Silent Letters in English: How to Read Words
Your pronunciation is the representation of how good you know the language. In English, pronunciation is the basis for advanced language knowledge though even native speakers may have some problems with the correct articulation.
The English language has a rather complicated phonological system that creates multiple problems for those who study it. One letter does not always represent one sound. Sometimes, one letter is involved into a morpheme that creates a sound. And sometimes, one letter is silent. It means that the letter is written, but it is not pronounced: we write hate, but we tell /heɪt/.
Why does English have silent letters?
Changes in pronunciation have occurred due to the different factors. Being a Germanic language, English has overcome several periods that influenced the development of the phonetic system. Great Vowel Shift caused a total change of sound pronunciation, and these changes affected the appearance of silent letters. Of course, historical changes have the biggest influence on the development of the language. However, there are some other factors that also turn the phonetic system of the language into the new one.
Borrowings …show more content…
It means that almost each third word has a French origin. Analyzing the French language, you can notice that almost each word has many letters and a few sounds. Most of the letters create diphthongs, and there are many silent letters as well. There are also many words of Greek origin, and their pronunciation is also affected by Greek phonetic rules. For example, there are many words of Greek origin that start with ‘p’ letter followed by another consonant. In this case, ‘p’ letter is always empty. Increasing your vocabulary, you find more and more words of foreign
Your pronunciation is the representation of how good you know the language. In English, pronunciation is the basis for advanced language knowledge though even native speakers may have some problems with the correct articulation.
The English language has a rather complicated phonological system that creates multiple problems for those who study it. One letter does not always represent one sound. Sometimes, one letter is involved into a morpheme that creates a sound. And sometimes, one letter is silent. It means that the letter is written, but it is not pronounced: we write hate, but we tell /heɪt/.
Why does English have silent letters?
Changes in pronunciation have occurred due to the different factors. Being a Germanic language, English has overcome several periods that influenced the development of the phonetic system. Great Vowel Shift caused a total change of sound pronunciation, and these changes affected the appearance of silent letters. Of course, historical changes have the biggest influence on the development of the language. However, there are some other factors that also turn the phonetic system of the language into the new one.
Borrowings …show more content…
It means that almost each third word has a French origin. Analyzing the French language, you can notice that almost each word has many letters and a few sounds. Most of the letters create diphthongs, and there are many silent letters as well. There are also many words of Greek origin, and their pronunciation is also affected by Greek phonetic rules. For example, there are many words of Greek origin that start with ‘p’ letter followed by another consonant. In this case, ‘p’ letter is always empty. Increasing your vocabulary, you find more and more words of foreign