silent letters

You are viewing an old revision edited by Tom Shull on Thursday, May 15, 2014, 9:29 a.m. Read the current version edited by Tom Shull on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, 12:23 p.m. .

Silent letters occur in spelling but are not pronounced (and are therefore not cued). Words with silent letters can be useful examples for demonstrating the sometimes inconsistent relationship between English spelling and its pronunciation. These words can also be valuable for introductory lessons to remind students to think beyond spelling when cueing words.

Examples

b

bomb, bombingclimbcombcrumbdebtdoubtdumblamblimb, numbplumbersubtlethumbtomb.

c

fluorescentindict, musclescentsciencescissors.

ch

yacht 

d

handkerchief

g

campaign, champagne, feign, foreign, gnash, gnaw, reign, resign, sign

gh

daughter, fightlightmightrightsightthoughthoughtthroughweigh, weight.

h

exhaust, honest, ghost, heir, herb, dishonest, honor, hour, rhythm, rhyme

i

business, cushion, fashion

k

knead, knee, kneel, knewknife, knight, knock, knot, know, knowledge

l

almond, balm, calf, calm, colonel, could, embalm, folk, half, Lincoln, psalm, salmon, salve, should, solder, talk, walk, would, yolk

m

mnemonic

n

autumn, column, {[condemn|kəndɛˈm|condemn}}, damn, solemn

p

corps, coup, cupboard, psalm, pterodactyl, psychiatry, psychology, raspberry, receipt

s

apropos, bourgeois, chablis, corps, debris, Illinois, island, isle, rendez-vous

t

ballet, buffet, castle, Christmas, nestle, rustle, thistle

w

answer, sword, two, who, whose, whole, wreath, wrench, wrestle, wriggle, wrist, write, wrong

x

faux

z

rendez-vous