John Hasler wrote:
The second part of that rule says that the second vowel is silent; which doesn't apply to debian. This makes it an exception to the rule. You must also consider the origin of the words, since the rules don't necessarily apply to the 100,000's of words that were adapted to English from French. (most of this words have mangled pronunciation somewhere between the French and "English" standard) Despite all this I say everyone can pronounce words how they see fit. As long as the person you are talking to knows what you are trying to say then the purpose of the word(communication) is being served. Except names, of course.And what "default" rule is that?That a vowel followed by a single consonant followed by a vowel is "long". Examples: