NOW HEW THIS -- The spelling system of any language is, at best, only an approximation of its pronunciation. Writing is, in fact, a totally arbitrary system of symbols and marks meant to convey the sounds of a language; and compared to modern gadgetry, a very primitive method of recording speech.
Language changes with time. What is agreed upon as a convenient and conventional way of recording speech with certain symbols may, in a few years, no longer accurately represent the way people speak. (Modern English orthography more nearly represents the pronunciation of Queen Elizabeth I than the current monarch.) Nevertheless, we retain the spelling system because it would be neither feasible nor practical to republish all the books and re-educate all the people; in one generation, several hundred years worth of books would be unreadable.
The point is this: Despite the inconsistencies in English orthography and the sometimes wide disparity between spelling and pronunciation, the use of "standard" written forms remains a mark of literacy and education. And that allows a writer to achieve other goals, one being the smooth communication of ideas.
In the writing dodge, we are judged by our product, the symbols representing words, which we commit to paper.
Moral: Pronounce as you will, but hew to the spelling conventions.
SAY WHAT? -- "The murder victims were found with two bullets in each of their heads."
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