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Any one else ever wonder why words with silent letters ever bother using them in the first place?

Random thought of the day. What's the point of silent letters in today's modern language? "Gnome" is an in/famous example of this. I mean, most young kids would probably miss the G entirely when asked to spell the word.

Do you think it's time some words in the dictionary start changing spellings to eliminate this seemingly redundant problem?

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Frank52 · 70-79, M

They weren't always silent. For example in Middle English all the letters in the word

knight

were pronounced it is thought and in some dialects letters are pronounced where they are not in Standard English/Received Pronunciation. I apologise that I don't know the American equivalent for these terms.

meJess · F

@Frank52 It's pronounced Kerniggit, with French accent :)

Frank52 · 70-79, M

@meJess Years of teaching Chaucer has left it indelibly embedded in my brain. 🤣