The thing is, there are rules and explanations for everything, but they are not the kind of rules that would help a foreigner learn the language. They are the r

The thing is, there are rules and explanations for everything, but they are not the kind of rules that would help a foreigner learn the language. They are the rules of languages and orthography being transformed as a result of waves of invasions, with each invader bringing their own language and changing the pronounciation of some of the native words, to be replaced by another invader doing the same. This is not unique to English, but I do think that English is more eclectic than most other languages.