When describing why English is the hardest language to learn...?

It is mostly the irregular verbs, and all of the non-phonetic spellings. It is a nightmare because there is nothing for it except brute force memorization.

Edit note: here is what they are talking about.

http://www.spellingsociety.org/journals/j17/caos.p...

And here are the first few lines -- enjoy :D

Dearest creature in creation

Studying English pronunciation,

I will teach you in my verse

Sounds like corpse, corps, horse and worse.

I will keep you, Susy, busy,

Make your head with heat grow dizzy;

Tear in eye, your dress you'll tear;

Queer, fair seer, hear my prayer.

Pray, console your loving poet,

Make my coat look new, dear, sew it!

Just compare heart, hear and heard,

Dies and diet, lord and word.

Sword and sward, retain and Britain

(Mind the latter how it's written).

Made has not the sound of bade,

Say - said, pay - paid, laid but plaid.

Now I surely will not plague you

With such words as vague and ague,

But be careful how you speak,

Say: gush, bush, steak, streak, break, bleak

Second edit:

Here is the encyclopedic evidence for the irrationality for English spelling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_spelling_refo...

Again, the first few lines:

English spelling reform is the collective term for various campaigns and efforts to change the spelling of the English language to make it simpler and more rationally consistent. There exists a small-scale movement among amateur and professional linguists, but one with a long history and some mixed successes.

Supporters assert that the many inconsistencies and irregularities of English spelling lead to severe difficulties for learners. They believe this leads to a lower level of literacy among English speakers compared with speakers of languages having a spelling system that is more consistent in representing meaning as well as pronunciation. Many reformers think that it should more faithfully conform to how the language is spoken, and have, since at least the time of George Bernard Shaw, pointed out costs to business and other users in retaining traditional spelling.

English does in fact have a very poor phonemic orthography, or correspondence between how the words are written and how they are spoken. This is due in part to changes in commonly accepted dialects of English from older pronunciations.

Every single language has "special rules" and "exceptions". English is not the hardest by far. These people has obviously never tried learning another language. English has no declensions, no genders, no adjectival agreement, no tones, hardly any verb conjugations. Tell them to try learning a Slavic language (declensions kill me) or an Asian language (most are tonal) and they'll probably change their minds.

English is not the hardest language to learn.

As for "special rules" and "exceptions" I think those people may be thinking about the differences between colloquial spoken informal English and formal written English?

Anyone who complains Englsih is difficult has never studied Sanskrit or Japanese or shuld take a look at the structure of some Amerind languages.

Ever seen Navaho syntax?

English is far from the hardest language to learn.

There are many rules and many exceptions, but it is NOT the hardest.

It is ranked about in the middle by linguists.

because there is so many exceptions...and verbs and pronouns and nouns......Trust me if you were born knowing another language and forced to know another one wouldn't it be hard to learn it? yes,yes it would....