CORRESPONDENT E Wheatley picks a bad example when suggesting that the letter "b" be dropped from the end of "womb"
(HAS, Feb 20).
That silent sentinel is there to alert us to the different pronunciation of the "o" in the middle of the word. Without it, "wom" might be pronounced to rhyme with "Tom", unless you add an "o" in the middle to produce "woom" as in "room".
Jonathan Ross might approve, but what would be the saving, the number of letters remains the same.
Remove the silent letters from "come" and "comb" and confusion is imminent. How else would you know that the first should rhyme with "tum" and the second with "roam". On balance, I think it is a problem best left alone. - Peter Sotheran, Redcar
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