COMPOUND CONSONANT SOUNDS. 1. That of ch in chest (aspirate). 2. That of j in jest (vocal). REDUNDANT LETTERS. 22. As far as the representation of sounds is concerned, the letters c, q and x, are redundant (more than enough). C expresses only what is as well expressed by either s or k. The words city and can are pronounced sity and kan respectively. Q is only kw (or cw), and x is only ks (or cs). The words queen and box are pronounced cween (or kween) and boks (or bocks, or bocs) respectively. In the words Philip and fillip a single sound has a double sign. DEFICIENT LETTERS. 23. Six of the simple, elementary sounds have no sign or letter corresponding to them in the English alphabet. These six sounds are, -1. The u in but. This is expressed by the letter u the proper sound of which is to express the vowel sound in words like bull. 2. The th in thin. 3. The th in thine. 4. The sound of the sh in shine. 5. The sound of z in azure. 6. The sound of the ng in king. QUESTIONS.-11. What are the Vowels? 12. What do you understand by Cognate Consonant Sounds? the Aspirate letter? the Liquids? the redundant signs? 13, 14. What other classifications are there of Consonant Sounds? 15. What is a Diphthong? Name the distinction between a proper and improper diphthong. What is a Triphthong. 16. What is a Letter? 17. What is the peculiarity of Consonant Sounds? Why are they so called? Why are Vowels so called? 18. Name the distinction. 19. What is meant by explosive Consonant Sounds? What by continuous ? 20. How are elementary sounds classified? 21. Name the Compound Vowel Sounds. The Compound Consonant Sounds. 22. What do you understand by the word redundant? What are the redun dant letters of the English Alphabet? 23. What the deficient? RELATIONS OF THE VOWEL LETTERS TO THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 24. A.-It has been seen that a represents four elementary sounds: 1. The ancient or Italian sound, as in father. 2. The short sound, as in mut. 3. The long sound, as in mate. 4. The broad sound, as in fall. These sounds are variously modified, according to their combinations with other sounds; as in the following words: liar, care, what, many. 25. The sound of a interchanges with o in salt, wash, &c., where the a has nearly the sound of o in not. It interchanges with the sound usually represented by short e in many, any, says, &c. The change frora a to o takes place most especially before 1, as in wall, call. When the liquid l is followed by another Consonant, the l is generally sunk in the pronunciation, as in falcon, salmon, pronounced faucon, sammon. 26. Æ, an Improper Diphthong, is borrowed from the Latin, in which language it is always long. In English it is used only in words of Latin origin or formation; and it is sometimes long, as in paan, and sometimes short, as in cătĕra. 27. Ai, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long a, as in pail; to short a, in plaid, raillery; and sometimes to short e, as in said, again, against. It has the sound of long i in aisle, and of short i in fountain, curtain, &c. 28. Au, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to broad a in cause, and sometimes to the Italian a, as in aunt, and to long a in gauge. In hautboy (the t mute) it has the sound of long o. Aw, an Improper Diphthong, has the sound of broad a, as in maw. Ay, a Proper Diphthong in the word ay, is elsewhere an Improper Diphthong, and is equivalent to long a as in day, except in quay, which is pronounced ke. 29. E.-E represents two elementary sounds, the Fifth and the Sixth. 1. The long sound, as in mēte. 2. The short sound, as in met. It has an obtuse sound in her. It is sometimes equivalent to long a, as in there, where; but were is properly pronounced wer (the e as in her). E is sometimes equivalent to short i, as in England. 30. Before an unaccented final syllable, when it precedes l or n, e sometimes has an indistinct, short sound, and is sometimes suppressed altogether. It is sounded in chapel, flannel, travel, chicken, vessel, kitchen, sudden, woollen, &c.; and it is suppressed in drivel, gravel, heaven, &c. At the end of words it is always mute, except in monosyllables which have no other vowels, and in some proper names, as Tempë, Lethë, &c. 31. The sound of e is generally suppressed in the preterites of verbs, and in participles, in ed, when the e is not preceded by d or t; as feared, praised, tossed, &c., pronounced feard, praisd, tost. In poetry, the sound of the e is sometimes retained; and to signify this, it may have over it the mark of the Dia'resis (a Greek word, meaning division or separation), as in praisëd, blessëd, which when thus marked ought to be pronounced as words of two syllables. The acute or grave accent is sometimes used for the same purpose. 32. Ea, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in tea; to short e, as in head; to long a, as in break; to the Italian a, as in heart, hearth, &c. Ee, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in cel. Ei, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long a, as in veil; to long e, as in deceit; 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 equivalent 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, according to Walker, when preceded by r) have the diphthongal sound of u, as in feud, dew. In sew, shew, and strew, ew sounds like 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 the slight sound of e, as in galley, valley. Eye is equivalent to i. Eau has the sound of long o, as in beau; in beauty and its compounds, it has the sound of long u. 35. L-I represents two sounds: 1. The diphthongal, sometimes called the long sound, as in pine. 2. The Seventh elementary sound, called the short sound, as in pit. Before r this is equivalent to short u, as in thirst. It is sometimes equivalent to long e, as in machine. 36. I, unaccented, readily blends with the succeeding Vowel, as in motion, physician, concession. Ie, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long i, as in die; to long e, as in fiend; to short i, as in sieve; and to short e, as in friend. In terminations, like twentieth, in fiery, in Orient, the Vowels should be separated in the pronunciation; also in variëgate. Ieu and iew, Triphthongs, have the sound of long u, as in lieu, review. 37.0.0 represents two elementary sounds, namely, the Eighth and the Ninth 1. The long, as in note. 2. The short, as in not. O is sometimes equivalent to oo, as in prove, and to u short, as in love, and to broad a, as in lord, and to short i in women, and to the u in full, as in wolf. When long, oo represents the Eleventh elementary sound. 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 equivalent sometimes to long o, as in foe, or to oo, as in canoe, or to long e, as in fœtus. Oi is a Proper Diphthong, and equivalent to oy, except in tortoise, pronounced tor'tiz, choir, pronounced kwir. 39. Ou is a Proper Diphthong. It is the most irregular in the language. It has the sound of short u in enough, country, flourish, &c.; the sound of oo in soup, group, tournament, uncouth, &c.; the sound of long o in though, soul, court, source, pour, &c.; the sound of short aw in cough, trough, &c.; the sound of broad a in ought, thought, &c. 40. U. U represents three sounds: 1. The long or diphthongal, as in cube, mule, dupe, fume, student, due, stupid, constitution, resolution, &c. 2. The Tenth elementary sound, as in bull. 3. The Twelfth elementary sound, as in but. It is also equivalent to short i in busy, and to short e in bury. After r, long u has the sound of o in move; as rule. 41. Ua, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to the Italian a in guard; to short a, as in guarantee; to long a, or wa, in persuade. Ue is equivalent to long u, as in hue; to short e, as in guest; and is sometimes mute, as in league, antique, demagogue. 42. Ui, an Improper Diphthong, has the sound of long i, as in guide, of short i, as in conduit; of long u, as in juice. Uy, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long i, as in buy. 43 W.-W, from being partly a Vowel and partly a Consonant in its represented by short e in many, any, says, &c. The change froin a to o takes place most especially before 1, as in wall, call. When the liquid l is followed by another Consonant, the 7 is generally sunk in the pronunciation, as in falcon, salmon, pronounced faucon, sammon. 26. Æ, an Improper Diphthong, is borrowed from the Latin, in which language it is always long. In English it is used only in words of Latin origin or formation; and it is sometimes long, as in pean, and sometimes short, as in cătĕra. 27. Ai, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long a, as in pail; to short a, in plaid, raillery; and sometimes to short e, as in said, again, against. It has the sound of long i in aisle, and of short i in fountain, curtain, &c. 28. Au, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to broad a in cause, and sometimes to the Italian a, as in aunt, and to long a in gauge. In hautboy (the t mute) it has the sound of long o. Aw, an Improper Diphthong, has the sound of broad a, as in maw. Ay, a Proper Diphthong in the word ay, is elsewhere an Improper Diphthong, and is equivalent to long a as in day, except in quay, which is pronounced ke. 29. E.- E represents two elementary sounds, the Fifth and the Sixth. 1. The long sound, as in mēte. 2. The short sound, as in met. It has an obtuse sound in her. It is sometimes equivalent to long a, as in there, where; but were is properly pronounced wer (the e as in her). E is sometimes equivalent to short i, as in England. 30. Before an unaccented final syllable, when it precedes l or n, e sometimes has an indistinct, short sound, and is sometimes suppressed altogether. It is sounded in chapel, flannel, travel, chicken, vessel, kitchen, sudden, woollen, &c.; and it is suppressed in drivel, gravel, heaven, &c. At the end of words it is always mute, except in monosyllables which have no other vowels, and in some proper names, as Tempë, Lethë, &c. 31. The sound of e is generally suppressed in the preterites of verbs, and in participles, in ed, when the e is not preceded by d or t; as feared, praised; tossed, &c., pronounced feard, praisd, tost. In poetry, the sound of the e is sometimes retained; and to signify this, it may have over it the mark of the Dia'resis (a Greek word, meaning division or separation), as in praisëd, blessëd, which when thus marked ought to be pronounced as words of two syllables. The acute or grave accent is sometimes used for the same purpose. 32. Ea, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in tea; to short e, as in head; to long a, as in break; to the Italian a, as in heart, hearth, &c. Ee, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long e, as in eel. Ei, an Improper Diphthong, is equivalent to long a, as in veil; to long e, as in deceit; 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 equivalent to long e, as in people; to short e, as in leopard, to long o, as in yeoman; and to short o, as in the real sound of d is that of t. Words like the following, stuffed, tripped, plucked, &c., are all pronounced stuft, tript, pluckt, &c. D is mute in handsome, Wednesday, stadtholder. 49. F. F represents the Twenty-third elementary sound, as in fell, fop. In of it is soft, having the sound of v. 50. G.- ·Before a, o, u, l and r, g represents the Thirtieth elementary sound, as in gap, gone, gun, glory, grip. Before e, i and y, it generally represents the sound of j, as in gem, gibbet, gyration. There are several exceptions to this, however, among which are the following words, in which the sound of g hard (as in go, gap) is preserved, namely: get, gear, gewgaw, finger, linger, gibber, gibberish, gibbous, giddy, giggle, gimp, gird, girl, give; also syllables added to words ending in g; as fog, foggy. G is mute before m or n in the same syllable, as in phlegm, gnaw, gnome, impugn, condign, apothegm, &c. 51. The sound of ng in king, throng, &c., when at the end of a word, or in singer, ringing, &c., in the middle of a word, is not the natural sound of the combination n and g, each letter retaining its natural power and sound, but is a simple elementary sound, for which the combination ng is a conventional * mode of expression. 52. Gh, at the beginning of a word, retains the sound of g in gave, with the exception of a slight aspiration represented by the h; as in ghost, gherkin. In other situations, gh is generally mute; as in high, fight. It is sometimes equivalent to f; as in laugh, cough, trough, draught; and sometimes to g hard, as in burgh. 53. Ough is sometimes equivalent to ooh, as in through; also to owh, as in bough, plough, drought, droughty; also to uf, as in enough, rough; and to auf as in trough. In slough it sometimes has the sound of uf, and sometimes of ou. See this word in the Index. 54. H. - H represents the Fifteenth elementary sound, as in hat. It is mute at the beginning of a number of words; as in heir, honor, hour, &c. By some orthoëpists it is incorrectly said to be mute in hospital, hostler, humble, humor, humorous, &c., exhale, exhibit, exhort, &c. In such words as whale, what, whist, whither, the h should be distinctly aspirated. It should be but slightly aspirated after r, as in rheum, rhubarb, rhetoric, rhapsody, &c. 55. J.-J represents a compound sound, and is equivalent to dzh, as in jest. In hallelujah it has the sound of y. It was formerly identified with the vowel i, and mingled with it in English dictionaries. 56. K. - K represents the Twenty-ninth elementary sound, as in kid. It never comes before a, o, or w. It is used before e, i and y, because in that position c would run the chance of being sounded as s. Thus in kid, if this word were written with a c, it would be liable to be sounded sid. As a general rule, k is never used where c would serve the purpose. Before n, k is always mute, as in know, kneel knife. * Conventional means agreed upon, or settled by custom. |