I am wondering if there is a way to determine when the “c” is silent and when it is not?

Question

I found one lesson in “Lawless French” that used blanc and banc as an example of “c” being silent due to the “an” being a nasal vowel. Other individual exceptions were stomach, porc and tabac.  So as a rule is the “c” silent when it follows a nasal vowel? Is there any other rule that I can use to cull the list of words that need to be memorized?

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Sharon,
Unfortunately, French pronunciation has many exceptions, so some words may not follow a strict rule. It's often best to learn these words individually.
Here are some examples:
- final -c pronounced:  avec / un flic / un truc
- final -c silent: un estomac / le porc / un tabac / blanc or banc (even when there should be a liaison - See link here: Blanc - Académie française)
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée