Just need to vent...

English is one of the most complicated languages, and often makes no sense.
I was recently thinking about how we pronounce: bowl, bowel, cowl, dowel, fowl, foul, howl, jowl, towel, vowel.

 

English pronunciation is one of the most difficult, that's for sure.

First, we write with 5 vowels, but then add another double-o as a vowel, then give those 6 vowels long and short versions, which isn't actually all their versions, and then sometimes they are pronounced and sometimes not.

Spanish: 5 vowels: a, e, i or y, o, and u
Italian: 6 vowels: a, e, i, long-o, short-o, u
English: +13 vowels: ā, ă, ē, ĕ, ī, ĭ, ō, ŏ, ū, ŭ, ōo, ŏo, ə, and sometimes why.

 

It's what happens when a language is made from smashing several other languages together.

 

Don't forget 'ghoti', which should be pronounced 'fish'. Doesn't break any English pronunciation rules.

 

Not really. Spanish is Latin plus Greek plus German plus Arabic, and on our continent, a lot of Aztec smashed into it, and it still only has 5 vowels.