Seven of the tonic elements may be called Diphthongs : a-ll, a-rt, a-n, a-le, i-sle, o-ld, ou-r. The remaining five have one unaltered sound: ee-l, oo-ze, e-rr, e-nd, i-n.

$61. TABLE OF THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS IN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

VOWEL SOUNDS.

7. That of i in fit.

THE

1. That of a in father.

a" fat.

"not.

" fall.

10.

"bull.

"but."

§ 62. 1. The Tenth, the sound of u in bull, is closely allied to the Eleventh, the sound of oo in fool. They are both varieties of the same sound, pronounced rapidly in the one case and slowly in the other.

The two sounds bear the same re

lation to each other as the sound of a in fate to the sound of a in fat, and of ee in feet to i in fit.

2. The Thirteenth, the sound of w in wet, is allied to the sound of oo in cool. Some writers consider it as identical, and assert that the words will, oo-ill are sounded alike. It is, however, convenient to consider the w, as in will, as a separate and independent sound.

3. The Fourteenth, the sound of y in yet, is allied to the sound of ee in feet. Some writers consider it as identical, and assert that the words yet and ee-et are sounded alike. It is, however, convenient to consider the y, as in yet, as a separate, independent sound.

4. The Fifteenth, the sound of h in hot, is by some grammarians classed with the Vowel sounds, and by others with the Consonant sounds. It is simply a breathing.

5. The Sixteenth, the sound of ng in king, is a simple elementary sound, expressed, not by a single elementary sign or letter, but by two letters, or a combination. The sound

of ng in king is allied to the sounds of n and g. It differs, however, from the sounds of both of these letters, either single or taken together. The Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth are called Nasals, from the organ concerned in their production.

6. The Twenty-fifth, the sound of th in thin, is a simple single elementary sound, and as such should be expressed by a simple single elementary letter. Instead of this, it is expressed by two letters, or by a combination, so that, although a simple sound to the ear, it has the appearance of being a compound one to the eye.

7. The Twenty-sixth, the sound of th in thine, like the sound last mentioned, is a simple sound, expressed not by a simple single elementary sign or letter, but by two letters; but, though different from the sound last mentioned, it is expressed in the spelling in precisely the same way. The th in thin is allied to the sound of t, as in tin. The th in thine is allied to the sound of d, as in dine.

8. The Thirty-third, the sound of sh, as in shine, is in the same predicament as sounds 25, 26. It is a single simple elementary sound, expressed not by a single simple element

ary sign or letter, but by two letters in combination. The real sound of h, preceded by s, is very different from that of sh in shine; and the real sound of sh in shine is very different from that of h preceded by s.

9. The Thirty-fourth, the sound of z in azure, though without a corresponding sign or letter, is single, simple, and elementary. The sound of z in azure and the s in pleasure are identical. This sound is related to sh in shine, as th in there is related to th in thin.

10. From the Twenty-first to the Thirty-fourth inclusive, the Consonant Sounds allied in pronunciation, or Cognate, are arranged in pairs. In each pair the sound of the even number has Vocality, being produced by the voice, and the sound of the odd number has only an Aspiration, or a whisper, being produced by the breath. Thus, if the Sound of p in the first pair be isolated from its vowel, it will be only that of a Whisper; but if the allied sound of b be uttered, it will be not a Whisper, but the Natural Tone of the voice. As already mentioned, the sounds in the series p are indicated by the terms surd, aspirate, or sharp, and the sounds in the se ries b are indicated by the terms sonant, vocal, or flat.

§ 63. Of Elementary Sounds in the English Language, the Vowel Sounds, the Nasal Sounds, the Liquid Sounds, are Vocal and Continuous; one Half of the remaining sounds are Vocal, and the other Half, and the sound of the letter h, are Aspirate; and of each half a part are Continuous and a part are Explosive.

COMPOUND SOUNDS.

§ 64. Compound Sounds, formed by means of Two Vowel sounds, are called DIPHTHONGS; as, that of ou in house, oi in voice, u in muse, i in pine.

1. The nature of the compound ou is disguised by the spelling. It consists of the sounds of a in father and of oo or of the w in will, rapidly pronounced. 2. The sound of the compound oi is the sound of o modified, plus the sound of y modified. 3. The sound of u in muse, and of ew in new, is that of i in pit and of oo or of w in will. 4. The sound of i in pine, like that of u in muse, is disguised by the spelling. As it is represented by means of the letter i, the

erroneous notion prevails of its being a simple single elementary sound; and also of its being the sound of the i in pit, lengthened in the pronunciation. The real elements of the sound in question are generally considered to be the a in fat and the y in yet, rapidly pronounced. The word Diphthong is from the Greek Aiç, double, and p0óyyos, a voice. It is immediately related to the spoken language, not the written. Some of the Vowel sounds do not readily combine, as those of e and a in beat. Only one of the elements is sounded. When two Vowel letters are thus brought together in a written word, and the sounds which they represent will not combine, they are called a DIGRAPH.

§ 65. Compound Sounds formed by the union of Three Vowel sounds are called TRIPHTHONGS; as in buoy. When three Vowel letters are brought together in a syllable, and the sounds which they represent will not combine, they may be called a TRIGRAPH.

=

Compound Consonant sounds are represented by ch in chest, and by j in jest. Ch is t+sh;j is is=d+zh. These are compound sibilants, ch being aspirate, or sharp, or surd, and j being vocal, or flat, or sonant.

The Analysis of the Sounds in the English language presented in the preceding statements are sufficiently exact for the purpose in hand. Those who wish to pursue it further can consult Dr. Rush's admirable work, "The Philosophy of the Human Voice."

VOWEL SOUNDS NOT IN THE LANGUAGE.

§ 66. 1. E fermé of the French. This sound is allied to, but different from, the a in fate and the ee in feet. It is intermediate to the two. The meaning of fermé is close. Its opposite, a in fate, is open.

2. U of the French, ü of the Germans, y of the Danes. This sound is intermediate to ee in feet and the oo in book; long, as in the French word flûte, rue; short, as in fût. The nasal un in French represents a sound not found in English.

3. O chiuso of the Italians. This sound is intermediate to the o in note and the oo in book. The meaning of chiuso is close, in opposition to the open sound of o, as in note.

4. The Sanscrit has a vowel r. The short r is pronounced like the consonant r, with a scarcely distinguishable i, and in European texts is usually ri; the long is scarcely to be distinguished from the union of r with a long i. The Sanscrit has another vowel, which is the union of an I with r, or a lengthened 7. The foregoing are specimens.

CONSONANT SOUNDS

NOT IN THE

LANGUAGE.

Ch in German, gh in Irish, ll in Welsh, represent sounds not found in the English language. These are specimens. The same elementary sound, as exhibited by two individuals belonging to different nations, may differ from itself in quality, just as the same musical note differs from itself when produced by a flute and a violin. Both the identity and the diversity are perceived at once. This diversity, if it does not proceed from a difference of physiological structure, such as obtains between the different races of men, is to be accounted for by the early training of the organs, which in time become rigid, and lose the imitative power for fixed habits.

RELATIONSHIP OF CERTAIN CONSONANTAL SOUNDS.

§ 67. 1. Let the sign þ represent the single simple sound of th in thin. And, 2. Let the sign represent the single ð simple sound of th in thine. And, 3. Let the sign a (Greek Liyua) represent the simple single sound of sh in shine. And, 4. Let the sign (Greek Zira) represent the simple single sound of z in azure (French j). And, 5. Let the sign (Greek Kánna) and the sign y (Greek Táμμa) represent two peculiar sounds in the Laplandic, and possibly in some other languages, different from any in English, German, French. Then we have the following relationship: