Nicholas Bodley skribis:

>
> Steve Bett wrote, quoting from the back cover of the book,
> >
> > perhaps the worst example of an alphabetical system in existance.
>
> Fwiw, I only barely understand the reasons why one word ends in "...ence"
> and another in "...ance".

Generally for etymological reasons, I believe.

> I think Tibetan might be a useful candidate, not that I dislike the
> language (of which I know essentially nothing) or its speakers. (I've read
> that Tibetans tend to be likable.) Irish Gaelic, possibly? The name
> "Mhaonaigh" is pron'd. "Weenie", for one. (She's the lead singer of the
> band Altan). (I also love Gaeilge, although I understand almost none of
> it.)

I don't think Irish is a good candidate either. To someone who's never
studied the language, it looks as though the spelling is quite random. But
there are rules, quite a few of them. Although there is room for improve-
ment in the spelling rules, applying the rules generally yields the correct
pronunciation. Take a look at "lenition" for such digraphs as "mh."

--Ph. D.