4. Silent Syllables

Silent Syllables

How do you pronounce the following words?

In English there are words which lose a syllable in running speech. When writing them they can have a number of syllables, but when pronouncing them one of those syllables is taken out. Hence, that syllable does not correspond to any sound in the pronunciation of the word. So, how many syllables are written in the words above? How many syllables are pronounced?

Watch the video below to check the answers to these questions.

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Do it yourself

In the table below there is a list of words with silent syllables. Match the spelling and the pronunciation. Write the correct letter in the space provided.

SPELLING	LETTER	PRONUNCIATION
1. Average	Cloze (1):JXUwMDNj	a. /ˈkɒnf(ə)rəns/
2. Business	Cloze (2):JXUwMDMw	b. /ˌʃæmˈpeɪn/
3.Conference	Cloze (3):JXUwMDM5	c. /ˈdʒen(ə)rəl/
4. Champagne	Cloze (4):JXUwMDNh	d. /æv(ə)rɪdʒ/
5. Chocolate	Cloze (5):JXUwMDI4	e. /ˈfæktri/
6. Factory	Cloze (6):JXUwMDNk	f. /ˈnɒlɪdʒ/
7. General	Cloze (7):JXUwMDNi	g. /ləˈbɒrət(ə)ri/
8. History	Cloze (8):JXUwMDMz	h. /ˈbɪznəs/
9. Interest	Cloze (9):JXUwMDM3	i. /ˈlɪtrətʃə/
10.Natural	Cloze (10):JXUwMDMy	j. /ˈnætʃ(ə)rəl/
11. Secondary	Cloze (11):JXUwMDM1	k. /ˈhɪst(ə)ri/
12. Knowledge	Cloze (12):JXUwMDNl	p. /ˈtʃɒklət/
13. Laboratory	Cloze (13):JXUwMDNm	m. /ˈsekənd(ə)ri/
14. Literature	Cloze (14):JXUwMDMx	n. /ˈterət(ə)ri/
15. Territory	Cloze (15):JXUwMDM2	o. /ˈɪntrəst/

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If you need to listen how to pronounce these words, just have a look at the pronunciation provided by these online dictionaries:

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