The 'word' g-h-o-t-i can be pronounced in either of two ways--either

(1)  <fish>: "gh" as in tough, "o" as in women, "ti" as in action;
or
(2)  <> (that is, completely silently): "gh" as in weigh,
         "o" as in famous, "t" as in filet, "i" as in friend.


[The first of these attributed to George Bernard Shaw,
 in a plea for spelling reform.]






Can you spell "potato"? 
 If GH can stand for P as in Hiccough
 If OUGH stands for O as in Dough
 If PHTH stands for T as in Phthisis
 If EIGH stands for A as in Neighbour
 If TTE stands for T as in Gazette
 If EAU stands for O as in Plateau 
 Then the right way to spell POTATO should be: GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU 

See also a list of strange English pronunciations:
  http://www.odps.org/glossword/index.php?a=term&u=5baaaf5c5f5bada8a5ab
A plea for accepting 10 mistakes as mere variant spellings:
  http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=403092