Silent Letters - Learn the Rules and Improve Your English Pronunciation!

不發音字母 — 學習規則，進階您的英文發音

Hi, I'm Kae.

嗨，我是Kae。

Welcome to Oxford Online English.

歡迎來到Oxford Online English。

In this lesson, you can learn about silent letters in English.

在本節課裡，您可以學到 英文裡的不發音字母。

Think about words like know, climb, or answer.

想一想單字像是know、climb或answer。

They all have silent letters: letters which are written, but not pronounced.

它們都有不發音字母：有寫出來， 但是不發音的字母。

Do you know which letters are silent in these three words?

您知道在這三個單字裡哪些 是不發音的字母嗎？

In this lesson, you’ll learn more about silent letters, so that your English pronunciation

在本節課裡，您會學到更多與不發音 字母有關的，所以您的英文

can be clear and correct!

發音可以是清晰並正確的！

Right, so do you know any words which start with a silent letter?

好了，那麼您知道以一個不發音的 字母開頭的任何單字嗎？

You should; there was one in the question I just asked you!

您應當知道；在我剛問 您的問題裡就有一個！

The word know starts with a silent letter: you say /nəʊ/ and not /knəʊ/.

單字“know”以一個不發音的字母 開頭：您唸/nəʊ/，而不是/knəʊ/。

There are other words like this, which start with ‘kn’, but the ‘k’ is not pronounced.

有其他的像這樣的單字，以“kn” 開頭，但是，“k"是不發音的。

Can you think of any?

您可以想到一個嗎？

Other examples are knee, knife, or knock.

其他的例子像是”knee“、 ”knife“或“knock”。

Another common silent letter at the start of a word is ‘h’.

在單字開頭不發音的其他 常見字母是“h”。

You can see this in words like hour or honest.

您可以在單字“hour”或 “honest”看到這個。

Finally, what do you call a doctor who treats mental illnesses?

最後，您怎樣稱呼一位醫治 精神科疾病的醫師？

This doctor is a psychiatrist.

醫師是一位“psychiatrist”。

In words like psychiatrist, which begin with ‘ps’, the ‘p’ is silent.

在單字像是“psychiatrist”，以“ps” 開頭，“p”是不發音的。

These words are often more academic words.

這些單字常常是學術性的單字。

For example: psychology or pseudonym.

例如： psychology或pseudonym。

There aren’t so many everyday words starting with ‘ps’.

日常用單字沒有太多是 用“ps”開頭的。

So now you know three ways a word can start with a silent letter:

所以，現在您知道一個單字以一個不 發音的字母開頭的三種方式：

'kn', like know, knee, knife, or knock 'h', like honest or hour

“kn”、像是“know”、“knee”、“knife”或者 “knock”；“h”，像是“honest”或

'ps', like psychiatrist, psychology or pseudonym

“hour”；“ps”，像是“psychiatrist”、 “psychology”或“pseudonym”。

You can also find silent letters in the middle of a word.

您也可以在一個單字的中間 找到不發音的字母。

Here, there are many letters which can be silent.

在這裡，有很多可以 不發音的字母。

Let’s do a test.

我們來做一個測驗。

I’m going to show you five words.

我會給您看五個單字。

Can you find the silent letters?

您可以找到不發音的字母嗎？

Do you know the answers?

您知道答案嗎？

Let’s look together.

我們一起來看看。

The ‘b’ in debt is silent: /det/.

“debt”裡的“b”是不發音的：/det/。

The ‘i’ in business is silent: /’bɪznəs/.

“business”裡的“i”是不發音的：/’bɪznəs/。

This is unusual, because normally, silent letters are consonants.

這是不常見的，因為正常來說， 不發音的字母是子音字母。

However, vowels can sometimes be silent, too.

然而，母音字母有時也可以是不發音的。

The ‘l’ in half is silent: /hɑːf/.

”half“裡的”l“是不發音的：/hɑːf/。

The ‘p’ in receipt is silent: /rə’siːt/.

”receipt“裡的”p“是不發音的：/rə’siːt/。

And lastly, the ‘w’ in answer is silent: /’ɑnsə/.

最後，”answer“裡的”w“是 不發音的：/’ɑnsə/。

Did you get the right answers?

您答對了嗎？

You can see that many different letters can be silent, and that silent letters can be

您能看到很多不同的字母可以是 不發音的，不發音的字母

anywhere in the word.

可以在單字裡的任何位置。

So how do you know if a letter is silent or not?

所以，您怎樣知道一個字母是 不發音的，或不是？

With silent letters in the middle of a word, there really aren’t any rules.

有不發音字母在單字的中間 位置的，真的沒有任何規則。

The best way is to write down the words with phonetics.

最好的方式是寫下單字的語音音標。

English spelling is not logical at all.

英文拼寫根本沒有邏輯。

Using phonetics to write down vocabulary will help you remember the correct pronunciation.

使用語音音標來寫下單字會 幫助您記住正確的發音。

For example, if you look at the word answer, you might try to read the ‘w’.

例如，如果您看單字“answer”， 您可能要試著唸“w”。

But if you use the phonetics, you can see that there’s no /w/ sound: /’ɑːnsə/.

但是，如果您使用語音音標，您可以 看到沒有/w/音：/’ɑːnsə/。

Let’s do some more practice.

我們多做一些練習。

Look at five more words.

多看五個單字。

Can you find the silent letters?

您可以找到不發音的字母嗎？

Muscle, should, island, guitar, sword.

“Muscle”、“should”、“island”、 “guitar”、“sword”。

So now, you’ve seen many of the common English words which have a silent letter in the middle.

所以，現在，您看到了很多常見的在中間 有一個不發音字母的英文單字。

You can also find silent letters at the end of a word.

您也在一個單字結尾看到 不發音的字母。

Here, things are a bit more regular; there are patterns you can find.

在這裡，事情是有點規律的； 有您可以找到的結構。

What’s this?

這是什麼？

Is it my /θʌm/ or my /θʌmb/?

那是我的/θʌm/，還是我的/θʌmb/？

It’s my thumb.

那是我的“thumb”。

The ‘b’ is silent.

“b”是不發音的。

In other words ending –mb, the ‘b’ is also silent: climb, limb, bomb.

在其他的單字結尾 – mb，“b”也是 不發音的：climb、limb、bomb。

There are also a few words ending –mn, and the ‘n’ is silent, like autumn or damn.

也有幾個單字以 –mn結尾的， “n”是不發音的，像是“autumn”或“damn”。

Finally, there are also some French words which are used in English, like ballet, buffet

最後，也有一些用在英文裡的 法文單字，像是“ballet”、

or gourmet.

“buffet”或者“gourmet”。

With these words, you use the French pronunciation, so you say /bæ’leɪ/ and not /’bælət/.

就這些單字，您使用法文發音，所以 您說/bæ’leɪ/，而不是/’bælət/。

What about words like rate, site, or cope?

那，像是“rate”、“site”或“cope”的單字呢？

Those end with a silent ‘e’, right?

那些結尾有一個不發音的“e”，對嗎？

Yes and no.

是，也不是。

Sometimes, the line between a silent letter and a non-silent letter can be hard to draw.

有時，一個不發音字母和一個非不發音 字母之間的區隔線是很難畫的。

This isn’t always true: think about the word autumn.

這並非總是正確的：想想單字“autumn”。

The ‘n’ is completely silent.

“n”是完全不發音的。

You could take it away and you would still pronounce the word the same way.

您可以拿掉它。您仍然用同樣的 方式唸單字的音。

Now, think about the word site.

現在，考慮單字“site”。

You might say that the ‘e’ is silent.

您可能說“e”是不發音的。

However, if the ‘e’ wasn’t there, you would pronounce the word /sɪt/, as in ‘sit

然而，如果“e”不在那裡，您 要把單字的音唸成/sɪt/，

down’.

就像在“sit down”。

So sometimes, silent letters aren’t completely silent.

所以，有時候，不發音的字母 不是完全不發音的。

‘Silent’ letters can change the pronunciation of a word, even if you don’t pronounce the

“Silent”字母可以改變單字的發音， 即使您不唸字母

letter itself.

自身的音。

Look at five pairs of words, and think about how the ‘e’ on the end changes the pronunciation.

看五對單字，考慮 在結尾的“e”怎樣改變發音。

Let’s read the words together:

我們一起來唸單字：

win/wine us/use

win/wine us/use

cop/cope her/here

cop/cope her/here

rat/rate

rat/rate

You can see that adding ‘e’ to the end of a word makes a big difference to the pronunciation,

您能看到在單字的結尾添加“e” 造成發音的一個大差別，

even if you don’t actually pronounce it.

即使您實際上不唸。

Sometimes, silent letters can make an even bigger difference to the pronunciation of

有時，不發音字母甚至可以對 一個單字的發音造成

a word.

比較大的差別。

You saw before that most silent letters are consonants, but that vowels can be silent

之前，您看到大部分不發音的字母是 子音字母，但是，母音字母

letters, too.

也可以是不發音的字母。

Sometimes, a vowel can be silent and this can mean that a word ‘loses’ a syllable.

有時，一個母音字母可以是不發音的， 這意味著一個單字“loses”了一個音節。

An example?

有一個例子嗎？

Take the word restaurant.

看看單字“restaurant”。

It’s written with three syllables: /res – tə - rɒnt/.

那是寫的三個音節：/res – tə - rɒnt/.

However, in spoken English, it usually has two syllables: /’restrɒnt/.

然而，在英文口說裡，它通常 有兩個音節：/’restrɒnt/。

This is a special case, because these letters aren’t necessarily silent.

這是一個特定的例子，因為這些字母 不一定是不發音字母。

You could say restaurant with three syllables: /’restərɒnt/.

您可以說“restaurant”有三個音節： /’restərɒnt/.

However, most native speakers wouldn’t pronounce the word like this.

然而，大部分的母語人士 不會像這樣唸單字。

Can you think of any more examples like this?

您可以想到任何更多的 像這樣的例子嗎？

Let’s practise.

我們來練習一下。

Here are five words.

這裡是五個單字。

Each word has one ‘silent’ syllable.

每一個單字有一個“silent”音節。

Which syllable might not be pronounced?

哪一個音節可能不發音？

Pause the video and think about your answers if you want!

如果您想，暫停影片， 並考慮您的答案！

Let’s look together:

我們一起看一下：

In comfortable, the ‘or’ can be dropped: /’kʌmftəbəl/.

在“comfortable”裡，“or”可以被忽略： /’kʌmftəbəl/。

In chocolate, the ‘o’ can be dropped: /’tʃɒklət/.

在“chocolate”裡，“o”可以被忽略： /’tʃɒklət/。

In different, the first ‘e’ can be dropped: /’dɪfrənt/.

在“different”裡，第一個“e”可以被忽略： /’dɪfrənt/。

In camera, the ‘e’ can be dropped: /’kæmrə/.

在“camera”裡，“e”可以被忽略：/’kæmrə/。

And in vegetable, you can drop the second ‘e’: /’vedʒtəbəl/

在“vegetable”裡，您可以忽略 第二個“e”：/’vedʒtəbəl/。

Remember that in all of these words, the letters aren’t necessarily silent.

記住在所有這些單字裡，字母 不一定是不發音的字母。

Some native speakers pronounce all of the syllables in these words.

一些母語人士在這些單字裡的 所有音節都發音。

However, it’s more common to reduce these words and make them as short as you can.

然而，更常見的是縮短這些單字， 儘您所能讓它們更短。

Reducing the words by dropping syllables also makes them shorter and easier to say.

用忽略音節來縮短單字會讓 它們更短並更容易唸。

This can help you to speak more fluently!

這可以幫助您講得更流利！

Let’s review the words one more time:

我們來再複習單字一次：

comfortable chocolate

comfortable chocolate

different camera

different camera

vegetable

vegetable

You might be thinking: how do I know which words have silent syllables?

您也許要考慮：我怎麼知道 哪一些有不發音的音節？

How can I check?

我要怎麼查？

Good questions: like many points with silent letters, there aren’t exactly rules you

好問題：像是不發音字母的很多 重點，沒有您可以遵循的

can follow.

確切規則。

However, you can check whether a word has silent syllables or not.

然而，您可以查出一個單字是否 有一個不發音的音節。

Look the word up in a dictionary.

在辭典裡查一下這個單字。

Look at the phonetic transcription, next to the word.

看緊接著單字的音標。

A good dictionary will show you all the possible pronunciations of the word, including whether

一本好辭典會告訴您所有 可能的單字發音，包括任何

any syllables can be dropped.

音標能否被忽略。

So now you’ve seen how letters can be silent.

所以，現在您看到了字母 是怎樣不發音的。

You’ve learned about common patterns with silent letters, and you’ve seen how silent

您學到了有不發音字母的常見 結構，您看到了不發音字母

letters can change the pronunciation of a word.

能夠怎樣改變單字的發音。

You can practice this topic more on our website where there's a quiz to help you review what

您可以在我們的網站上多練習 這個主題，那裡有一個

you've learned in this lesson.

隨堂小測驗，來幫助您複習在本節 課程裡學到的東西。

There are also many other great free English lessons.

也有很多其他很棒的 免費英文課程。

Thanks for watching.

感謝觀看！

See you next time!

下次見！