Speedwell, certain modern romance languages don't have a problem with the silent P either & continue to pronounce it. For example, the Portuguese word for "tire" (related to cars, that is) is "pneu," pronounced puh-NAY-oo. Likewise, "psicologia" is pronounced with the puh sound at the beginning. If it is not pronounced & provides no guide for the pronunciation of the following syllable, it should be dropped in English! :-)