Why isn't phonics spelled the way it sounds?
372879
For the same reason we park on driveways and drive on parkways.
316898
As others have noted, the letters WERE pronounced when the spellings originated.  And had the printing press come a century later, such things might be spelled the way we now pronounce them.\n\nThere is, however, some value in all this.  It is possible to see how words are related (to see something of their history) both within English and between English and the languages it grew out of.  Thus the spelling of word may show us connections with Germanic, French and Latin words\n\nI remember that it made it a lot easier to learn German, since I could recognize some of these words as related.  (Modern German, which DOES pronounce such sounds, has "Knecht" for "knight", "Nacht" for "night", etc.) I think it also helped with things like SATs.  Similarly, when I had to pick up a reading knowledge of French, I recognized a lot of related words (though I can't pronounce French worth a lick!)  I would think this is some help to Europeans learning English as well.\n\n------------\n\nSome more thoughts on the unstated (implied?) question -- why don't we fix it?!\n\nIncidentally, one of the things that has KEPT English from thorough spelling reforms is the fact that its vocabulary has been so freely borrowed from so many sources for centuries that there would be A LOT to try change and relearn.  (German and many other European languages did see such reforms in the past couple of centuires, but they had a lot less changing to do!)   And with the wide variety of regional pronunciations among just NATIVE English speakers, which ones would be adopt for the "standard"?  And if there were multiple versions what kind of mess would that make?! (The differences that now exist between British and American spelling are quite minor, hardly a barrier to reading each others' writing.)\n \nThink too what this change would do for reading anything in slightly older English!   We wouldn't be able to read documents and letters of the last several centuries without 'translating' them!
125044
Try http://www.wiktionary.com , a big dictionary with translations and simple explanations. \n\nAlso, search for "English" or "English Phonics" at http://www.wikibooks.com , a collection of free textbooks.
783902
Yes, it should be, cause the correct spelling does not have two 't's '
172748
Because English has a spelling rules but each rule comes with its exeption.  This makes it very hard for students to be able to learn how to spell because its not very phonetic.
588193
We presume the words in the dictionary are spelled correctly. Keep in mind there is sometimes more than one correct spelling of the same word. Ex.: Color and Colour
68972
How can you ask that question in all seriousness and yet you capitalize college degree? You'd really better make sure your every one of your ducks are in a row before asking a question like that.\n\nNow, in answer to your question:\n\nUsage Note: The pronunciation (nky-lr), which is generally considered incorrect, is an example of how a familiar phonological pattern can influence an unfamiliar one. The usual pronunciation of the final two syllables of this word is (-kl-r), but this sequence of sounds is rare in English. Much more common is the similar sequence (-ky-lr), which occurs in words like particular, circular, spectacular, and in many scientific words like molecular, ocular, and vascular.
109511
Even the answers here can't get it right. Only one other so far had no spelling mistakes.  I wish I knew what the solution was to this because it bothers me, too.  It is not an earth-shattering problem of life-threatening proportions, but for sure it indicates a lesser degree of pride in our work product, and a greater degree of laziness as he said above.  I don't see it as a time saver, because I can spell correctly just as quickly as incorrectly. As for the crowded classroom argument, I went to a school that had 3 grades to each room with only one teacher, but we worked and we learned and we still know our stuff. *Throw my hands into the air!*
1001249
If spelling is so important (and I believe it is) why do we have two 'English' speaking countries spelling words differently? Examples of this is in America, red, green, yellow are "colors" yet in England and Australia they are "colours". \nIn the past the idea of spelling words as they sound was considered, however the word covering this style of spelling is "Phonetic spelling". Yeh, like that will catch on. Maybe if it was called 'Fonetic" it might have stood a chance. Anyway, as the English language is always developing and the original meanings of words are being lost, so is the ability to spell correctly.
368631
Why don't people know how to use a spell checker?
785427
Why is Dyslexia so difficult to spell.
1068684
English spelling is not phonetic (well, maybe barely phonetic)\nAt first spelling was totally sound-out.\nPrinting started to standardize spelling, then pronunciation changed.  Spelling was already standardized, so spelling did not.\nAlso, at one point in our history, some 'learnéd' people decided to add letters to make the (probable) Latin root more apparent--that's when we got the 'b' in debt.\nMy favorite one though is where did the 'w' go in one?  It moved over to 'two'--which of course, by the standard letter values should be pronounced 'own' and 'twoh'.
74295
The root "phon" means sound.  If you spelled this as "fon" it would no longer be associated with all the other words that share this root.\n\nBy the way, the real spelling is "phonetic".
605661
Every word is pronounced as it sounds!! Do you mean pronounced as it's spelt?
58818
Teaching English reading using phonics involves relating certain rules about English pronunciation:\n\n\nBasic rules\nEach letter is like an animal, which has a name and the sound(s) that it makes. e.g. A cat says "meow". \nEach vowel has two sounds: one long and one short. The long sound is the same as its name. The long sounds are in Ape, Eat, Eye, Oh, and You. Their short equivalents are A (a as in at), E (e as in elm), I (i as in it), O (o as in hop), and U (u as in up). (A criticism of this statement would be that in fact every vowel has a third sound -- the schwa -- the sound of a vowel that is unstressed in an unstressed syllable. The schwa is the most frequent vowel sound in English. Additionally, the 'a' in 'father' is different from the 'a' in 'cat'. \nEach syllable is made by blending the sounds of each component. e.g. reading the word by adding one sound at a time, as in -e, -ed, bed. \nWhen a single vowel letter is in the middle of a word (or syllable), it usually says its short sound. e.g. "Got", "Bed". But there are many exceptions to this rule. See irregular vowels below. \nWhen a single vowel letter is in the end of a word (or syllable), it usually says its long sound (or its name.) e.g. "Go", "Be". \nWhen two vowels go hand in hand in the same word (or syllable), the first vowel usually says its own name (long sound) and the second vowel stays silent. e.g. "Bake" (Ay sound + silent E), "Goal" (Oh sound + silent A), etc. But there are many exceptions to this rule. See irregular vowels below.
898142
i dont get it. unless i am saying it wrong i pronounce it just like it is spelled:  fo-net-ics (ph makes a f sound btw.)
109850
It has to do with the the older versions of English. For example, back in the 16- and 1700 (possibly into the 1800s as well) the English "S" looked like an "F".