To be a good example:
1. the word listed should be very common, if possible
2. the silence of the letters should be "arguable" (through something like a minimal pairs methodology)
The following annotations are generally of the form:
a is a word in which the letter in question is not used, but for which the context of the letter, as well as the pronunciation is similar to the given example; the position the letter would occupy in context is denoted by empty <brackets>.
b is a word (sharing some of the environment of the silent example) in which the letter in question is used, and is pronounced.
a - aerobic [<>erosion|pajamaed*]
b - thumb [plum<>, scum<>, drum<> | humble]
c - yack [ya<>k] (nick/beatnik)
ch - yacht [baccara<>t, kumqua<>t, sabba<>t | ichthyology, watchtower, peachtree]
e - gate [ | agave, toupee (divorce/divorcee)]
g - campaign [pai<>n | ignite]
gh - through [you<>, caribou<> | rough, hiccough]
h - hour [<>our | house]
i - daiquiri [pla<>que | daisy] (juice/spruce)
j - marijuana [bivo<>uac | majuscule]
k - sack [sac<>] {doc : dock}
l - half [ha<>fnium, sha<>ft | halt]
m - mnemonist [<>nemesis | amnesia]
n - column [plum<> | columnar, glumness]
o - amoeba [am<>enable | thermoelectric, woebegone]
p - pneumonia [<>neurosis | cheapness, apnia] (beaucoup)
s - island [bi<>lateral | Islam, grisly]
t - bouquet [communique<> | banquet]
th - asthma [plas<>ma | arithmetic]
u - guild [g<>ild | anguish]
ue - dialogue [backlog<>, protolog<> | argue]
w - burrow [burro<> | frown]
x - doux [caribou<> | crux] (faux [info<> | auxiliary]
z - chez [cliche<> | fez]
* it is assumed that, if it were a word, pajamad would be pronounced
differently than pajamaed. This lends some support for the notion
that the inclusion of the e here affects pronunciation and is, hence,
not silent (see also aed.htm).