For the last few years I have been learning Spanish, one of the great joys of which is pronunciation.  More specifically, completely consistent pronunciation.  Unlike English.

Consider the following:

• Rough ('uff')
• Plough ('ow!')
• Cough ('off')

'Walk', 'talk' and 'chalk', all of which are pronounced as though the 'l' were an 'r'.  Then we have 'balk' where the 'l' is pronounced as an 'l'. 

'Walk' and 'talk' sound as though they are spelled 'work' and 'tork' - only, of course, 'tork' would be prononced 'tork' and 'work' is pronounced 'wurk'.

'Post' and 'most' - so far, so good;  but what about 'lost'?

'Cow' and 'now' - so far so good;  but what about 'low' and 'bow' (as in archery) unless it's 'bow' (as in bend from the waist).

And then there's almond (where 'al' is pronounced 'arl'), almost (where 'al' is pronounced 'all') and almanac (where 'al' is pronounced as in the man's name 'Al').

Maybe all this glorious inconsistency is why I love the English language so much.