Why Silent Letters Matter Over a month ago, Jessie posted on the ‘curious world of silent letters in English.’ I agree with everything she said but she left out one issue. I’m a native Canadian-English speaker now living in Bolivia. A lot of vocabulary in English and Spanish is similar or near similar, for example, the word ‘salmon,’ the salt water fish. If I go into a restaurant and order the special of the day and say ‘sa’mon’ the waiter won’t understand. But, when my wife repeats my requests as ‘salmon.’ I get what I wanted. Let’s move this event to my hometown, Vancouver, Canada. Whatever word you use, the waiter will get you an order of fish. But, if you asked for the ‘salmon,’ your server may ask “where you’re from?” Here's what jessie left out. The silent letters make English a secret code which let’s us native speakers easily identify the visitors among us. While that is a joke, there is a certain truth to it, especially if you are about to sit for a language level assessment such as the Duolingo, IELTS or TOEFL. If you are trying for the higher end of the IELTS, say 7, 7.5 or 8+, or the equivalent in the other two tests, you need to sound like a native speaker. This means you need to use the silent letters. Check out my profile. I’d be happy to give you a trial lesson to help with your speaking or writing.