Why S is silent in Island?
The English adopted the French spelling “isl…”, but even at the time this adoption occured, the French already did not pronounce the “s”. So the English adopted both the French spelling and the French pronunciation (sort of). So now the French spelling is ”île”, but the phantom “s” lives on in our “island”.
How do you pronounce Island?
Why Island is pronounced iland?
Island. An unnecessary s was bestowed on iland in order to make clearer the link to Latin insula. Only island didn’t come from insula, but from the Old English íglund.
How do you say Island in British?
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.