The English language is a difficult one to pronounce as well as to spell.
This arises from two causes. The English language has some sounds not
generally found in other languages, such as _w_ and _th_. As has already
been pointed out, the alphabet fits the language very badly. Careful
lexicographers indicate no less than seven sounds of _a_, five of _e_,
three of _i_, four of _o_ and six of _u_, as shown in the following table:

[=a] as in [=a]le
[Ia] as in sen[Ia]te
[)a] as in [)a]m
á as in ásk
[a:] as in [a:]ll
ä as in fäther
(a) as in fin(a)l

[=e] as in [=e]ve
[)e] as in [)e]nd
[Ie] as in ev[Ie]nt
[~e] as in f[~e]rn
(e) as in prud(e)nce

[=i] as in [=i]ce
[Ii] as in [Ii]dea
[)i] as in p[)i]n

[=o] as in [=o]ld
[Io] as in [Io]pen
[)o] as in [)o]dd