<P> A silent ⟨ k ⟩ occurs when the letter ⟨ k ⟩ appears in a word but does not actually reflect the pronunciation of a (k), or any sound for that matter . A silent ⟨ k ⟩ is quite common in the English language, most often preceding an ⟨ n ⟩ at the beginning of a word . There are rare exceptions to this rule; examples being Knoebels Grove (/ kəˈnoʊbəlz / kə - NOH - bəlz) located in Pennsylvania in the United States, and the germanic surname Knaus (s) (/ kəˈnaʊs / kə - NOWSS) used by Joshua and Benjamin Knauss of Lewisburg, PA, NASCAR crew chief Chad Knaus, and First Lady Melania (Knauss) Trump . </P> <P> While not as common, the letter ⟨ g ⟩ will also become silent when placed in front of an ⟨ n ⟩ at the beginning of a word, rather than being realized as a (ɡ). An exception is the acronym GNU . ⟨ gn ⟩ can also occur at the end of words, such as design and campaign . </P> <P> In Old English, ⟨ k ⟩ and ⟨ g ⟩ were not silent in these words . Cognates in other Germanic languages show that the ⟨ k ⟩ was probably a voiceless velar plosive in Proto - Germanic (compare German Knecht to knight, Knoten to knot, etc. where the initial ⟨ k ⟩ is not silent); likewise, ⟨ g ⟩ was probably a voiced velar plosive (compare German Gnom to gnome, Gneis to gneiss, etc. where the initial ⟨ g ⟩ is not silent). </P> <P> Following is a list of words that include a silent ⟨ k). Plural nouns, as well as compound nouns derived from and containing simple nouns in the list are ignored . For verbs, only the infinitive form of the verb is given, not any conjugations or derived verbs: </P>

Why do we have a silent k in english
find me the text answering this question