, and many so-called silent letters exist. Below is a breakdown of some common patterns, categorized roughly by the language influences.

1 Anglo-Saxon patterns

1.1 Final -e

In the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, the English vowel system underwent drastic changes, known as the Great Vowel Shift. The vowel qualities, or pronunciation, of long vowels in stressed syllables underwent significant changes, so that the letters <a, e, i, o, u> are pronounced as they are in modern English, and quite differently from how these vowels are pronounced in other languages that use the Latin alphabet, such as Spanish, French, German, and others. For example, 'make' was originally pronounced like /makə/, but after the vowel shift, it is pronounced like /meik/. Then the final <e> or /ə/ was deleted from pronunciation, that is, it became silent. It has been retained in the spelling, because it indicates that the main vowel of the word in the stressed syllable is long, e.g., 'cute' = /kyu:t/ versus 'cut' /kət/. This holds true for words from Anglo-Saxon, and more common words from Latin, such as the following table, which shows silent -e with various vowel plus single consonant (VCe) combinations.

Silent final -e (-VCe)

-aCe	-eCe	-iCe	-oCe	-uCe	-yCe
abate cake create date make placate rave stake take	allele compete concede delete eve meme scene serene	cite fire mite recite ripe rite strike	awoke abode broke coke drove rode slope stroke	accute cute lute rebuke	analyze hype pyre rhyme style tyke

1.2 Silent consonants in <gh>, <gn>, and <kn>

Several sound changes occurred in Old and Middle English involving the <g> and <k> in spelling. English used to have a velar fricative sound, the sound /x/ as in German ach or Scottish loch, but this disappeared from English. The spelling was often retained as <g> or <gh>, though the sound either became silent, or occasionally became an /f/ sound as in tough. Occasionally, a <g> was changed to <gh> in the spelling due to Dutch influences, and hence, a silent <h> in <gh> (there is also a silent <h> in some words of French origin, as discussed below).

Initial gh- = /ɡ/	Silent -gh-	Silent final -gh
ghastly ghee gherkin ghetto ghost ghoul	alight alright aright aught beknight besought bethought blight bought bright brought caught delight distraught draught dreadnought drought eight fight flight forethought forthright fortnight fought fraught freight fright handwrought height highlight insight knight light lightweight methought midnight might mistaught misthought naught night nought onslaught ought outright overnight oversight overweighs overweight overweight overwrought playwright plight rebought resight right sight skintight sleight slight sought straight thought tight tonight twilight underweight unfought unsightly untaught upright uptight wainwright watertight weeknight weight welterweight wright wrought yesternight	although aweigh borough bough breakthrough dough furlough hiccough high inveigh neigh nigh outweigh plough sigh sleigh sourdough thigh thorough though through weigh yarborough

The <g> and <k> were also pronounced in combinations like <gn> and <kn>, much like they are pronunced in modern German. However, the initial <g> in <gn> and initial <k> in <kn> was dropped by English speakers, leading to the silent <g> and <k> in <gn> and <kn>.

Silent <g> in initial gn-

Silent <k> in initial kn-

gnarl gnarly gnash gnat gnatcatcher gnathal gnathic gnathion gnathite gnatty gnaw gnawable gneiss gneissoid gnocchi gnome gnomelike gnomic gnosis gnostic gnosticism gnotobiotic gnu

knack knackered knackwurst knap knapsack knapweed knarry knave knavery knead knee kneecap kneed kneehole kneel kneepad kneepan kneesock knell knelt knickerbocker knickers knickknack knife knifepoint knight knighthood knit knitwear knob knobby knock knockabout knockdown knocker knockoff knockout knockwurst knoll knot knotgrass knothole knotted knotweed know knowable knowledge knowledgeable known knuckle knuckleball

1.3 Silent <l>

The <l> in some words from Old English or Middle English became silent, particularly after back vowels, probably because this is easier to pronounce.

Silent l-
balm behalf calf chalk could folk half palm salmon should stalk talk walk would yolk

1.4 Silent <t>

The <t> became silent in some consonant clusters in older words, probably for ease of pronunciation.

Silent <t> in -stl-	Silent <t> in -sten	Silent <t> elsewhere
apostle bristle bustle castle epistle gristle hustle hustler jostle justle nestle pestle rustle rustler thistle trestle whistle wrestle wrestler	chasten christen fasten glisten hasten listen moisten	often

1.5 Silent <w>

The <w> has gone silent in a number of words, particularly in the combination wr- in English. Another unrelated phenomenon is the wh- spelling in English, which used to be a separate phoneme in English, the /​ʍ/, which was a voiceless equivalent of the voiced /w/ sound in wh- words like which, what, where, why.

Silent <w>

awry playwright sword wrack wraith wrangle wrangler wrap wrapper wrath wrathful wreak wreath wreathe wreck wreckage wrecked wrecker wren wrench wrest wrestle wrestled wrestler wretch wretchedness wrick wriggle wriggler wriggly wright wring wrinkle wrinkly wrist wristband wristwatch writ writable write writeoff writer writeup writhe writing written wrong wrongdoer wrongdoing wronged wrongful wrongheaded wrongheadedly wrongly wrote wroth wrothful wrought wrung wry wryly

1.6 Silent letters in compounds

Occasionally, letters in compound words have gone silent, usually for the sake of easier pronunciation. This actually includes the word island, which was an Old English compound (ig island + land), where the /g/ disappeared, and an <s> was inserted to make it similar to the word isle (which is from the Latin word insula).

• cupboard
• handkerchief
• island (ig + <s> + land)
• thumbtack (where the <b> was silent to begin with)
• threshhold -- which is now often spelled threshold

2 French & Latin patterns

A number of words have come into English from French and Latin. This includes Latin/French words from the beggining of the Middle English period, Latin words that have come into English since the Renaissance, and modern French words. Along with this come different spelling patterns, including French spelling influences, and silent letters that were reinserted to retain the full Latin/French word roots. For example, some writers insisted in reinserting silent letters to show that the word contained a morpheme from French or Latin, to show its original pronunciation after a sound became silent, or to show that the word is related to other words. Hence, we have some alternations between words with silent letters and related words where the sound does surface.

• bomb - bombard
• receipt - reception
• debt - debit
• malign - malignant
• damn - damnation
• doubt - Latin dubitare'
• isle - Latin insula

The following are spelling irregularities due to sound changes and reinserted letters.

Silent <b>	Silent <p>	Silent final -gn	Silent final -mb	Silent final -mn
debt doubt	coup receipt	align arraign assign benign campaign champagne cologne consign deign design ensign feign foreign impugn malign realign reign resign sign sovereign	aplomp bomb catacomb climb comb coulomb crumb dumb entoumb honeycomb jamb lamb limb numb plumb succumb thumb tomb womb	autumn column condemn damn hymn solemn

2.1 Silent <c>, <h>, and others

Sound changes rendered the <c> silent in certain cases, particularly in words with -scle (not to be confused with the redundant <c> below). The <h> disappeared in a few French/Latin words, and sometimes in only US or UK English.

Silent <c>	Silent initial h-	Others
crepuscle corpuscle muscle	heir herb (US) history (UK) hour honor honest homage	isle

2.2 Silent <u>

A silent <u> followed by another vowel is common in words of French origin, or words with French influence in the spelling. A few such words are listed below. There are also words where it is semi-functional; for example, in rogue and other words ending in <ue>, it keeps the hard <g> and prevents a soft <g> from occurring; and in words like silhouette, the <u> or <ou> before another vowel becomes a /w/ sound, just as in French.

Silent -u-
baguette biscuit build building built circuit disguise guess guest guide guild guilt guilty guise guitar rogue silhouette

2.3 Redundant <c>

Some websites treat the <c> as silent in some words, where it is really just redundant in combinations of -sc- plus a front vowel, which would make the <c> soft, or sounded like /s/ anyway. Thus, it is more of a redundant <c> than a silent <c>, and it mainly occurs in words from Latin.

Redundant <c>
abscess ascend / ascent conscience conscious crescent descend disciple evanesce fascinate fluorescent obscene resuscitate scenario scene scissors

3 Greek patterns

A number of spelling complexities come from word elements that are borrowed from Greek. Some Greek consonant clusters like ps- were pronounced in Greek, and are pronounced in other languages, but are not pronounced in English. Greek also had a velar fricative sound /x/, which comes into English words as <ch>, but since modern English has no such sound, these words are pronounced as /k/.

Greek <ch> = /k/

anchor archaea archeology architect, architecture archive bronchitis catechism chameleon chaos character, characteristic charisma chemical, chemistry, chemist chlorine choreograph chorus christmas, christian chromium chronological dichotomy echo hierarchy mechanic orchestra orchid parochial psychiatric psychic psychology schedule* scheme schism schizophrenia scholar school sepulchre stomach synchronize tachycardia tech, technology, techie trachea triarchic troche

3.1 Greek <pn>, <ps>, <rh>

In Greek, the /p/ was actually pronounced in consontant clusters like <pn> and <ps>, but in English this is not pronounceable. The sequence <rh> was pronounced as a breathy

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sound, but in English this is simplifed to a regular <r> sound. These occur mostly in scientific, technical, and academic terms.

Greek <ps> = /s/

Greek <pn> = /n/

psalm psalmist psalmody psalter psaltery psephologist psephology pseudepigraph pseudepigrapha pseudo pseudoallele pseudocoel pseudocoelomate pseudocyesis pseudomonad pseudomorphic pseudomorphism pseudomorphous pseudonym pseudoparenchyma pseudopod pseudopodium pseudopregnancy pseudorandom pseudos pseudoscience pseudoscientific pseudoscientist pseudoscorpion pseudosophisticated pseudosophistication pseudotuberculosis psi psilocin psilocybin psilophyte psilophytic psilosis psilotic psis psittacine psittacosis psoae psoas psoatic psocid psoralea psoralen psoriasis psoriatic psych psychasthenia psychasthenic psyche psyched psychedelia psychedelic psychiatric psychiatrist psychiatry psychic psycho psychoacoustic psychoactive psychoanalysis psychoanalyst psychoanalytic psychoanalyze psychobabble psychobiographer psychobiographical psychobiography psychobiologic psychobiologist psychobiology psychochemical psychodrama psychodynamic psychogenesis psychogenetic psychogenic psychograph psychohistorian psychohistorical psychohistory psychokinesis psychokinetic psycholinguist psycholinguistics psychological psychologist psychologize psychology psychometric psychometrician psychometrics psychometry psychomotor psychoneurosis psychoneurotic psychopath psychopathic psychopathics psychopathological psychopathologies psychopathologist psychopathology psychopathy psychopharmacological psychopharmacologist psychopharmacology psychophysical psychophysicist psychophysics psychophysiological psychophysiologist psychophysiology psychosexual psychosis psychosocial psychosomatic psychosurgeon psychosurgery psychosynthesis psychotherapeutic psychotherapist psychotherapy psychotic psychotics psychotomimetics psychotropic psychrometer psychrometric psychrometry psychrophilic psylla psyllid psyllium psywar

pneuma pneumatic pneumaticity pneumatology pneumatolytic pneumatophore pneumococcal pneumococcus pneumoconiosis pneumograph pneumonectomy pneumonia pneumonic pneumonitis pneumothorax

Greek <rh> = <r>

arrhythmia diarrhea eurythmic gonorrhea hemorrhage hemorrhoid lolorrhea myrrh phapsody polyrhythm pyorrhea pyrrhic rhabdomyalisis rhadbovirus rhea rhenium rheology rheometer rheophil rheostat rhetoric rhetorical rheumatic rheumatoid rheumatology rhinal rhinestone rhino rhinocerous rhinologist rhinoplasty rhinoscopy rhinovirus rhiopus rhizobial rhizoid rhizome rhizopod rhizotomy rho rhodic rhodium rhododendron rhodomine rhodonite rhomboid rhombus rhumba rhyme rhythm rhythmic rhytidomes scirrhous seborrhea tachyarrhthmia

3.2 Other Greek patterns

A few other Greek or Greek-influenced patterns exist, where consonant clusters are simplified.

Word	Cluster & pronunciaiton
cnidarian	<cn> = /n/
mnemonic	<mn> = /n/
Cthulu	<cth> = /θ/