How much do you (k)now about silent letters? These letters are written in words, plain as day, but are not included in the pronunciation. While they can be tricky to learn, certain patterns can be relied upon, such as the silent “k” before an “n” (as in “knowledge,” “kneel,” and “knife”), or the silent “gh” after “ou” (as in “through” and “thought”).
More uncommon silent letters appear outside of these patterns, but they are typically a result of the word’s etymology — the origin of a word and how it develops over time — which gives us more insight into its definition and history. With a little bit of lexicographical deciphering, some words can tell a story with their silent letters.
Wednesday
Pronunciation: “WENZ-day” with a silent first “d”
Noun: The day of the week before Thursday and following Tuesday.
Almost all American English speakers drop the “d” in “Wednesday." The interesting spelling of this day of the week appeared centuries ago in the Old English term Wodnesdæg (“Woden's day”), an homage to the Anglo-Saxon god Wōden (or the better-known Norse equivalent Odin). Later, the word transformed into “Wednesdei” in Middle English. Some English speakers in other parts of the world pronounce the “d,” but it was dropped in American English. The pronunciation “WENZ-day” has been recorded as far back as the 15th century.
Mnemonic
Pronunciation: “nuh-MAH-nik” with a silent first “m”
Noun: A device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something.
Adjective: Aiding or designed to aid the memory.
We may need a mnemonic device to help us remember silent letters. The word “mnemonic” comes from the Greek word mnēmonikos (“of or pertaining to memory”), and it came into English in the mid-17th century. There actually is a pattern to follow with this one: In words from Latin and Greek that have two beginning consonants, the first consonant is dropped, as in “pneumonia” and “pseudonym.”
Bologna
Pronunciation: “ba-LO-nee” with a silent “g”
Noun:
- A large smoked, seasoned sausage made of various meats, especially beef and pork.
- A city in northern Italy, northeast of Florence.
Before bologna was on a sandwich, it was on the map. The word first appeared as the name of a north-central Italian city with a namesake medieval university. In the city of Bologna today, shoppers would be unlikely to find bologna in a deli, but the classic Italian sausage called mortadella was invented here. When the meat was imported into North America in the mid-19th century, mortadella from Bologna eventually turned into just “bologna.” The name was Anglicized, following the same pattern as other Italian words. Italia became “Italy,” Sicilia became “Sicily,” and many linguists theorize that the silent “g” came from the Latin name of Bononia.
Indict
Pronunciation: “In-DAHYT” with a silent “c”
Verb: Formally accuse of or charge with a serious crime.
“Indict” is pronounced differently (sans “c”) than other legal terms with a similar spelling. For example, we DO pronounce the “c” in “verdict” and “edict.” The difference comes from the word’s original version, “endite,” from the Old French enditer, meaning “to dictate, write, or compose.” The word was re-Latinized around 1600 to look more like the Latin root indictare (“to declare, accuse, proclaim in writing”). Although the spelling changed, it retained its French pronunciation, so “endite” turned into “indict,” with the same silent “c” pronunciation.
Pterodactyl
Pronunciation: “teh-ruh-DAK-til” with a silent “p”
Noun: A pterosaur of the late Jurassic period, with a long slender head and neck and a very short tail.
In the mid-19th century, this extinct flying reptile was named after a New Latin genus of reptiles called Pterodactylus. In Greek, pteron means “wing” and daktylos means “finger.” As with other Greek-borrowed words, “pterodactyl” follows the pattern of dropping the pronunciation of the first consonant in a leading pair, which causes the “p” to be silent.
February
Pronunciation: “FEH-byuh-weh-ree” with a silent first “r”
Noun: The second month of the year.
The American English pronunciation of February leaves out the first “r” in the word, and most dictionaries agree. There are some sources (both professional phoneticians and armchair linguists) who believe that the “r” should be pronounced, as in “feh-bryoo-eh-ree,” but this is undoubtedly less common.
However, February was not meant to have a silent “r.” The word came from the Latin word for the month, februarius mensis, named after februa, a purification feast held during the month. But English speakers found it tricky to pronounce each letter “r,” and the middle consonant has been dropped for at least 150 years. The linguistic practice of dropping one sound from a word because of another of the same sound is called dissimilation, and “February” might be its most famous product.
Featured image credit: skynesher/ iStock