Neat.
I think you will discover that the I before E rule only applies when the sound is an eee
...R
Ah, that is another layer to the rule (it is a bit like the rule for leap years).
The basic rule is "i before e" so "Science" should be spelled "Science".
However; the "except after c" part means it should be spelled "Sceince".
However; because the sound is not "eee" it should be spelled "Science"!
Of course it is not that simple
There are words like "height" and "weight" where there is no 'c' but 'i' does not come before 'e'.
I had a go at some pseudo code, but I think the rule is that there is no rule;
if following 'c'
{
if sound is not 'eee'
{
"i before e" // e.g. science - shot down by ?
}
else
{
"e before i" // e.g. fluorescein - but shot down by specie
}
}
else
{
if sound is not 'eee'
{
"e before i" // e.g. height - but shot down by identifier
}
else
{
"i before e" // e.g. field - but shot down by seize
}
}