Spelling and Silent Letters
English spelling is chaotic compared to French's systematic rules
Category: Spelling
The Rule
English spelling is not phonetic — many letters are silent or pronounced differently than expected. French has complex spelling too, but it follows more consistent rules. English has more exceptions.
Why This Matters
French speakers expect regular spelling-to-sound correspondence. English breaks this constantly: 'knight' (k and gh silent), 'psychology' (p silent), 'Wednesday' (d silent). Some English words have French-origin spellings that are pronounced differently.
Examples
• knowledge — 'k' is silent: /nɒlɪdʒ/ — "connaissance" [French speakers try to pronounce the 'k'] • comfortable — 3 syllables: /kʌmftəbl/ — "confortable" [Not 4 syllables; the 'or' is swallowed] • queue — pronounced /kjuː/ (just 'Q') — "queue" [Same spelling, same meaning, but 4 of 5 letters are 'silent' in English pronunciation]
Common Mistakes
❌ Pronouncing the 'w' in 'answer' ✅ answer = /ˈɑːnsər/ — 'w' is silent → English has many words with silent 'w': answer, sword, write, wrong, wrist. ❌ Pronouncing 'recipe' as /resɪp/ ✅ recipe = /ˈresɪpi/ — three syllables → The final 'e' is pronounced in 'recipe' (Italian origin), unlike most English words where final 'e' is silent.
Quick Tip
English spelling-pronunciation rules have too many exceptions to be reliable. Use a pronunciation dictionary and learn new words with their IPA pronunciation, not just their spelling.
English spelling-pronunciation rules have too many exceptions to be reliable. Use a pronunciation dictionary and learn new words with their IPA pronunciation, not just their spelling.
Examples
Common Mistakes
Incorrect: Pronouncing the 'w' in 'answer' → Correct: answer = /ˈɑːnsər/ — 'w' is silent. English has many words with silent 'w': answer, sword, write, wrong, wrist.
Incorrect: Pronouncing 'recipe' as /resɪp/ → Correct: recipe = /ˈresɪpi/ — three syllables. The final 'e' is pronounced in 'recipe' (Italian origin), unlike most English words where final 'e' is silent.
Quiz
Which word has a silent 'b'?