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heh, good point ; but i think the problem there is not so much lack of rules but proliferation of exceptions, due to the various origins of words which have been adopted into english over centuries. there are nonetheless some rules, although they may not be obvious. one of them concerns the pronunciation of the letter "g" depending on what letter(s) follow it (hard followed by another consonant or by vowels a, o, u and sometimes i (give); soft followed by e and sometimes i (frigid)).
french also has similar rules, and also has exceptions, which can make it hard to understand / identify the rules sometimes.
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