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Pter Posted 17 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation
Silent letters
I was researching the pattern of silent letters and was about to post a question on this forum when I found this site:
http://www.eleaston.com/pr/sl-pat-pb.html
After going through the list, I was surprised that there are so many. I pronounce most of them correctly without even noticing that some letters are silent. I also found that I have always mispronounced a few of them, including debt and Illinois.
However, I want to confirm if the following are really silent:
k in asked
t in acts, ducts, students
l in almond
th in clothes, months, depths, lengths
w in toward
o in laboratory, comfortable (probably a BrE and AmE difference)
Thank you very much.
p.s. oops, just found that I posted it in the wrong forum. Would an admin please help to move it back to
EnglishAudioSpeechPronunciation/Forum22.htm?
Thanks.
http://www.eleaston.com/pr/sl-pat-pb.html
After going through the list, I was surprised that there are so many. I pronounce most of them correctly without even noticing that some letters are silent. I also found that I have always mispronounced a few of them, including debt and Illinois.
However, I want to confirm if the following are really silent:
k in asked
t in acts, ducts, students
l in almond
th in clothes, months, depths, lengths
w in toward
o in laboratory, comfortable (probably a BrE and AmE difference)
Thank you very much.
p.s. oops, just found that I posted it in the wrong forum. Would an admin please help to move it back to
EnglishAudioSpeechPronunciation/Forum22.htm?
Thanks.
Top answer
Pter - the pronunciation of words depends heavily on a person's dialect. k in asked - variable pronunciation - I say - askt (some dialects say "axt") t in acts, ducts, students - I pronounce the "t", but very muted. l in almond - I pronounce the "l", but muted th in clothes, months, depths, lengths - I pronounce these: close, monts, deps, linx w in toward - I pronounce as tord o in laboratory, comfortable (probably a BrE and AmE difference) - I say the "or" sound.
- Pter - the pronunciation of words depends heavily on a person's dialect.
- k in asked - variable pronunciation - I say - askt (some dialects say "axt") t in acts, ducts, students - I pronounce the "t", but very muted.
- l in almond - I pronounce the "l", but muted th in clothes, months, depths, lengths - I pronounce these: close, monts, deps, linx w in toward - I pronounce as tord o in laboratory, comfortable (probably a BrE and AmE difference) - I say the "or" sound.
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13 Answers
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Pter - the pronunciation of words depends heavily on a person's dialect.
k in asked - variable pronunciation - I say - askt (some dialects say "axt")
t in acts, ducts, students - I pronounce the "t", but very muted.
l in almond - I pronounce the "l", but muted
th in clothes, months, depths, lengths - I pronounce these: close, monts, d
k in asked - variable pronunciation - I say - askt (some dialects say "axt")
t in acts, ducts, students - I pronounce the "t", but very muted.
l in almond - I pronounce the "l", but muted
th in clothes, months, depths, lengths - I pronounce these: close, monts, d
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PterHowever, I want to confirm if the following are really silent:Hey Peter, even i doubt these.
k in asked
t in acts, ducts, students
l in almond
th in clothes, months, depths, lengths
w in toward
o in laboratory, comfortable (probably a BrE and AmE difference)
But yes, its correct for almond and asked.
For clothes
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PterHowever, I want to confirm if the following are really silent:As you may already know, it depends on who you ask. Here are my pronunciations.
k in asked
t in acts, ducts, students
l in almond
th in clothes, months, depths, lengths
w in toward
o in laboratory, comfortable (probably a BrE and AmE difference)
askt
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Thank you all for your replies. Hmm, interesting. Seems very different even among native speakers. I found CJ's reply most detailed but a bit hard for me to understand. And I'm not sure how I can practise saying those sounds.
What are your suggestions for a non-native? How should I say them if I want to reduce my accent?
What are your suggestions for a non-native? How should I say them if I want to reduce my accent?
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Pter I'm not sure how I can practise saying those sounds.I think you need to get yourself some audio materials -- the sort of thing where you listen and repeat, listen and repeat, listen and repeat, ad infinitum.
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I'm not a native speaker, and I am not fluent at all, but this is the way I would pronounce them (American English):
Pterk in asked No k, and trying to put one in there would have no effect: ast
t in acts, ducts I pronounce the t, butthe k before it becomes silent (but it's still
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Hi Pter,
I have recorded myself saying the words in your list:
I have recorded myself saying the words in your list:
Pterk in asked
t in acts, ducts, students
l in almond
th in clothes, months, depths, lengths
w in toward
o in laboratory, comfortable
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This is how I say them (after correcting my pronunciation for almond and toward).
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You sound very clear, Pter. Your pronunciation of "asked" and "laboratory" are, for me, very British, and the rest simply sounds like English with no identifiable accent. So, it all sounds very good.
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Thanks very much for the feedback. Yes, British. That's how I was taught.
But I'm a bit surprised. I thought you would say I have an Asian accent. Maybe because it's just a list of words. I'll find something else to record, like a paragraph from the newspaper.
There is something I don't understand. I guess anyone can almost immediately tell that Clive is a native speaker wh
But I'm a bit surprised. I thought you would say I have an Asian accent. Maybe because it's just a list of words. I'll find something else to record, like a paragraph from the newspaper.
There is something I don't understand. I guess anyone can almost immediately tell that Clive is a native speaker wh
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