It is precisely because some words are un-English that they cause difficulties in English spelling. The English language has gathered words from far and wide, displaying a striking ability to expand its vocabulary by absorbing foreign words. In the process, these words are often changed to some extent to suit an English pronunciation, but we seem to favour leaving at least some trace of their foreign origin in the spelling.
Thus we have words from Chinese, like kowtow and lychee; from Japanese, like judo and origami; from French, like chic and cul-de-sac, from German, like glockenspiel and pretzel; and from Italian, like espresso and spaghetti. Each of these has a feature of the original borrowing in the spelling.
These are probably the most entertaining words to learn to spell because they take us on a trip around the world in the process of becoming familiar with them. But there is one other important set of words for us as Australians and that is the words we have taken from Aboriginal languages. These are largely flora and fauna -- barramundi, budgerigar and koala; coolibah, jarrah and mallee. But there are other items as well -- billabong, corroboree, dillybag, humpy and gibber, for example. The first words were borrowed from the Dharug language spoken around Sydney Cove, but after that settlers in many different parts of the country added words from a great range of Aboriginal languages.
Here are some more words that we have borrowed from around the world.
berserk - The first syllable of berserk is spelt ber though you do not hear the r. It is spelt like this because ber comes from an Icelandic word meaning ‘bear-like’. A berserker was a Norse warrior of great courage and strength who fought with frenzied fury in battle.
dachshund - It will be easier to spell dachshund if you think about the two German words of which it is made up -- dachs meaning ‘a badger’ and hund meaning ‘a dog’. So a dachshund was originally a dog (or hound -- remember the h) used for hunting badgers.
eisteddfod - The word eisteddfod comes from a Welsh word (meaning ‘session’) and the spelling contains combinations of letters that are common in Welsh but unusual in English. The main spelling points to remember are that the sound at the beginning is spelt ei though it is pronounced ‘uh’, there is a double d in the middle, and the last syllable is fod although it sounds like ‘fuhd’.
entrepreneur - Entrepreneur comes from a French word (meaning ‘undertake’) which is why the ‘o’ sound at the beginning is spelt e. Then there are another three e’s, spelling the two ‘uh’ sounds in the middle and finally as part of the -eur ending. This ending occurs in several words that have come from French and means ‘someone who does something’, as in amateur and chauffeur.
genealogy - The word genealogy comes from the same Greek word as gene does. If you think of gene this will help you to remember that the vowel sound after the n is spelt e (though it may sound like it should be spelt i). The suffix -logy is used in many words relating to the study of something. Remember that in this word it has an a before it.
ghetto - Note the double t before the o ending in ghetto. This occurs in many words which come from Italian, such as stiletto and risotto. Ghetto comes from the Italian name given to the Jewish quarter of Venice in the 16th century.
hippopotamus - The word hippopotamus comes from the Greek words hippos meaning ‘horse’ and potamos meaning ‘river’, in other words ‘horse of the river’.
impromptu - Remember that the ending of impromptu is spelt with a u which is quite unusual in English. This is because it comes from the Latin phrase in promptu, meaning ‘in readiness’.
karaoke - The word karaoke comes from two Japanese words -- kara meaning ‘absent’ and oke meaning ‘orchestra’.
picturesque - The basic meaning of picturesque is ‘like a picture’. You know the spelling of picture, so all you need to remember is the -esque suffix (meaning ‘like’ or ‘in the style of’) in place of the final e. This suffix gives an ‘esk’ sound because it comes from French. Another word with this ending is grotesque.
cassette - Remember that the final syllable of cassette is spelt ette (although it sounds like ‘et’). This suffix comes from French and means ‘small’ or ‘feminine’. Cassette originally meant ‘little box’. Other words with this ending include serviette, flannelette and cigarette.