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Question

Difficulty: MediumSilent Letters

Match each English word on the left with the specific silent consonant letter it contains in standard Received Pronunciation on the right.

  • debtSilent letter 'b'
  • receiptSilent letter 'p'
  • columnSilent letter 'n'
  • listenSilent letter 't'

Answer

The correct pairings align 'debt' with silent letter 'b', 'receipt' with silent letter 'p', 'column' with silent letter 'n', and 'listen' with silent letter 't'.
Each word contains a specific unarticulated consonant letter in standard Received Pronunciation: 'debt' contains a silent 'b' (/det/), 'receipt' contains a silent 'p' (/rɪˈsiːt/), 'column' contains a silent 'n' (/ˈkɒl.əm/), and 'listen' contains a silent 't' (/ˈlɪs.ən/).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the standard Received Pronunciation transcription for each word.
The transcriptions are /det/ for 'debt', /rɪˈsiːt/ for 'receipt', /ˈkɒl.əm/ for 'column', and /ˈlɪs.ən/ for 'listen'.
Phonetic transcriptions isolate unarticulated graphic consonants present in English spelling.
2
Identify which orthographic consonant letter is omitted in speech for each word.
'debt' omits 'b', 'receipt' omits 'p', 'column' omits 'n', and 'listen' omits 't'.
Historical spelling variations leave certain letters silent in modern spoken English.
3
Align each target word with its corresponding silent consonant category.
The correct matching pairs are established.
Ensures accurate identification of unpronounced consonants.

Key Concept

Silent Consonant Identification in Spoken English
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Topics

Silent Letters

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