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Legal terms

Legal English preserves Latin and Norman French phrases largely unchanged, so ordinary English spelling rules do not apply. Subpoena is suh-pee-nuh with a silent b, and voir dire keeps a French vowel. These are learned by ear rather than derived from the page.


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The words

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Keep practising

Browse every practice list or the word index, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.

To read the rules behind these words, see the pronunciation guides — including silent letters, word stress and American vs British. Or hear each accent on its own page: American, British, Australian.