If you know some rules of spelling to sound, you can get the correct pronunciation of a word up to 80 per cent of the time. The rules are simple but there are lots of exceptions and the vowels letters or sounds are the ones that cause much difficulty, e.g. the vowel letter 'a' has nine distinct pronunciations: 1) b<U>a</U>d 2) n<U>a</U>me 3) f<U>a</U>ther 4) c<U>a</U>re 5) w<U>a</U>ter 6) <U>a</U>go 7) lugg<U>a</U>ge 8) w<U>a</U>tch 9) m<U>a</U>ny. If you need more information, I'll be glad to help.