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Question

Difficulty: MediumSilent Letters

Match each word on the left with the correct silent consonant letter present in its standard Received Pronunciation.

  • pneumoniaSilent letter 'p'
  • alignSilent letter 'g'
  • solemnSilent letter 'n'
  • castleSilent letter 't'

Answer

'pneumonia' matches Silent letter 'p', 'align' matches Silent letter 'g', 'solemn' matches Silent letter 'n', and 'castle' matches Silent letter 't'.
Each word contains an unarticulated consonant letter governed by regular English phonological rules: initial 'p' is silent in 'pneumonia', 'g' is silent in 'align', final 'n' is silent in 'solemn', and medial 't' is silent in 'castle'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the phonetic structure of 'pneumonia'.
The word is transcribed as /njʊˈməʊniə/, showing that the initial letter 'p' is unarticulated.
Words of Greek origin starting with the consonant cluster 'pn-' leave the letter 'p' unpronounced in English.
2
Examine the phonetic structure of 'align'.
The word is transcribed as /əˈlaɪn/, showing that the letter 'g' is unarticulated.
In English orthography, the letter 'g' is silent before 'n' in word-final '-ign' patterns.
3
Examine the phonetic structure of 'solemn'.
The word is transcribed as /ˈsɒləm/, showing that the final letter 'n' is unarticulated.
When a word ends in the consonant combination '-mn', the trailing letter 'n' remains silent.
4
Examine the phonetic structure of 'castle'.
The word is transcribed as /ˈkɑːsl/, showing that the letter 't' is unarticulated.
In words ending with '-stle', the letter 't' is elided between the /s/ sound and syllabic /l/.

Key Concept

Identifying unpronounced consonant letters across standard English spelling patterns
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Topics

Silent Letters

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