4.13.2015

The Superfluous K

I think the letter K has a bit of an ego.  It starts many great words like kite and kitty and kale.

But, then...it butts in where it's not needed and leads words like knee, knife, knob, knit and knoll.  Doesn't that seem a bit pushy?  Nee, nife, nob, nit and noll would still be legible without the K.  The K only looks correct because we learned to spell these words with the K in place.  But, really...who allowed the K to head up the line like that?

I think people who are learning English as a second language must find the superfluous K to be the most problematic letter to deal with.  Sometimes you hear it; sometimes you don't.  There's no rhyme or reason to why it leads some N-sounding words and does not lead not others.

Like knever.  Or kno.  Although it does lead know.  See how squirrelly this is?

Let me know if you agree with me.  Or knot.


9 comments:

Mari said...

:) I agree!

Christine said...

Totally agree, as I was just trying to explain this to my 5 year old who is trying to learn to read. :/

Deb J. in Utah said...

Yep - one of those totally weird things about the English language.

Pamela said...

Cute! Knever and and kno gave me a giggle.

Jerralea said...

Your posts always make me smile, which is why I come here when I kneed one!

Rita said...

K should stick to words like kite where it is actually useful and leave the rest alone. ;)

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Oh yeah the silent K is so confusing for many, it likes to jump into words to confuse people truly I think it just like to confuse people for the fun of it

Karen Mortensen said...

Love it. Never understood that whole thing.

ErraticElle said...

English is really a nightmare language. We love to create random rules. My favorite silent K? "Knick-knack". It's a 2 for 1. Better question...why don't we spell gnome as knome? Seems just as plausible, right? Silly English... Elle @ Erratic Project Junkie