From Putting My Feet in the Dirt, October’s Writing prompts.

Today, “Crispy cold cola”.

Crispy cold cola.  Ah, the letter “c”.  Sometimes sounds like “s”, sometimes like “k”.  English spelling at its finest.  I laugh when people say the English spelling system is “phonetic”.  I am a linguist, meaning I actually have a Masters degree in Linguistics, and taught Linguistics for several years.  English spelling is NOT phonetic.  If it were, the letter “c” would NOT alternate between sounding like “s” or “k”.

Ok, yes.  In spelling, “c” is “s” sounding in front of “e” and “i”.  And “y”, I guess.  But that does not make it phonetic.  That makes it predictable. Of course, in front of an “h” it sounds like something completely different…

Now we look for exceptions, but you know what?  It’s not that important anymore.  It once was to me, as a young Linguistics student, but today?  I think I’m ready for a crispy cold cola (or maybe a glass of wine…)