The English spelling system is bad. It does not have a strict
correspondence between spelling and pronunciation. One spelling may
be used for several different pronunciations, and one pronunciation
may be used for several different spellings. However, the spelling
system has three advantages:
1. It is standard. Apart from as few small variations (like
British colour versus American color), the spelling
system is the same all over the world. People from any country can
read text written by people from any other country, regardless of
how they personally pronounce those words.
2. It is neutral. Spelling is not a strict rendition of
the pronunciation in any one dialect or form of speech. As a result,
no-one is offended by having to write someone else's language. If
a new standard spelling system were invented which exactly
represented the sounds in one form of spoken English, then speakers
of every other variety of spoken English would protest against it.
3. It keeps the same spelling for related words.
English spellings are often conservative, representing pronunciation
from several centuries in the past. For instance, the words
nation and national are pronounced with different
vowels in the first syllable. Spelling them the same way makes it
obvious that they are related. On the other hand, it makes it
harder for foreigners to learn the corect pronunciation.
The words produce and product are very different
in pronunciation, but they both derive from the same roots
(Latin pro + duc-ere). If we try to write a the
pronunciation of a typical lower-class Londoner in letters that
represent the sounds spoken, we might generate spellings like
these (the acute indicates the accented syllable):
produce: pradjúws
product: pródakt
Reading these written forms, it would not be obvious to most
learners of English that they are related.
Using these symbols, you can read the
list of vowel pronunciations,
which tells you spellings such as ei and ough are spelt in different words.
English has no really strict rules on pronunciation, but the following pages
provide useful guidelines:
Single vowel letters: why the i in
spite and minus is pronounced differently from the i in
spit and mince.
Silent consonant letters: why the b in lamb,
the k in know and the l in half are not pronounced.
When suffixes (-ed, -es, -ing) are added to a word, there is a system for
changing the spelling while the pronunciation stays the same.
