So is Q-pon an acceptable alternative pronunciation, or a regional dialect, or just plain wrong? If a person says Q-pon does she or he gives an illiterate vibe?
Did the rules really help anyone? With all the exceptions to the rules I think the only way to learn to spell English words correctly is to remember them all
I believe that rules do help (even with all the exceptions). When we were first graders we've started our study of English with learning transcription/reading/spelling rules. There ARE patterns, and we could read rather well before we actually could say anything coherent (or even understand what we were reading). I think it made us 'decent" spellers and eliminated a fear of unfamiliar words.