Did you know that many letters in the English language can at times be silent? Today you'll learn common words that have a silent L in American English. And you may be surprised by them. I often hear non-native speakers pronounce the L in words like talk or would. For the majority of the words that we'll talk about today, the L sound is not optional. It is not correct to say would or talk with the L sound. In fact, it sounds strange and when combined with mispronouncing other sounds in the word, it really makes your listener struggle to understand you. Before we jump in and start learning these silent L words, please do me a favor and support more free lesson creation by subscribing, liking, commenting and sharing this video. We just saw a quick preview of two of these silent L words in the intro. Now let's add to that list. Talk, walk, chalk and stock all rhyme and have silent Ls. Adding and ending to these words doesn't change anything either. For example, talking, walked and stocker still have silent Ls. Would could and should also rhyme and have silent Ls. And another mistake I often hear is not pronouncing the ending consonants in English. So some speakers pronounce would as woe. When in fact would and would sound exactly the same. If you make the mistake of pronouncing the L but not the final D, it can make the word very difficult to understand. Now similar to talking walk is yoke and folk, but the vowel sound here is different. Half and calf also rhyme and have silent Ls. You'll also find longer words that include these roots like behalf, halfway, or the last name met calf. Now let's take a quick break for some practice sentences. And make sure to watch until the very end of the video for a couple of bonuses that will make sure you never forget the pronunciation of some of these words. We took a walk and talked about folk music. Would you bring me the bowl of egg yolks and the half and half from the refrigerator? You should have changed your phone number so that stocker couldn't find you again. I only have half a piece of chalk left. Could you go ask Mr. Metcalf if he has any more chalk? Okay, let's look at some more silent L words. If you live in Seattle like I do, you certainly see this popular fish on many menus. Salmon. Many of my students are shocked to find out that the L is silent. Others don't know why no one understands them when they say we had salmon for dinner, or I'd like the salmon. Now let me repeat those sentences saying salmon the correct way. We had salmon for dinner. I'd like the salmon. Did you notice the wood hidden in that last sentence? It's in the contraction. I'd is short for I would. Now here's a common last name or place name with a silent L, Lincoln. The silent L is the one at the end of the word not the first L in Lincoln. You have probably heard of one of our most famous American presidents, Abraham Lincoln, who many places are named after. For example, the capital of the state of Nebraska is Lincoln. And we also have a Lincoln Park in Seattle as many cities do. And if you're familiar with the band Lincoln Park, you'll notice that the name is a play on the pronunciation of the word. The band is actually named for Lincoln Park in Santa Monica, California. But note how it spelled differently. The name of the band is actually spelled how the word sounds. Now there are a few words in English where the silent L is optional. Some American speakers pronounce the L and some don't. Personally, I pronounce the L in all of these words. I say, bomb, calm, palm, psalm, and almond. But there are many Americans who say these words with a silent L. Here's a sample sentence for you using my personal pronunciation, pronouncing the L. Calm down and I'll put this ball on your burn. Finally, the word almond seems to stir up quite a debate on its pronunciation. I guess since it's so frequently heard. Now the debate is whether we pronounce the L or don't pronounce the L in almond. This was actually the subject of a Snickers candy bar commercial several years ago. It's quick and funny, so I'll leave a link to it in the video description. You'll want to watch it. It's pretty funny. And then you're going to hear both pronunciations of almond. And if you're a fan of the show's sign felt, there's a scene where you'll hear both pronunciations of the word bomb also. And I'll also leave that link for you to watch. Those are all the most frequently used words that have silent L. Other words do exist in English that have silent L's too. If there are any others that you use, please write them in the comments. And I would highly suggest going back and practicing these sentences some more. And make sure to write down the words in this video that you use or plan to use. And make sure to put them into your own sentences for practice. And I hope you'll join me in watching more videos on silent letters. Thanks for watching and please share this video with your friends.