English Pronunciation Tip of the Day
Tip 16
Category:
Spelling to sound
Author: JAM
Silent h
The letter h is silent at the beginning of the following words:
| heir | /e@/ |
| heiress | /e@res/ |
| honest | /QnIst/ |
| honestly | /Qn@stli/ |
| honesty | /Qn@sti/ |
| honour | /Qn@/ |
| honourable | /Qn@r@bl/ |
| honourably | /Qn@r@bli/ |
| hour | /aU@/ |
| hourly | /aU@li/ |
It is also silent in a number of (but not all!) words which begin <exh>. Here are some examples:
| exhaust | /IgzO:st/ |
| exhibit | /IgzIbIt/ |
| exhibition | /eksIbISn/ |
| exhilarate | /IgzIl@reIt/ |
There are a few other words where h is regularly silent: annihilate /@naI@leIt/, vehicle /vi:@kl/ and of course, it is also silent at the end of a word after a vowel as in Shah, and Oh!