English Pronunciation Tip of the Day
Tip 63
Category:
Spelling to sound
Author: JAM
Silent <w>
The letter <w >is always silent at the beginning of a word before <r>. So: wreck = /rek/ wring = /rIN/ wrote = /r@Ut/. The addition of a prefix makes no difference. So unwritten = /Vn"rItn/. <w >is also silent in answer, sword and two. In the combination <wh>, which is usually pronounced /w/, the <w> is silent in whole who whom whose and the combination is pronounced /h/ in these words.