unphonetic

_Porgy_ seems to be the accepted form of the word; but letters of the old, unphonetic kind are poor guides to pronunciation.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 07, No. 40, February, 1861 Various

Thus gradually increasing prominence is given to the discovery of new words by this analytic-synthetic process, and less time to sight word drills, until they are entirely omitted, except for the teaching of unphonetic words.

How to Teach Phonics Lida M. Williams

The new dictionaries greatly simplify the matter of mastering the diacritical marks, and lessen the number needed, by re-writing unphonetic words in simple phonetic spelling.

How to Teach Phonics Lida M. Williams

The American substitution of a for e in gray is not easily explained, nor is the retention of e in forego, nor the unphonetic substitution of s for z in fuse, nor the persistence of the y in gypsy and pygmy, nor the occasional survival of a foreign form, as in cloture.

Chapter 8. American Spelling. 1. The Two Orthographies Henry Louis 1921

Brackebusch, in the speculative paper just mentioned, came to the conclusion that the future domination of English would be prevented by its unphonetic spelling, its grammatical decay and the general difficulties that a foreigner encounters in seeking to master it.

Chapter 12. The Future of the Language. 1. English as a World Language Henry Louis 1921

Indeed, it is the unphonetic character of English spelling that has largely influenced us to give up the alphabet method of teaching children to read.

The Montessori Method Anne E. Montessori George 1912

And anyway, English itself is notoriously unphonetic, even unto people’s names.

Word Court 2007

And anyway, English itself is notoriously unphonetic, even unto people’s names.

Word Court 2007