The silent l

Sometimes a letter is written in a word, but we do not say it. We call it a silent letter. Page 38 of your book, Santoor, calls this 'the case of the missing l'. Take the word 'halves' from the poem 'One Thing at a Time': we write an l, but we do not hear it when we say the word.

In these words from page 39, the l is silent: calm, palm, calf, chalk, talk, balm. Say them slowly. In 'calm' you hear c-aa-m, with no l. In 'talk' you hear t-aw-k, with no l.

In these words from page 39, you DO hear the l: leaf, pale, jail, hall, clean, shelf, silk, plum, self. Say 'leaf': the l is the very first sound. Say 'shelf': you hear the l just before the f.

A clue: the l is often silent in words that end in -alk (talk, chalk) or -alm (calm, palm, balm). But always say the word and listen.