The spelling of the word "palanker" can be confusing, but it can be easily explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). According to the IPA, "palanker" is spelled as /pəˈlæŋkər/. The "p" represents the initial consonant sound, followed by the schwa sound "ə". The "l" and "n" sounds are represented by their respective letters, while the "a" sound is spelled as "æ". Finally, the word ends with the "ŋkər" sound, represented by the letters "ng" and "k".