The English language contains a variety of sounds that may not be found in other languages, making it very difficult to learn. For example, the sound "th," cannot be found in other romance languages, making it difficult to pronounce for non-English speakers. In addition, the abundance of consonant combinations, in combinations such as "rt" or "pt", give speakers of Chinese or Korean particular difficultly, as a result of the fact that their language does not contain these consonant pairings.
One difficult part of learning English is the abundance of non-English words that find a place in the language. Loanwords, or words from another language that have been integrated into English, contain confusing spellings, pronunciations and meanings. The interaction of individuals and cultures creates these loanwords. For example, "milieu," "status quo," and "zeitgeist" are all examples of foreign words that have become a part of the modern English language.
The fact that different forms of the English language are spoken in different areas of the word makes learning English phonology particularly difficult. British and European pronunciations may be vastly different than American ones, and forms of English in New Zealand or Australia may be unlike either of these two. In addition to differences in pronunciation, spelling inconsistencies across continents may pose issues for English speakers. For example, "color" in American may be spelled "colour" in the U.K. These all offer a phonological obstacle for those who want to master the language.
Two final things that make English phonology difficult are inconsistent spellings and pronunciations. Spelling, which acts as a key for pronunciation, has numerous inconsistencies in the language. For example, "passion," "fashion," and "station" have the same pronunciation in their final syllable, but they have three different spellings. This causes difficulty for those who are pronouncing written words. Differences in pronunciation also pose problems, with words such as "mature." Some would pronounce the word "MAH-choor" while others would say "MAH-toor." Punctuation and spelling are two obstacles for those who wish to learn English.