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    2 months ago

    That’s because the shift between the V sound and the S sound is very awkward. When that kind of shift is awkward, dropping one of the sounds entirely (usually the first one) is common.

    • Salmon (although there are pockets of people who still pronounce the “l”)
    • Receipt
    • Schedule (was originally pronounced with a “s-ch” combination, now is “sk” in America and “sh” in the UK)

    There’s plenty of common English words that have also changed spelling to go along with that pronunciation, though I can’t recall any at the moment.

    Edit: Thought of one: Donut. Yes, the “old-timey” spelling was “doughnut,” and is still found in relatively common use. Long ago that “gh” in there was pronounced like a “phlegmmy ‘h’.” As that sound fell out of use, it eventually fell completely out of the word “donut.”