Comments

• Tuuktuuk@piefed.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Well, at least that line went without a dinosaur reference.
  It’s a good.beginning!

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• falseWhite@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  It’s not silent if I pronounce it, and I always have. Thank you.

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  • grissino@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    As you should. Unless you pronounce the word helicopter as “helico’ter” too, as they share the same root word; pteron.

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    • KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      The reason why the p in “pterodactyl” is silent is because the consonant cluster /pt/ isn’t allowed as the initial part of a syllable

      When words are borrowed into English but have consonant clusters like this, English simplifies the cluster (in this case, /pt/ becomes /t/)

      However, if the consonant cluster is preceded by a vowel, it splits up and the first consonant becomes the coda (final part) of the preceding syllable

      So while it might have been he-li-co-pter in Greek, it became he-li-cop-ter in English

      This also explains the silent g in “phlegm” and why it’s pronounced in “phlegmatic”

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• ummthatguy@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  The response sounds like Frank Drebin in my head.

  Image

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• Johandea@feddit.nu ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  But pterosaurs weren’t dinosaurs 🤔

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• uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  It was the silent p in pterodactyl that said everything, not her silence.

  You’re stuck in your head again, over-analyzing sentence structure, aren’t you she expressed with a mere glance.

  I’m not really even in this conversation. She added with a blink. No doubt about it.

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• Soktopraegaeawayok@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Every know there is Pee in a pterodactyl. Every body pees

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