Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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Why do Dumb and Numb Have Silent 'b's? Mr. Trump, in a typical, rambling speech, Began criticizing his opponents, throwing out the word 'dumb', And 'coining' the word 'Dumbocrats. He emphasized that people don't spell correctly And have no idea that there is a 'b' at the end! I began thinking about this, wondering just why that is so. Well, my research uncovered an interesting narrative. Words like 'dumb' and 'numb' have silent 'b's because of A great shift in English pronunciation Called 'consonant cluster simplification'. The 'b' sound disappeared long ago, but the spelling remained. Old English was pronounced 'dum-b' and 'num-b', And this is still heard in some Germanic languages Such as in Icelandic, where lamb (lam) is voiced 'lam-b'. The sounds 'm' and 'b' together were awkward. Dropping the final 'b' made speech smoother and faster. This is called phonotactics: the 'rule' Of making sounds easy to say together. So, Mr. Trump, would one now be able To further criticize you for 'dumbness'? Frank Maurer 19 September 2026 1500 Hours.