Why is the spelling English sometime confusing?

Answer 1

Because:

* Sometimes the pronunciation of words have changed and the spelling stayed the same, for example: Know. (originally pronounced Cnouw)

* Sometimes we've taken a word from another language with different spelling rules but not changed the spelling, for example: Chef. (The French Ch is pronounced like the English Sh)

* Sometimes we've taken similar words from two languages, the spelling from one and the pronunciation from another, for example: Colonel (from the Italian, we pronounce it closer to the French Coronelle)

* Sometimes misguided spelling reform has put needless letters in, for example: Scissors. (it didn't have the C until Victorian times, it was never pronounced)

* Sometimes a sound has disappeared from the language, and different words with that sound have put a different sound in it's place, for example: Brought, Hiccough, Tough, Draught. The gh in all of these were originally pronounced like the ch in Loch and Bach.