silent /p/

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celtaflorida

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Greetings.
I'd like to know if there is rule for consonant /p/ to be silent as in psoriasis, or psychology. Does it have anything to do with the letter /s/? I would appreciate an explanation.
Thanks.
 

SoothingDave

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Since English is your native language, it shouldn't be such a big problem for you.
 

celtaflorida

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Thanks, but you failed to explain the grammatical rules.
 

5jj

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There are no rules. Most of the words that begin with 'ps' come from Greek, and originally began with the Greek letter psi. This was pronounced roughly like /ps/, an unacceptable combination at the beginning of words in English; so, the /p/ disappeared.
 

Tdol

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It's also usually silent in Phnom Penh for the same reason- it's hard to say, though this comes from a different language.
 

birdeen's call

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It's silent in "Ptolemy" too, for similar reasons.
 

raindoctor

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In a way, yes, it has to do with /s/. For instance, clusters like /pl/, /pr/ and /pw/ are permitted. So, p + any approximant other than /j/ is permitted.
 

5jj

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For instance, clusters like /pl/, /pr/ and /pw/ are permitted. So, p + any approximant other than /j/ is permitted.
/p/ can be followed by /j/ - pew, pewter, dispute, etc. I can't at the moment think of any /pw/ combinations in English
 
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