Chris, my son, has always loved testing me with new things he has learned to see if I know them too.
Often, we have a good conversation about the subject after I tell him that I already knew what he just learned. It’s fun to watch the look on his face as he comes to a new understanding of something as his mind grows.
Slowly, though, I began to see the whole picture. To give my son an education was to expose my own lapses in knowledge.
In particular, he liked to point out any grammatical errors. If I misspoke, mispronounced something or used a wrong verb tense, my son would announce, “Incorrect grammar. ”.
Take, for instance, the word salmon. Like those around me, I grew up pronouncing the L in salmon.
My mother would fry salmon patties in the frying pan for us. As kids, we would use ketchup (another annoying word) to make smiley faces on our food before we ate it. I was familiar with the fish and the word.
The silent “L” in the pronunciation of salmon is one of the many quirks of English orthography While the word is spelled with an “L”, it is not pronounced This leads many to wonder why we have a silent letter in this word. The history of the word provides the answer.
A Brief History of the Word Salmon
Salmon entered English in the late 13th century from the Anglo-French word “saumon”. This came from the Latin word “salmo” meaning salmon. Originally the word was pronounced without the “L” sound, as “saumon”.
Over time learned scribes and scholars introduced certain Latin spellings into English, even when the pronunciations did not match. They did this to reflect the etymology and give a word a more erudite appearance. The “L” in “salmon” was inserted as a part of this trend in the 16th century. The idea was to make the spelling align more closely with the Latin source word “salmo” even though English speakers did not pronounce the “L”.
This practice of adding silent letters to reflect Latin origins was also applied to other words, like “falcon” and “almond”.
The “L” Was Never Actually Pronounced in English
Why is this important? Because salmon didn’t have an “L” sound when it came from French to English. Scholars added the “L” to the spelling hundreds of years later, but English speakers kept pronouncing the word the same way they always had, without the “L.”
So in essence, the “L” was never pronounced historically in English. The letter was added as an erudite, Latinate spelling convention that did not change the existing pronunciation. This is why we have a silent “L” in salmon today.
Misperceptions About the Silent “L”
Since the unusual silent letter does not match the pronunciation, it has led to some misperceptions over time. Some have mistakenly assumed that English speakers must have previously pronounced the “L”, but later dropped the consonant sound.
However, evidence shows this was not the case. The “L” was inserted solely as a spelling change in the 1500s and was never actually vocalized in the English pronunciation.
Additionally, while some accents may lightly vocalize the “L” today, it is still largely silent in standard English. Speakers likely picked up a slight “L” sound due to the spelling influence.
Other Examples of Silent Letters
Salmon is just one of many English words containing silent letters added due to Latin influence:
- Falcon – Silent “L” inserted for Latin “falco”
- Almond – Silent “L” inserted for Latin “amandus”
- Island – Silent “S” inserted for Latin “insula”
- Debt – Silent “B” inserted for Latin “debita”
Like salmon, these words were borrowed without those letters. Later, scholars added them to show how they came to be. English speakers continued pronouncing the words as they always had.
Summary
In salmon, the “L” is silent because it was inserted into the spelling centuries after the word entered English from French. The original pronunciation without the “L” sound persisted, creating this irregularity. The “L” became an erudite, silent letter reflecting learned influence and Latin origins rather than a sound change in the spoken language. So the next time you eat salmon, remember the silent “L”!
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Chris, my son, has always loved testing me with new things he has learned to see if I know them too.
Often, we have a good conversation about the subject after I tell him that I already knew what he just learned. It’s fun to watch the look on his face as he comes to a new understanding of something as his mind grows.
Slowly, though, I began to see the whole picture. To give my son an education was to expose my own lapses in knowledge.
In particular, he liked to point out any grammatical errors. If I misspoke, mispronounced something or used a wrong verb tense, my son would announce, “Incorrect grammar. ”.
Take, for instance, the word salmon. Like those around me, I grew up pronouncing the L in salmon.
My mother would fry salmon patties in the frying pan for us. As kids, we would use ketchup (another annoying word) to make smiley faces on our food before we ate it. I was familiar with the fish and the word.
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When I said the word “salmon” wrong, my son came up to me with a “know-it-all” grin and his dictionary open. He pointed out that the L was actually silent. He probably didn’t mean any harm, but I’m sure it made him feel good to crush my pride with what he thought he knew.
After that, we watched some nature shows on TV, and all of them talked about salmon in some way. Each time, the narrator would pronounce the word with a silent L. It was enough to drive me batty. My teenage son just grinned at me.
I finally had enough. I told him to go get his dictionary. I opened it and found the word salmon. I looked at the pronunciation provided. I looked up the word at the Merriam-Webster Web site.
The website has a pronunciation guide with sound files. Once more, I heard the word salmon said without the L sound.
With a grin that was also a little serious, I said that no matter what, our family would say the L in salmon.
I took his dictionary and made some changes to it in pen to match how our family would say this word. He could no longer use his dictionary against me with this word.
Upon further investigation, it appears I am not alone in how I prefer to pronounce the word salmon.
I found an unofficial poll online that said 86% of people pronounced salmon with a silent L and 14% pronounced it the way it looks, by sounding out the L.
Apparently, a couple of centuries ago, the word salmon was spelled samoun in the English language. There was no L in the word, and so the word was pronounced as it appeared.
About that time, some people were rallying for words to reflect their Latin origins. Salmon was one of those words. In Latin, the word for fish is salmo, and the L is pronounced. The English word was spelled differently, from samoun to salmon, but it was still pronounced the same, so the L sound was lost.
There is no rule that says we should say the letter “L” in salmon, but we can say it in Salmonella.
It’s easy to see why people say English is hard to learn if it’s not your first language. Some of us who speak English as our first language still get confused sometimes when we try to remember the rules of correct speech and spelling.
Nevertheless, I have a hard time changing how I say the word. To say it without pronouncing the L just doesn’t sound right. It sounds like a foreign language to me. No matter how badly I use grammar, salmon will always be served with an L that I say, even if it makes my son laugh.
Linda Vestal is a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend living in Gibsonville. Contact her with comments or story ideas at lindavestal@triad. rr. com.
Why does Salmon have a silent L?
FAQ
Why is the L silent in salmon but not salmonella?
Who put the L in salmon?
What is the wrong pronunciation of salmon?
Why is the “L” in salmon Historically silent?
The “L” in salmon is historically silent because the word was borrowed directly from the French word “sauman” (even though the L is present in the original Latin word “salmōn”) Salmonella was named after Dr. Daniel E. Salmon, who did pronounce the L in his name. Lives in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Author has 10.4K answers and 2M answer views 2 y
Why is there an L in salmon?
The l in salmon was never pronounced in English and its presence in the spelling is a result of the same 17th century Latin obsession that gave us the b in debt and doubt. Salmon in Latin was ‘salmo’ (‘salmonem’ in the accusative), which was pronounced as written.
Does salmon have a silent l?
I would say “sodder.” The word is not unique in English in having a silent L. Nor is it confined to would, could, etc. Salmon has a silent L, and while Almond Joy candies had a big influence in getting Americans to pronounce that L, there are still folks who pronounce almond as if it were spelled ammond. It seems that L isn’t a very strong sound.
Why is L not pronounced in salmon?
The reason the “l” is not pronounced in salmon is because the word came into the English language through Old French, where it was spelled as saumon. The word salmon originally derives from the Latin word salmō, which contained the “l”. However, the word came into use in English through Old French, where salmon was spelled as saumon.