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SILENT LETTERS
What are silent letters?
Silent letters are letters that don’t correlate with any sound when a particular word is spoken
Silent letters are divided into 2 kinds which are silent vowels and silent consonants
Silent letters help differentiate homophones (words that sound the same but have different spellings)
A silent letter is a letter that isn’t heard when a particular word is pronounced. Let’s have a look at the ‘h’ in chemistry, the ‘k’ in knowledge, and the ‘a’ in bread. Almost every word in the alphabet plays the role of a silent letter in at least one word.
According to Ursula Dubosarky – author of “The Word Snoop”, about 60 % of English words contain silent letters. There are silent consonants as well as silent vowels. They can be found at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Below you will find a few examples of silent letters
THE /ŋ/ SOUND IN ENGLISH
One of the three nasal consonants is the NG. Learn about the correct mouth position through pictures and close-up, slow-motion speech.
/ŋ/ is a nasal sound made in the same position as /k/ and /g/, so the tongue is raised at the back, touching the soft palate, and the noise is released through the nose.
How do you spell this sound?
How do you spell this sound?
Watch the video so you can have an overview about this silent sound.
When the back of the tongue lifts and presses against the soft palate at the back of the mouth to produce the 'ng sound', air is prevented from leaving the vocal tract. The soft palate collapses, allowing air to escape through the nose. Because the sound is voiced, the vocal cords vibrate as they produce it.
Some tips for learners
Some tips for learners
For second language learners of English, /ng/ and /nk/ are not normally difficult to pronounce, but / in isolation is frequently more difficult. Because this only occurs in a few English accents, two of which are General British and Received Pronunciation, it is only relevant if one of these accents is the target. To master /ng / in isolation, try repeating it like this: / ng/, then making some 'ing' endings, making sure your tongue makes contact at the back of your mouth on the soft palate each time.
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