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The origins of silent K are difficult to pin down. What we do know is that the k wasn't always silent, especially in words of Germanic origin. Just as it is in German, the k was actually pronounced and many of the words which now have silent k originally began with that distinctive clicking sound. However, some time after the Chaucerian era, the k sound disappeared from the kn combination. There is speculation that it suddenly became hard to pronounce, and was just one of many linguistic changes after the Great Vowel Shift.
This answer derived from http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-silent-k
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What is the 11th letter of the modern alphabet?
J is the tenth letter of the alphabet as it is used in English. Some other languages use additional letters.
What is the meaning of English alphabet K?
K is the 11th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.You can say K in short for OK or okay.K is also in short for the no.1000.K is an abbreviation of kilo or karat.
What letter in the English alphabet is after 'K'?
The alphabet has 26 letters. The letter "L" comes after the letter "K".The English alphabet, in order:ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
What is the sixth consonant you'll say in the English alphabet order?
K
Is kassie an Irish Name?
no. there is no 'k' in the Irish language alphabet
Why is the k silent in knob?
Knob, comes from the Old German knobbe. Before English become less Germanic, when Anglian was still a Frisian dialect, the k still had an effect. You'll find that in contemporary German this is still the case eg. Knecht = Knight. When English evolved and joined the Insular Germanic languages family it lost the pronunciation of that k sound. The k in knob is now redundant, existing as a silent reference to the German origin of English.N.B - this is the not the origin for all cases of the silent k in the English language, but is true to the vast majority of its instances.
Why is there a silent k at the beginning of certain words?
The silent "k" at the beginning of certain words, such as "knight" or "knock," originates from Old English and Middle English, where the "k" was pronounced. Over time, as the language evolved, the pronunciation changed, leading to the "k" becoming silent while the spelling remained the same. This phenomenon reflects the historical development of English and its influences from various languages.
Is the k silent in knutsen?
Yes, the "k" in "Knutsen" is typically silent in English pronunciation.
Why is the k in the word know silent?
Once upon a time (300 to 500 years ago) it wasn't "silent", the pronunciation changed but the spelling didn't.
Why k is silent in know?
The 'k' in 'know' is silent because it used to be pronounced in Old English but became silent over time. English spelling changes have not always kept up with pronunciation changes, resulting in silent letters like the 'k' in 'know'.
Why in knife k is silent?
..................... cause if we pronounce knife as K-nife I mean with K not silent it will be improper and silent ⟨k⟩ occurs when the letter ⟨k⟩ occurs in a word but does not actually reflect the pronunciation of a voiceless velar plosive (/k/), or any sound for that matter. A silent ⟨k⟩ is quite common in the English language, most often preceding an ⟨n⟩ at the beginning of a word. There are rare exceptions to this rule; one example is Knoebels Grove located in Pennsylvania
Why are the letters kn silent in the English language?
The same reason as 'pn' can also be silent. They are words derived from another language. In the original language the word may or may not have been silent but in English usage has softened or removed the leading syllable. kn was an initial sequence of consonants common in English and Middle English, and in the form cn- in Anglo-Saxon. In Middle English and Anglo-Saxon (as still in Dutch, German, and Scandinavian) it was distinctly pronounced as written; but now the k is silent. in many words in modern english. kn- occurs in native English words, as knave, knee, knell, knop, know, etc., in other Teutonic words, as knicker, and in some other words of foreign origin, as knout. Interestingly, knife went into French as canif Some words, can have gn as an alternative. for instance, knar, knarl
What are the origins of the silent k?
The silent "k" in English words usually comes from Old English or loanwords from other languages like French. In many cases, the pronunciation changed over time while the spelling remained the same, resulting in the silent "k."
Can you give an example of silent alphabets?
There is no such thing as a silent alphabet. Alphabets are used to represent the sounds of a language. A silent alphabet would have no function, unless you are talking about sign language alphabets. In that case, all sign language alphabets are silent.
What is the silent letter in resin?
the answer is w
Why are silent letters used in the English language eg know?
The initial consonant "k" is silent in know (pronounced "noh"). If you had the word "now" it would be said nou. the reason some words are spelled differently is because of their origins. Know comes from the Greek gignṓskein where the word gnostic comes from. Now comes from Old English nu.
If the k is silent in knife then why is it there in the first place?
Ah, you silly knave don't you know the K was not always silent as when the Old English pronounced K-night and the Germans still pronounce K-necht with the very loud and even obnoxious K. It was silenced, most likely, by those Knuckle brained, Knot weeded Americans, so lazy in their language, so casual with their words, they saw no reason to allow this pesky K its voice and have a knack for bastardizing words to fulfill their pleasure. The silenced K has been rather upset at these hypocritical Americans who profess such allegiance to notions of freedom and freedom of speech but they do not listen to this silent K and have been assured that forever more the death Knell of the silent K has been rung.*************************************This has nothing to do with the Americans.I agree that the "K" was originally pronounced. The are many other words in the English language that have silent letters as well, such as "Knee", "Daughter", "Talk", and "Night".The K's, L's, and G's in these words are silent in the entire English speaking world not only the United States.English is derived from German and in German the G's and L's ARE pronounced in the words from which they are derived from.In my point of view as time passed on English speakers have "melted" away the sound to make the words easier to say but kept the original spelling.
