Minor problems

Exceptions to the patterns for:

consonants   c/k,  f,   g,  j,   m,  n,   r,  t, w  and se for
Z-sound, long vowels a-e, i-e, u-e, ou and the blends ar and air,
short vowels a, e, i, o and u, endings and prefixes and assorted minor irregularities

The spelling of the C/K-sound is governed by 10 different rules.
They all have some exceptions   (at least 104 between them).

1.)  8 words do not use k for the K-sound before e or i (like keep, kept, kid):
         ache, architect, bronchial, chemical,  orchestra, orchid,  scheme, quay;

2.) 18 words do not use c before a, o and u, as cat, cod and cup do):
anchor, chameleon chaos, character, chasm, cholesterol, chorus,
         mechanical,  psychological,  school; 
         kaleidoscope, kangaroo, karate, kayak;
         bouquet, queue, quoit, turquoise.

3.)  6 words do not use ck after a short vowel, at the end of a short word,
like  deck and duck:  mac, sac,  rec,   trek,  yak,   cheque.

4.)  5 words do not use k after a long vowel, as in ‘leak’ or ‘peek‘:
antique,   boutique,   technique,   unique,   opaque.

5.)  8 words do not spell the final K-sound with c at the end of multi-
syllable words, (e.g. comic, maniac):
attack,  barrack,  ransack,  rucksack,  shuttlecock,
kayak, anorak, stomach.

6.)  10 words do not use just c  before a consonant, (e.g. clip, crane, cactus):
         chlorine, Christmas, chrome, chrysalis, chrysanthemum, technical,
cockney, cocktail,    mackerel [macrel], chocolate [choclat].

7.)  10 words do not use k  after a consonant, (e.g. ankle, dark,  dusk):
disc,   mollusc, circle, uncle ;
           conquer, marquee,  mosquito,   mosque, picturesque ;  monarch.

8.)  21 words do not use ck after a short, stressed medial vowel
(e.g. racket, cricket, rocket, bucket):
         crocodile, decade, documents, executive, recognise, record, second,
secular, vacuum;
accurate, occupy, piccolo, soccer, succulent, tobacco;
echo, mechanism;   chequered, lacquer,  liquor.

9.)  4 words do not spell the KW-sound with qu as in queen:
acquaint,   acquire,   acquit,     choir.

10.) 14 words do not spell the KS-sound simply with x (e.g. exit, tax, taxi).
         accelerate, accent, accept, access, eccentric, success, succeed,   accident;
exceed, excellent, except, excess, excite;       exhibition.

The F-sound (fluff) is spelt unpredictably in 43 words.

Hard G-sound

* The ue endings here serve to indicate a long vowel before g,
as well as indicating a hard g.

The J-sound is spelt unpredictably before  e, i  or y..
     At the end and in the middle of words, it is spelt almost invariably
as in cage, agent and engine, but this pattern has 10 exceptions too.

The M-sound (mum) has 17 unpredictable spellings.

The N-sound (nun) has 34 unpredictable spellings.