RELATIONS OF VOWEL LETTERS.

19

26. Æ, an Improper Diphthong, is borrowed from the Latin, where it is always long. In English it is used only in words of Latin origin, and is sometimes long, as in pæan, sometimes short, as in cætera.

27. Ai, an Improper Diphthong, equals long a, as in pail; short a in plăid, răillery; short e in said, again, against; long i in aisle; short i in fountain, captain, curtain, &c.

28. Au, as in cause, and Aw, as in maw, Improper Diphthongs, are equal to broad a in fall, or to o in orb; in aunt, saunter, &c., au equals a in far; in gauge, a in hate. In hautboy (t mute) it has the sound of long o. Ay, a Proper Diphthong in the word ay, is elsewhere an Improper Diphthong, and then equal to long a, as in day, except in quay, pronounced ke.

29. E. E represents the 5th and 6th elementary sounds, as in mete, met. It has an obtuse sound in her, equal to u in urn. (See ¶ 21.) In there, where, ere, e'er, ne'er, &c., it has the sound of a in dare, parent, &c.; but in were, therefore, the first e has the sound of e in her. In pretty, England, &c., e has the sound of short i.

30. As a general rule, the e is sounded in unaccented terminations in el, as in gravel, level, model, novel, vessel, chapel, hovel, flannel, travel; but the sound of e is omitted in drivel, grovel, hazel, mantel, shovel. Most words ending in en drop the sound of e, as often (of'n), heaven (hev'n), even (ev'n), heathen (heth'n). But in the following, e should be sounded: Eden, aspen, chicken, hyphen, kitchen, sudden, sloven, woollen, &c. At the end of words e is mute, except in monosyllables with no other vowels, and in some proper names, as Tem'pe, Le'the.

31. The sound of e is generally omitted in the preterites of verbs, and in participles in ed, when e is not preceded by d or t; as, loved, feared. But in poetry the sound is sometimes retained, and to signify this the may have the mark of the Diar'esis (a Greek word, meaning division); thus praised, blessed, here pronounced as words of two syllables.

32. Ea, an Improper Diphthong, is equal to long e, as in tea; to short e, as in head; to long a, as in break; to Italian a, as in heart, hearth, &c.; to u in urn, as in heard, dearth. Ee, an Improper Diphthong, is equal to long e as in eel. Ei, an Improper Diphthong, is equal to long a, as in heinous, veil; to long e, as in deceit, either, &c.; to long i, as in height; to short i, as in surfeit; and to short e, as in heifer.

33. Eo, an Improper Diphthong, is equal to long e, as in people; to short e, as in leopard; to long o, as in yeoman; and to short o, as in George. Eu and ew, except when preceded by r (when they have the sound of o in move), have the diphthongal or y sound of u; as, feud, dew, new. In sew, shew, strew, ew has the sound of long o.

34. Ey has the sound of long a, as in eyry. In key it has the sound of long e; and, when unaccented, it has a slight sound of long e, as in galley, valley. Eye is equal to ī. Eau has the sound of long o, as in beau; in beauty and its compounds, it has the sound of long u.

35. I.—I represents two sounds: 1. The diphthongal, sometimes called the long sound, as in pine. 2. The 7th elementary, called the short sound, as in pit. Before r it has nearly the sound of u in urn; as, first, thirst. (See ¶ 21.) It sometimes equals long e, as in machine, pique, ravine.

36. I, unaccented, readily blends with the succeeding Vowel, as in motion, physician, concession; and equals y in filial, pinion, &c. Ie, an Improper Diphthong, equals long i, as in die; long e, as in fiend; short i, as in sieve; and short e, as in friend. In terminations like twentieth, also in fiery, orient, variegate, society, and many like words, the vowels are separated in sound. Ieu and iew, Triphthongs, have the sound of long u, as in lieu, review.

37.0.0 represents two elementary sounds, namely, the 8th and the 9th: 1. The long, as in note. 2. The short, as in not. O is sometimes equivalent to long oo, as in prove; to u short in love, done, none, nothing, &c.; to broad a, as in lord; to short i in women; to u as in full in wolf, &c.; to u as in urn, in worse, worth, attorney, &c. In weapon, reason, treason, season, &c., the o is not sounded.

38. Oa, an Improper Diphthong, is sometimes equivalent to long o, as in coal, boat, coat, soap, &c.; or to broad a, as in broad. Oe, an Improper Diphthong, is equal to long o, as in foe; to long oo, as in canoe; to long e, as in fœtus. Oi is a Proper Diphthong, and equal to oy in boy. Do not let this sound degenerate into long i, as if loin were line. Exceptions: tortoise (tor'tiz), choir (kwir). Long oo is heard in food, moon, room, root, soon, &c.; short oo (equal to u in bull) in book, good, &c. In blood, flood, &c., oo is equal to short u.

39. Ou is a Proper Diphthong in ounce, equal to ow in now. Avoid perverting this sound into ceow, as if now were ne'ow. Ou has the sound of short u in enough; of u as in urn in journal, courtesy, &c.; of long oo in soup, wound, &c.; of long o in though, soul, &c.; of broad a in ought, thought, &c.

40. U. U represents three sounds: 1. The long or diphthongal (as if formed of long oo with a y sound before it), heard in use, cube, mute, and also in duty, stupid, duke, dupe, &c. This element changes into long oo, when heard after the sound of r, ch, sh, and perhaps 7; thus we say trooth for truth, rool for rule, shoogar for sugar, choo for chew. 2. The 10th elementary sound, as in bull. 3. The 12th elementary sound, as in but. Before smooth r, as in urn, u has the sound of e in her, &c. (See ¶ 21.) In busy, u equals short i; in bury, short e.

41. Ua, an Improper Diphthong, equals Italian a in guard; short a in guarantee; long a, or wa, in persuade. Ue equals long u in hue, &c.; short e in guess, &c.; and is mute in league, antique, demagogue, &c.

42. Ui, an Improper Diphthong, has the sound of long i in guide, &c.; of short i in guilt, conduit, &c.; of long u in juice. Uy, an Improper Diphthong, equals long i in buy, guy, &c.

RELATIONS OF CONSONANTS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 21

43. W.-W, from being partly a Vowel and partly a Consonant in its use, may be called a Semi-vowel. It has nearly the sound of long oo, and represents the 13th elementary sound, as in wet. With o and e it forms Diphthongs, as in now, new. It is always mute before r, as in write, wrist. It is often joined to o at the end of a syllable without affecting the sound, as in grow. The digraph wh is regarded by some as representing a simple elementary sound. Others regard it as a simple aspiration preceding the sound of w, as if when were hwen. Do not say wite for white, wile for while, &c.

44. Y. Y, from being partly a Vowel and partly a Consonant, may be called a Semi-vowel. In yet, it represents the 14th elementary sound. It is equal to long u, as in youth; to long i, as in cypress; to short i, as in synod, tyranny, &c.; to short u, as in myrrh. It is represented by i in filial, pinion, &c.

QUESTIONS-24, 25. Give the elementary sounds of a. Pronounce f-a-l-c-o-n. 26, 27, 28. Equivalents of æ, ai, au, aw, ay? 29. What of e? 30, 31. When is its sound suppressed? 31. Diæresis? 32, 33, 34. What of ea, ee, ei; eo, eu, ew; ey, eau? 35, 36. What of i; ie; iew? 37. Sounds of o? 38, 39. What are oa, oe, oi; ou? 40. Sounds of u? Long u before r, how sounded? 41, 42. What of ua, ue; ui, uy? 43, 44. What of w; y?

LESSON IV.

RELATIONS OF CONSONANT LETTERS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS.

45. B. B represents the 22d elementary sound, as in bag, bib, bulb, &c. In such words as debtor, subtle, redoubt, &c., and in lamb, comb, dumb, thumb, &c., the b is mute.

46. C. Before another c, and before a, o, u, l, r, t, in the same syllable, the sound of c is hard, equal to k; as in can, come, act, &c.; also where it ends a syllable, as in public. Before e, i, or y, in the same syllable, c is soft, equal to s; as in accent, flaccid (flăk'sid), vacillate (-sil-), cymbal, &c.; except in sceptic (by some spelt skeptic), schirrus, and their derivatives, where c is hard, like k.

47. Ce and ci, followed by another vowel, often blend into the sound of sh, as in ocean, social. C is mute in muscle, czar, victuals, indict, Connecticut, &c. Ch, as in church, is by some regarded as an elementary, and by others as a compound, sound, made up of the sounds of t and sh. In words from the Greek, as chorus, chi-me'ra, scheme, architect, chirog raphy, distich, &c., ch has the sound of k. In words from the French, as chaise, chagrin, chivalry, machine, avalanche, champaign, ch has the sound of sh. Ch is sometimes mute, as in schism (sizm), yacht (yot), drăchm. In drachma (drak'ma), however, it has the sound of k.

48. D. D represents the 28th elementary sound, as in did, ruddy, &c. When ed is preceded by a hard consonant, and the e is mute, the real sound of d is that of t; thus, stuffed, tripped, plucked, are pronounced stuft, tript, pluckt, &c. D is mute, in handsome, Wednesday, stadtholder. 49. F. F represents the 23d elementary sound, as in fell. It sometimes is equal to gh, as in laugh, ph, as in sylph, pph, as in sapphire. In of, it has the vocal sound of v; but in thereof, &c., it has its proper aspirate sound.

50. G. G before a, o, u, l, r, represents the 30th elementary sound, as in gap, go, gun, glory, grip. Before e, i, y, it generally represents the sound of j, as in gem, gibe, gibbet, gyration, gyve. Among the exceptions are get, gear, gewgaw, finger, linger, gibber, gibberish, gibbous, giddy, giggle, gimp, gird, girl, give; also syllables ending in g, as fog, foggy, in all which g has its hard sound as in go. G is mute before m or n in the same syllable, as in phlegm (flem), gnaw, gnome, impugn, condign, apothegm, &c. (See ¶ 56.)

51. The 16th elementary sound is represented by ng (as in ring); also by n before the sound of k in the same syllable (drink), or before the sound of k or of hard g at the beginning of the next syllable (trin'ket, ban'quet, con'cord, an'gle, hun'ger).

52. Gh at the beginning of a word retains the sound of g in gave, as in ghost, gherkin. In other situations, gh is generally mute, as in high, fight. It sometimes equals ƒ, as in laugh, draught; and sometimes g hard, as in burgh.

53. Ough is equivalent to ooh in through, &c.; to owh in bough, plough, drought, droughty, &c.; to uf in enough, rough; to awf in cough, trough. In slough it sometimes has the sound of uf, and sometimes of ou. See slough in the Index.

54. H. H represents the 15th elementary sound, as in hat. It is mute in heir, honor, hour, &c. By some orthoëpists it is incorrectly said to be mute in hospital, hostler, humble, humor, humorous, &c., exhale, exhaust, exhibit, exhort, &c. In such words as whale, what, whist, whither, the h should be aspirated. (See ¶ 43a)

55. J.-J, as in jest, is generally regarded as a compound sound, equal to dzh. It is represented by dg (judgment), di (soldier), g (called soft g) before e, i, and y (gem, age, gibe, legion, gyve), and by gg (exaggerate). 56. K. — K represents the 29th elementary sound, as in kid. It may be represented by c, ck, ch, q, cq. Some speakers interpose a slight sound of e after the sound of g, or of k, in such words as kind, sky, garden, guide, as if ke-yind, ske-y, &c. This fashion is now discarded by the best authorities.

57. L. — L represents the 19th elementary sound, and is soft and liquid, as in love, billow, &c. It is often silent before a final consonant, as in calf, half, chalk, talk, balm, calm, would, alms, &c. Le at the end of words has the e silent, as in table, shuttle.

RELATIONS OF CONSONANTS TO ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 23

58. M. M represents the 17th elementary sound, as in make. It generally preserves its sound, except in such words as accompt, comptroller, &c., now written account, controller. In mnemonics, initial m is mute.

59. N. — N represents the 18th elementary sound, as in now. It is mute when it ends a syllable and is preceded by l or m, as in kiln, hymn, column, condemn, &c. (For ng, see ¶ 51.)

60. P. - P represents the 21st elementary sound, as in pope. It is sometimes mute before n, s, and t, at the beginning of words, as in pneumatics, psalm, ptisan. It is mute in the middle of words between m and t, as in empty, sumpter; also in the words raspberry, receipt, corps (kōre). Ph has the sound of f, as in sphere, nymph, physic, digraph, triumph, caliph, &c. In Stephen and nephew, it has the sound of v; in naphtha, the first his silent.

61. Q. Q, accurately speaking, is neither a letter nor an abbreviation. It is always followed by u, as in quill, quart, &c.; and qu must be regarded as a single sign, equivalent to, but scarcely an abbreviation of, kw. In some words of French origin, qu has the sound of k, as in coquette, masquerade, etiquette, &c.

62. R. R represents the 20th elementary sound, as in run, trill. It has a trilled or vibratory sound when it begins a syllable or word, with or without a consonant, as in run, wrestle, pray, rural, shrill, &c. But it has its smooth sound when it is the last consonant in a syllable or word, as in ardor, here, are (the a as in far), more, adore, wonder, abhor, err, defer, &c. In some few words the sound of r has a tendency to transposition; as in apron, iron, pronounced apurn, iurn. It is often pronounced (in such words as merit, spirit, serious, &c.) as if it both ended the former syllable with its smooth sound, and began the latter syllable with its trilled sound.

63. S represents the 31st elementary sound, as in sir, yes, &c. It has the sound of z in zeal, as in bēsom, house (when a verb), of sh, as in sure, of zh, as in pleasure, composure, hosier, &c. It is mute in island, aisle, corps (kōre), demesne, puisne, viscount. When a word ends in a soft consonant, as b, v, d, g, the plural termination is not the sound of s, but that of z (stagz, dogz), although s is the letter written. Such also is the case in words ending in the Vowels or Liquids; for we say peaz, beanz, hillz, not peace, beance, hillce.

64. The digraph sh represents the 33d elementary sound, as in shelf, flesh. It has as substitutes ce, ci, se, si, sci, ti, si implied in xi (=ksi), before a vowel in a syllable following an accented syllable (o'cean, so'cial, nau'seous, pen'sion, con'science, ac'tion, nox'ious); by s before e or u (nau'se-a, sugar, in-sure'); by sch (schist); and by ch, chiefly in words from the French, as chaise, cha-rade'. Do not say srub, sriek, &c., for shrub, shriek, &c.

65. T.-T represents the 27th elementary sound, as in take, at, &c.