The weird English language

When you say "ascent," you don't pronounce the silent c.  When you say "descend," you don't say "dee-skend."  When you say ascorbate, you transcend normal rules of speaking English and say "a-skorbate."  Sure, whatever.  If I say "asorbate," people know that I am referring to ascorbate, the same way that Americans understand a Brit when he says "toe-mah-toe." Miniscule irrelevant trifle.  Of course I mean the anion of vitamin C, ever linkable to a cationic 2+ mineral.  Duh!