Quote:
Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel
but if there is no e after the g, it would be pronounced as a hard g....
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slayda
Are there any spelling rules in English? If so then how could the words; to, too, and two (or if you prefer so, sow, and sew) all be pronounced the same.  |
Quote:
Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel
heh, good point ; but i think the problem there is not so much lack of rules but proliferation of exceptions....
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Yes, this is a common quandary for those who come to English as non-native speakers ... and only slightly less so for those who come to it as native speakers.
But fortunately, I can clear up all the confusion here quite easily: English is a language in which the rules exist
solely for the purpose of providing identity
for the exceptions.
Once you understand this simple fact, it all becomes perfectly clear ... rather like a tincture of Hemlock. (In Socrates' famous last words: "I drank
what?")