How do we pronounce ignorance?
Is the T silent in exactly?
In practice, yes it is virtually silent unless one makes a special effort to pronounce it. When we have a consonant cluster here /ktl/ one sound is often not heard. The linguistice term for it is “dissimilation”.
Is the T silent in water?
It depends. The “t” in water and matter can be pronounced correctly a few different ways. Different dialects will pronounce the “t” as the the traditional letter T is pronounced /t/, but it is most commonly pronounced as an Alveolar flap , /ɾ/, and in some dialects you will here is glotallized as a Glottal stop /ʔ/.
What is the meaning of ignorance?
: the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness.
Is ignorant a bad word?
The Oxford dictionary (my dictionary of choice) defines ignorance as a “lack of knowledge or information.” Keeping in mind that knowledge and intelligence are not the same thing this means that ignorance is not a static state, and should not be taken as an insult. In reality, it is perfectly fine to be ignorant.
David Nilsen is the former editor of Fourth & Sycamore. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. You can find more of his writing on his website at davidnilsenwriter.com and follow him on Twitter as @NilsenDavid.