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Silent Initial Letters

This video presents the same text shown beside it, spoken and on screen. It adds nothing the text does not say.

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When a medical term begins with p n, p s, p t, g n, or m n, the first letter is silent in English.

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Pneumonia begins with a silent p, spoken as new MOH nee uh.

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The letter is silent, not optional. Dropping it from the spelling makes the term unsearchable.