English spelling is not unphonetic in any bad way. It is unphonetic in
just the right way, like French.
Consider these two pronunciations:
1) The Regular English Pronunciation Project (an understandable accent
extrapolated from English spelling)
2) English spoken by the 17th century English intelligentsia (English
as spoken by the finalisers of the spelling we know now).
Here's the main point:
If these pronunciations existed now in the British isles, we'd think
of them as "just a couple more dialects".
English spelling corresponds to a pronunciation that, if it existed,
would not stand out very much against the diversity of English that
already exists.
~Iain
