A SHORT TREATISE ON THE ENGLISH TONGUE.

A SHORT TREATISE ON THE ENGLISH TONGUE.

Being an Attempt to render the Reading and Pronunciation OF THE SAME More EASY to FOREIGNERS.

LONDON: Printed for R. HORSFIELD in Ludgate Street, and I. ALLIX in Glanville Street, Rathbone Place.

MDCCLXVII.

INTRODUCTION.

IT is generally allowed, that the most easy method of attaining any living language is to associate and converse with those who speak it. Nevertheless, when a foreigner has by this means so far acquired the English tongue, that he shall be able to speak it, and under­stand it when spoken, tolerably well, he will yet find himself greatly at a loss, when he at­tempts to read: because the manner of ex­pressing sounds by letters in his own language is so very different from ours, that many English words, which he is well acquainted with by ear, will not appear to him to be the same when he sees them in writing.—For not only various sounds are expressed in the English language by the same vowels; but also, in many particular words, a kind of ar­bitrary [Page vi] pronunciation is used, which cannot easily be reduced to rule, and is therefore most commonly taught merely by ear, or imi­tation.

This latter difficulty, I am afraid, cannot be removed; but, I think, it may be relieved in some degree, by separating all such words from those which are capable of being taught by rule. This I have attempted, and have accordingly collected all, or the greatest part of such kind of words, under their proper heads, as exceptions to the several rules given in the following pages, together with a short explanation of their sound.—By this means a learner may have his task before him, and may easily refer to any particular word, as he shall have occasion; which will greatly relieve his memory.

I have not taken notice of all the deriva­tives and compounds which properly belong to the several exceptions, but for the most part of primitive words only, for the sake of brevity; which I hope will be thought suffi­cient, [Page vii] the others being naturally comprehend­ed therein. Many words indeed are varied according to the different position of the ac­cent, which not only shortens the articula­tion of the succeeding syllables, but in some words causes them to be so indistinctly pro­nounced, that it is sometimes difficult to de­termine what vowels are sounded therein: yet if the learner is but careful to give the ac­cented syllable its proper pronunciation ac­cording to the following rules, he will natu­rally fall into the customary utterance of the other syllables, which, as they are pronounced quick, need not be studied so particularly.

The rules treat only of the general power of the vowels and diphthongs, because in these consist the most material differences between the English pronunciation and that of foreign­ers; but I have added thereto, by way of ap­pendix, a short treatise (drawn up and com­municated by a friend) for the explanation of such particularities also of the other letters as are peculiar to the English tongue.

[Page viii]All which together (I flatter myself) will be sufficient to enable a foreigner to read and pronounce any English words with ease and certainty, when the syllables of the same are properly divided according to the learned Dr. Lowth's excellent rule for spelling, given in the 7th page of his English grammar, viz. ‘The best and only sure rule for dividing the syllables in spelling, is to divide them as they are naturally divided in a right pronunciation; without regard to the deri­vation of words, or the possible combina­tion of consonants at the beginning of a syllable.’

Mr. John Gignoux likewise particularly re­commends and explains this method, in the preface to his spelling-book, intituled, ‘The Child's best Instructor in Spelling and Read­ing.’ A title which it seems well to de­serve, on account of the division of the seve­ral syllables according to the manner above-mentioned, by which it is rendered (in my opinion at least) the most useful book of the sort that has hitherto been published.

[Page ix]I must however observe, that the author, in his ‘Table of Words written very different from their Pronunciation,’ at page 82, has too much followed the common London pro­nunciation; which, tho' perhaps in general the best, yet has some very exceptionable particu­larities. Among which are, Potticary for Apo­thecary, Athist for Atheist, Awkurd for Auk­ward, Riccolas for Auricolas, Belcony for Balcony, Carrin for Carrion, Sirket for Cir­cuit, Crowner for Coroner, Gorjus for Gor­geous, Hankerchur for Handkerchief, I'urn for Iron, Ilan for Island, Spanel for Spaniel, Stum­much for Stomach, Sound for Swoon, Thusty for Thirsty, Vawt for Vault, Venzun for Veni­son, Verdit for Verdict, &c.

Also in page 57 he signifies that the termi­nations -tial, -cial, -cian, -tious, -cious, -tient, and cient, make each of them ‘but one sound or syllable.’ But however common such pro­nunciation may be, it ought not by any means to be taught, or laid down as a rule; because the English language loses much of its ele­gance, [Page x] when it is expressed in so careless a manner, that any of the above-mentioned ter­minations shall seem but one syllable.

The i in all these terminations has the sound of the English e; and though it is pronounced quick, yet it ought to be distinctly expressed, as in Parti-al, Soci-al, Greci-an, Capti-ous, Graci-ous, Quoti-ent, Anci-ent, &c. There fore I hope that the author, in his next edi­tion of that useful book, will make some al­teration in his explanation of these particu­lars.

Others, besides Mr. Gignoux, have been misled by the indistinct manner in which some particular syllables are sometimes uttered even by good speakers. Mr. James Buchanan in particular has given himself much unneces­sary trouble, and has carried his refinements a great deal too far concerning syllables of this kind, which, in quick pronunciation, have seemed to him to partake of an articulation different from the real spelling. This has, un­fortunately, not only added great difficulty to [Page xi] his * performance, but rendered it almost in­capable of answering the good purposes in­tended by it. For he has frequently substi­tuted an imaginary articulation of one vowel for the inarticulation, or rather the short and indistinct sound, of another; not considering that the expressing of an accented syllable in many particular words does almost unavoid­ably cause the succeeding syllable or syllables to be so indistinctly pronounced, that it is sometimes difficult to determine what vowels are sounded therein, as I have before ob­served.

But when words are so pronounced, that in­stead of the short or indistinct sound of one vowel, a manifest articulation of another dif­ferent vowel may be distinguished; it then be­comes a fault in speech, which (howsoever common it may be) ought by no means to be [Page xii] imitated, much less taught; because the ge­nerality of people are naturally too liable of themselves to acquire it, without being led thereto by written instructions.

The following examples taken from Mr. Buchanan's book will illustrate what has been said; viz. He has substituted -ĭl for the ter­minations -al, -ial, and -el, as Năivĭl, Neu­trĭl, Kŏmĭk [...]l, Joodeĕshĭl, Spĕshĭl, Quărĭl, &c. for Naval, Neutral, Comical, Judicial, Spe­cial, Quarrel, &c. * -in for -an, as Heumin, Orgĭn, &c. for Human, Organ, &c. -ĭnss for -ance and -ence; and -ĭnt for -ant and -ent, as Abundinss, Rĕvĕrinss, Contentmĭnt, Com­mandmint, &c. instead of Abundance, Re­verence, Contentment, Commandment, &c. [Page xiii] -fŏol for -ful as Faithfoŏl, &c. iss for ess, as Heedlĭss, Hăppĭnĭss, and a great abundance of such other syllables, equally distant from the true pronunciation.

As I have no other motive for giving my opinion so freely concerning this gentleman's performance, than the desire of removing all unnecessary difficulty from the learning of English, I hope he will excuse me; even though my remarks should not have sufficient weight to convince him.

He may likewise assure himself, that, though I think an uniformity of pronunciation through­out the British dominions is more to be wished than hoped for; yet I should have as much real satisfaction as himself in the completion of that "great moral end," which (as he sup­poses in his preface) would be promoted thereby, viz. the removal of national preju­dice; an effect equally to be desired by all lovers of their country, whether South or North Britons!

It would be much to the advantage of all those who learn the English tongue, if the [Page xiv] syllables in all future editions of English dic­tionaries were divided according to the * me­thod recommended by Dr. Lowth and Mr. Gignoux before mentioned: and likewise if the words, which are not properly English, were distinguished by an asterisk, or some other par­ticular mark placed before them; that foreign­ers may not conceive our language to be un­necessarily copious and difficult.

The coining of new words from other lan­guages to express any thing, which might as concisely and elegantly be explained in proper English words, is a kind of pedantry, which all writers should endeavour to avoid: unless we be allowed to except those who treat of na­tural philosophy, medicine, surgery, or such other subjects as are supposed to be read by none but those who are acquainted with other languages, or at least have some knowledge of [Page xv] the Latin tongue. For it ought to be the study of every writer to make his meaning as plain and intelligible in the proper language in which he writes, as he possibly can. Yet so many of our most eminent writers have oc­casionally been guilty of the fault above men­tioned, that the ingenious Mr. Johnson has thought himself obliged to insert a great abun­dance of such coined words into his excellent English dictionary; and the reverend Mr. Entick likewise into his very useful new pocket dictionary. But I cannot suppose that such kind of words were admitted by these gen­tlemen as proper English words; but merely that they might explain them to English rea­ders; who without the knowledge of other languages cannot otherwise possibly understand them: which is a sufficient proof that they are not at all intitled to the name of English words.

For how should an English reader (I mean a reader merely of English) be supposed to under­stand that Ablepsy signifies blindness? Acetosity sourness? Anhelation panting? Arcanum a [Page xvi] secret? Obesity fatness? Papilio a butterfly? Neoterick, modern? Paranymph a bride-man? Rugose wrinkled? Squalor nastiness? Terreous earthy? Tenebricose dark; Tripudiation dancing? Tumefy to swell? Turm a troop? and a thou­sand other such words, which are found in both dictionaries?

It is much to be wished that all such new coined words, which have only been used by a few authors, were distinguished by some mark from the common and proper English words (as I have hinted above) in all future editions of these useful dictionaries: lest so many un­couth and pedantick expressions should be adopted into the English tongue by dictionary authority. Because when a person sees them ranged with other words in an English dic­tionary, he may be induced to make use of them as proper English words in his writing and discourse, which would, at first, cause no small impediment to the understanding of his ordinary readers and hearers.

[Page xvii]The accents used in these dictionaries are particularly useful for keeping up an uniformity in pronunciation; and it would be well if the double accents were also added to some parti­cular words, as in Mr. Gignoux's spelling book for the purpose mentioned in page 7 of his preface, viz. To denote, that ‘the consonant that begins the next syllable must be also sounded at the end of the syllable where the double accent is; as a″-tóne-ment; man″-gle; in-tan″-gle; which words must be sounded as if written at-tone-ment; mang-gle; intang-gle;’ so in con″-quer-or; con″-cu-bine; &c.*

In my search for such words as are inde­pendent of the following rules, I made use of the Rev. Mr. Entick's new spelling dictionary; and though I examined the same so carefully, [Page xviii] that I believe I have not made many omissions, yet the whole number of particular exceptions (exclusive of their compounds and derivatives) amount to no more than 340—which number bears a very small proportion to the number of words in that dictionary; which I compute to be upwards of 23,000. This, I think, ought to prove that the English pronunciation is not so very irregular as it is generally thought to be; which a careful examination of the fol­lowing pages will more particularly shew.

A SHORT TREATISE ON THE ENGLISH TONGUE.

THE English vowels, a, e, i, o and u, have each of them * 2 sounds, commonly called long and short.

The sounds of the three first vowels a, e, and i, when long, seem to be peculiar at present to this nation, wherefore they may properly be called the English sounds.

[Page 2]And the short sounds of these three vowels may, for the sake of distinction, be called the foreign sounds; because they are uttered with scarcely any difference (except that a and i, are pronounced short) from the French arti­culation of the same vowels; which shall be more fully explained by * examples here­after.

I think it necessary to observe in this place that the English sound of the following vowels, diphthongs and terminations cannot easily be expressed in foreign letters, and should there­fore be learned by ear, viz.

i long , as in Bi-ble, Mi-tre, Nitre, Pirate, &c.

[Page 3]o and u short, before a consonant in the same syllable as in Odd, Nod, Lord, &c. and in Mud, Strut, Stun, Urn, &c.

oi and oy, which have both the same sound, as in Oil, Boil, Coil, Boy, Coy, Hoy, &c.

ou and ow (not like the French ou, in the pronunciation of which the lips are almost closed, but) with an open articulation as in Pound, Our, Gown, Pow-er, &c.

Also the following Terminations, viz.

  • -ire
  • -tion
  • -cious
  • -tious

as in Dire, Fire, Salvation, Deli­cious, Fictitious, &c.

The English (or long) sound is given to the vowels a, e,Rule I. and i (and the other vowels are also sounded long) when they are alone, or when there is not a consonant following them in the same syllable (also before silent e in the end of a word; see the 3d rule)

Exam­ples
  • [Page 4]a like the French e in Bête, as in Ca-ble, Fa-ble, Sa-ble, &c.
  • e like the French i in Mille, as in Be, He, E-vil, Be-ver, Le-gal, &c.
  • i like the Greek * [...] or something like the French i long before n in Divin, Prince, Enfin, &c. as in Bi-ble; Di-al; Fi-nal; Gi-ant, &c.
  • o like the French o or au, as in Go; So; Lo-cal; Mo-ment, &c.
  • u like ew in Few, Pew, &c. as in Du-ty, Fu-ry, Hu-man, &c.
  • y (when a vowel) like the English i; as in the monosyllables Buy and Guy, (where­in u is mute) Dry, Fry, My, Dye, &c. in the dissyllables, Ally′, Com-ply′, De-ny′, De-scry′, De-fy′, Es-py′, Im-ply′, Re-ly′, and Re-ply′, which are ac­cented on the ultimate syllable; and in all words compounded with the Latin word Fio; as Dé-ify, Magnify, Spe­cify, Rarify, &c.

(Particular Exceptions concerning a, at the End of a Syllable)

Except, 1st, a in Wa-ter, wherein it is commonly pro­nounced like the French a, or English diphthong aw; in Fa-ther, and the last syllable of Pa-pa, Mam-ma, wherein it has a medium sound between aw and the English a; and in a-ny, and ma-ny, where­in it sounds like a short e.

(Particular Exceptions concerning i)

2dly,i in ac-qui-esce, Bi-er, Pi-er, and Tier, wherein it sounds like the English e.

(General Exceptions concerning i)

3dly,i is pronounced short before another vowel in the termination of all words of more than 2 syllables, when it is not radical; as in A′mĭ-able, De-mo-nĭ-ac′k, Ca′r-rĭ-age, So′-cĭ-al, Wi′l-lĭ-am, Sty′g-ĭ-an, Da′l-lĭ-ance, Va′l-ĭ-ant, Spăn-ĭ-ard, A′-pĭ-ary, So′-cĭ-ate, In-sid-ia′tor, Al-le-vĭ a′tion, Ma′r-rĭ-ed, A-lĭ-en, Co′n-scĭ-ence, Am′-bĭ-ent, [Page 6] Gla-zĭ-er, Spe′-cĭ-es, Se-rag″-lĭ-o, Ax′-i-om, Pos-te′-rĭ-or, Wa′r-rĭ-our, Con′-scĭ-ous, I′d-ĭ-ot, Pre′-mĭ-um, &c. But in the proper names Ma-r-i′a and So-ph-i′a, when given to English women, it is pronounced accord­ing to rule. Also, in A′ffi′-ance, and the derivatives from the dissyllables ending in y, which are mentioned in the example: as Al-li′-ance, Com-pli′-ance, De-ni′-al, De-fi′-ance, and Re-li′-ance, wherein the i * re­tains the sound of the y in the original words, and is accented accordingly.

Particular Exceptions concerning o.

Except, 4thly,o in Do (and its compounds) To, and Who, which is commonly pronounced like oo; though the latter (Who) is pro­nounced [Page 7] according to the rule in the nor­thern parts of England.

5thly,u, in the first syllable of Cu-cumber, which is commonly pronounced like the English ou hereafter explained.

General Exception concerning y.

6thly,y, at the end of all words of two or more syl­lables (except those mentioned in the ex­ample) is pronounced like a short i, as in Carry, Envy, Commissary, &c. the accent being laid on one of the former syllables.

Of vowels in syllables ending with a con­sonant.

[...]ule II.The vowels are pronounced short in all syl­lables ending with a consonant (except in the particular cases hereafter noted) and the three first vowels have the foreign articulation, with­out any other material difference, except that of being pronounced short.

[Page 8]

EXAMPLES.
  • a has a short articulation of the English aw, or rather of the Italian a, as in Add, Bad, Lad, Mad, &c.
  • e has exactly the sound of the * Italian or French é, as in Bed, Fed, Led, Red, &c.
  • i has a short articulation of the French i, or English e, as in Bid, Did, Hid, Kid, &c.
  • The short sound of the two other vow­els (viz. o and u) must be acquired by ear, as I have before observed (see exam­ples of these vowels in p. 3. of this trea­tĭse.)

Particular Exceptions concerning a before a consonant.

Except, 1st,a in A′n-gel, Bass, Ca′m-brick, Ca′m-bridge, Da′n-ger, and Ma′n-ger, is commonly sound­ed like the French diphthong ai; in han't (for have not) Ma′s-ter, and Pla′s-ter, it [Page 9] has a medium sound between aw and the English a; and in Hal-ser (wherein l is mute) False, and Palsy, it is commonly pronounced like aw.

General Exceptions concerning a before a consonant.

2dly,a has the sound of aw likewise before ld and lt, as in Bald, Cal-dron, Altar, &c.; in all primitive monosyllables ending in ll (except shall and Mall, which are pronounced ac­cording to rule) as in All, Gall, Fall, &c.; and before lk (wherein l is mute) as Balk, Stalk, Walk, Talk, &c.: but before lf, lm, lve, and before nd in words derived from the Latin word Mando, it is sounded like the Italian a, only somewhat longer, as in Half, Calm, Salve, Command, Demand, &c.

Particular Exceptions concerning c before a consonant.

Except, 3dly,e in England, Pretty, Yes, and Yet, wherein it is pronounced like a short ĭ, and in Yel­low like a short ă.

General Exception concerning e before s.

4thly,e is pronounced long before * s in the ulti­mate of plural nouns, and third persons singular of verbs when preceded by c, s, z, or g, as in Fa′-ces, Ho′r-ses, As-si′-zes, Ra′-ges, &c.; but in all other terminations with silent e (except in Latin words) the es may be sounded in the same syllable, as Bride Brides, Ride Rides, Name Names, &c.

Particular Exceptions concerning i before a consonant.

5thly,i in Blithe, Endict, and Indict (wherein c is mute) Mild, Pint, and Wild, retains its English, or long sound; also in Child and Christ, but not in their Derivatives, Chil­dren, Christen, and Christian.

General Exceptions concerning i before a con­sonant.

6thly,i is likewise sounded long in all primitive words (and their compounds and deriva­tives) ending in nd; as Bind, Rind, Wind, &c.; though in Wind, the substantive, and its compounds, it is sometimes pronounced short.

It is also sounded long before gh, as in High, Nigh, Light, &c. in which gh is mute, having no other use than that of lengthening the i.

It is long also before gn at the end of a word (and the g is mute) as in Benign, Sign, and its compounds Consign, Design, &c. and their Derivatives in -er, -ed, -edly, and -ment, but no others; for in Re-sig-na-tion, Con-sig-na-tion, Sig-nif-i-ed, &c. the i is short according to rule, and the g is pro­nounced.

General Exceptions concerning o before con­sonants.

Except, 7thly,o in all words ending in ld and lt, as Beho′ld, Bold, Cold, Bolt, Colt, &c. and all their compounds and derivatives, retains its long sound.

Particular Exceptions of o before a conso­nant.

8thly,o is also pronounced long in Boll, Bolster, Comb (wherein b is mute) Control, Droll, Folk (wherein l is mute) Force, Fort, Ghost, Gross, Ho′lster, Host, Most, Only, Post, Poll, Pat-ro′ll, Port, Roll, Scroll, Sloth, Sport, and Sword (wherein w is mute) Stroll, Toll, and Troll, and in their com­pounds, &c. But in Compt and its com­pounds, Ac-compt, &c. it sounds like the English diphthong ou, as if spelt Count, Ac-count, &c.

It has the sound of a short u * in Af-fro′nt, At-to′r-ney, Bomb, Bo′r-age, [Page 13] Bo′r-ough, Bro′th-er, Co′l-our, Co′m-fits, Co′m-fort, Co′m-pany, Co′m-pass, Co′n-duit, Co′n-ey, Co′n-sta-ble, Co′z-en, Co′v-e-nant, Co′v-er, Co′v-et, Co′v-ey, Dis-co′m-fit, Do′z-en, Go′v-ern, Ho′n-ey, Lo′n-don, Mo′n-day, Mon-ey, Monk, Mo″n-key, Mo″n-ger, Mo″n-grel, Mo′nth, Mo′th-er, On-ion, O′th-er, O′v-en, Po′m-mel, Po′th-er, Ro′m-age, Ront, Son, Sho′v-el, Slo′v-en, Smo′th-er, Ton, Tho′r-ough-ly, Won, Wo′n-der, Word, World, Work, Worm, Wor-sted, Worth, Wo′m-an (in the singular only, the plural being pro­nounced as if spelt Wimmen) Wo′r-ry, Wort, Wo′r-ship, and their compounds, &c. except Dis-co′v-er and Re-co′v-er, which are pronounced according to rule.

It is most commonly sounded like oo in Tomb and Womb (wherein b is silent) Lo-ser, Gold, Whom, and Whose *: and is mute in Jeo′p-ar-dy, Leo′p-ard, and Peo­ple, [Page 14] which are pronounced as if written Je′p-par-dy, Lep-pard, and Pee-ple.

Particular Exceptions of u before a consonant.

Except, 9thly,u in Bu-sy, and its compounds, &c. which is commonly pronounced like a short i, and the s like z.

Of Vowels in Syllables ending with silent e.

Rule III.But when e or ue follow a consonant in the same syllable, the preceding vowel re­tains its original open or long sound.

EXAMPLES. Ace, Face, Rece′de, Dice, Vote, Con-fu′te, Vague, Vogue, Col-le′gue, &c. Also, Ad-vice, De-vi′ce, En-ti′ce, Suf-fi′ce, Sac-rif-i′ce, A­li′ve, Con-ni′ve, Con-tri′ve, De-pri′ve, De­ri′ve, Re-vi′ve, and Sur-vi′ve, which are ac­cented on the last syllable.

The vowel a is sounded long even be­fore two consonants, when they are followed by e in the same syllable (except before -nce) as ĭn Ache, Haste, Waste, Change, Grange, Range, &c. and their compounds and derivatives; but the other four vowels [Page 15] are sounded short in the like case, as in Fringe, Revenge, Solve, Serve, Tinge, Sludge, Grudge, &c.

Note,That derivatives from words ending in e for the most part retain their original sound, even when the e is omitted, as Spar­ing, -ed, from Spare; Wast-er, -ing, ed, from Waste; Rang-er, -ing, ed, from Range, &c.

General Exception.

Except, 1st,Words having the accent on the penul­tima or antepenultima: in all which the last syllable, being short, is pronounced as if the e and ue final were absent, as in Ca′l-a-mine, Ca′th-er-ine, Ca′t-a-logue, De′c-a-logue, De-po′s-ite, De′s-tine, De-te′r-mine, Dis-fra′n-chise, Do′c-trine, E′n-gine, E′p-il-ogue, Ex-quis-ite, Gra′n-ite, Har-a′ngue, Fi′-nite, and its compounds, Ma′r-it-ime, Me′d-ic′-ine, Mi′n-ute (not the adjective for small) Mor-tise, Pe′d-a-gogue, Pra′c-tise (verb) Pro′l-ogue, Pro′m-ise, Sap″-phire, Syn′-a-gogue, Tre′a-tise, and U-rine.

Particular Exceptions.

2dly,The following monosyllables are likewise exceptions to this rule, viz. Dare (the verb) Give, Gone, Have, Live, and One *; all which are pronounced as if e final was absent.Except, 3dly,

There, Were, and Where, which are com­monly pronounced as if spelt with the diphthong ai, Thair, Wair, and Whair; but in all other words (except what are mentioned above) the vowels a, e, i, or y, when they come before -re final, are sounded long according to the third rule, as in Are, Care, Here, Mere, Desire, Fire, Lyre, &c. as if spelt Air, Cair, Heer, Meer, De­sier, &c.

Particular Exceptions concerning i in sylla­bles ending with silent e.

Except, 4thly,i in Writhe and O-blige, wherein it is com­monly sounded like ee (though in the [Page 17] northern parts of England the latter is sounded according to rule).

General Exceptions concerning i in syllables ending with silent e.

5thly,i in all adjectives of more than one sylla­ble ending in -ile, and in all words (except those mentioned in the above example) ending in ice and ive, is pronounced short, as in Se′r-vile, Ju′-ven-ile, Ca′p-rice, Ma′l-ice, En′-dive, Po′s-it-ive, &c.

Particular Exceptions concerning o in sylla­bles ending with silent e.

6thly,o in A-bo′ve, Come, Co′me-ly, Done, Dove, Glove, Love, Po′re-blind, Some, Shove, Sponge, Tongue, and Worse, wherein it is sounded like a short u; and in Lose, Move, Prove, and Rome, wherein it is commonly pro­nounced like oo.

Of Proper Diphthongs.

Proper Diphthongs have sounds of their own, different from the long and short sounds of the English vowels.

Rule IV

  • au
  • aw

are pronounced like the French a in Ame.

Exam­ples. Maul, Paul, Sprawl, Law, Saw &c.

Particular Exceptions.

Except, Auf (more commonly spelt Oaf) and Hautboy, wherein au is pronounced like a long o; Cauliflower, where it is pronounced like a short o; and Gauge, wherein it is commonly sounded like the English a long.

Rule V.

  • oi
  • oy

The proper articulation of these diph­thongs is that which is given them in the English words Oil, Boil, Coy, Hoy, &c.

(See List of Vowels, Diphthongs, &c. which cannot be expressed in foreign Letters, page 3.)

[Page 19] Except, Tor-toise, wherein oi is commonly sounded like short u.

Rule VIoo is pronounced like the French ou in Bout.

Examp' Boot, Broom, Loop, Moor, Poor, &c.

Except, Blood, Flood, Foot, Good, Hood, Stood, Soot, Wood, and Wool, wherein oo is not pronounced so full, but partakes a little of the sound of a short u. Except also * Door and Floor, wherein oo has the sound of o long.

Rule VII.

  • ou
  • ow

The proper pronunciation of these diph­thongs is that which is given them in the English words Bound, Found, Crown, Cow, Flow-er, Sow (noun), Coward, &c. A more particular account of this sound is given in page 3.

Particular Exceptions concerning ou.

Except, 1st,ou in Bou′ge, Bou′g-et (commonly written Budge and Budget) Bo′r-ough, Cou′n-try, Cou″-ple, Cou′r-age, Cou′s-in, Dou″-ble, Dou′b-let, Jou′r-nal, Jou′r-ney, Mounch, Nou′r-ish, Tho′r-ough-ly, Tho′r-ough-fare, Trou″-ble, Touch, * Scourge, Shou′d, Cou′d, and Wou'd, wherein it is pronounced like a short u; also in Enough, Rough, Slough (when it signifies the part which separates from a sore) and Tough; in all which the gh final sounds like f; but in Cough, Lough (or Lake) and Trough, it is pronounced like a short o, as if spelt Coff, Loff, and Troff. Except also in Coul-ter, Course, (and its compounds Discourse, &c.) Court, Dough, Four, Fur-lough, Gourd, Mourn, Mould, Moult, Poult, Poul-try, Poul-ter­er, Poul-tice, Shoul-der, Soul, Though, wherein ou is sounded like o long; and [Page 21] like oo in Bouse, Ca-rouse, Gouge, Through, and Un-couth.

General Exceptions concerning ou.

[...]cept, [...]dly,ou before ght, which has a medium sound be­tween aw and o long, as in Ought, Bought, Thought, &c. and in the termination of words of more than one syllable, in -our and -ous, wherein it sounds like a short u, as in Ho-nour, Sa-viour, Pi-ous, Righ-teous, &c.

Particular Exceptions concerning ow.

[...]cept, [...]dly,ow in Bow when it signifies a weapon, or seg­ment of a circle; but in the word Bow it is pronounced according to rule; in Bowl (or Bason, not in Bowl the verb, nor its deriva­tives, &c.) Blow, Crow, Flow, Flown (from Fly) Glow, Grow, Know, Low, Mow, Owe, Own, Prow, Prowl, Row, Sow (the verb) Show, Slow, Snow, Strow, Stow, Tow (noun and verb) Trow, and Throw, and their de­rivatives, &c. wherein it sounds like o long.

General Exception concerning ow.

Except, 4thly, ow final in words of more than one syllable, which is sounded like a short o, the w be­ing mute; as in Ba′r-row, Be′llow, Fo′l-low, &c. Three words are independent of this exception, viz. Al-low, wherein ow is pronounced according to the rule, and Be-low and Bestow, wherein it sounds like o long.

Note,Many of the words contained in the above exceptions are pronounced in the broad dialects of the northern parts of Eng­land as they are spelt; that is, ou and ow are pronounced according to the VIIth rule, as in Bound, Cow, &c. viz. Trough (making gh silent) Four, Mould, Moult, Poultry, Poultice, Shoulder, Bowl (or Ba­son) Glow, Grow, Mow, Owe, Own, Strow, Trow, Ought, Bought, &c.

Of Improper Diphthongs.

Improper Diphthongs take the sound of but one of their vowels, the other being mute.

[Page 23] Rule VIII.

  • ai
  • ay
  • ey

are pronounced like the French ai, or English a long.

Exam­ples. Dainty, Bail, Gain, Day, May, Grey, Prey, Convey, Obey, Survey, Bey, Dey, &c.

Particular Exceptions concerning ai.

Except, 1st,ai in Vil-lain and Mur-rain, and sometimes in Said, is pronounced like a short e.

General Exception concerning ai.

Except, 2dly,ai when alone or at the end of a syllable, as in A-chai-a, and the Hebrew names Ben-a′i-ah, Is-a′i-ah, Mi-cai-ah, Cai-a-phas, &c: wherein it is pronounced like the Greek [...] or English i long.

Particular Exceptions concerning ey.

Except, 3dly, ey in Hey! and Hey-day! wherein it is sounded like the English i, and in Ceylon, Key, and Sey-mour, wherein it is pronounced like the English e or French i.

General Exception concerning ey.

Except, 4thly,ey at the end of words of more than one syl­lable (when the accent is placed on a for­mer syllable, as in A′l-ley, At-to′r-ney, B′ar-ley, Ga′l-ley, Ho′n-ey, &c.) is pronounced like a short i.

Rule IX.

  • ae
  • ea
  • ee
  • ei
  • ie
  • oe

are pronounced like the French i in Fille, or the English e long.

Exam­ples. Daemon (or Demon) Beat, Dear, Lead, and Read (verbs) Meet, Feet, Re-ceipt, De-ceit, De-ceive, Ceil-ing, Seign-iory, Seize, Shield, Re-prieve, Grief, Foetus, Sub-poena, &c.

Particular Exceptions concerning ea.

Except, 1st,ea is pronounced like the French é in Bread, Break-fast, Breast, Breath (noun only) Cleanly, and Cleanse (not in Clean) Dead, [Page 25] Deaf, Death, Dread, En-deav-our, Fea­ther, Head, He′av-en, He′av-y, Je′al-ous, Le′av-en, Lead (metal) Le′ath-er, Me′as­ure, Mis-tea′ch, Pea′s-ant, Phe′as-ant, Plea′s­ant, Ple′as-ure, Pea′s-cod, Read-y, Realm, Read (only in preter tense and participle passive) Stead-y, In-stead, Spread, Sweat, Teat, Thread, Threat-en, Trea′ch-ery, Tread, Tre′as-ure, Wea′th-er, Wea′p-on, Wreak, Zea′l-ous, Zeal-ot (not in Zeal) Yeast, and their compounds and derivatives not al­ready excepted. But in Bear *, Break, Great, Swear, Tear (the verb) Wear, Wheal, and Weal (the mark of a stripe, but not in Weal for prosperity) it is com­monly sounded like the French diphthong ai; and like a short a in Hear-ken, Hearth, and Heart.

Except, 2dly,General Exceptions concerning ea.

But in all other words before r, when another consonant follows in the same syl­lable, [Page 26] it is sounded like er or ir, as in Dearth, Earl, Earn, Ea′rn-est, Earl-y, Earth, Hearse, Heard, Learn, &c.

ea before three consonants in the same syllable is pronounced like the French é, as in Health, Breadth, Wealth, &c.

Except, 3dly,Particular Exceptions concerning ee.

ee in Breech (noun and verb) Breechings, and Breeches, which are pronounced like a short i.

Except, 4thly,Particular Exceptions concerning ei.

ei in Sleight (Artifice) in which it is pro­nounced like the long English i; but it is like a short i in Fo′r-feit and Su′r-feit; like a short e in For-eign, and Hei-fer; and like the diphthong ai in Hei′n-ous, Heir, Leis­ure (though sometimes like a short e in Lei′s-ure) Skein, Their, Veil, and Vein.

Except, 5thly,General Exceptions concerning ei.

ei is pronounced like the long English i when it is not followed by a consonant in the [Page 27] same syllable; as in Plei′-a-des, Hei′-del­berg; Hei-den-heym, Rei-gate, &c. but in ei-ther and nei-ther it is sometimes pro­nounced like the English a long, and sometimes according to rule, like the Eng­lish e long.

It has the sound of the English a in all words wherein it precedes -gh, gn, and -nt in the same syllable, as Weigh, Freight, Deign, Feign, &c. (in all which g is mute) Feint, Teint, &c. except in three words men­tioned above, viz. Sleight, Seignory, and Foreign.

Except, 6thly,Particular Exceptions concerning ie.

ie in Friend, wherein it sounds like a short e; and Sieve, wherein it sounds like a short i.

General Exceptions concerning ie and oe.

7thly,

  • ie
  • oe

at the end of a word are always pro­nounced like the first vowel in each diphthong, viz. ie like i long, and oe like o long, as in Die, Foe, &c. except in two words, Shoe and Ca′n-oe, wherein oe is commonly pronounced like oo.

[Page 28] Note,The same is to be observed of the diph­thongs ue and ye, at the end of a word; the former being pronounced like a long u, and the latter like a long i; as in Due, Pye, &c. the same likewise when s is added to make the plural of nouns, or third person singular of verbs, as Dies, Foes, Dues, Pyes, &c. and the s so added is pronounced like z.

  • Rule X.
    -eu
  • -ew
  • -iew

are sounded like a single u long.

Examples. Europe, Eu-nuch, Brew, Dew, View, &c.

Except *,ew in Sew, which is commonly sounded like a long o.

Rule XIoa is pronounced like o long.

Examples. Boat, Coat, Groan, Moan, &c. in Broad, Except, A-broad, and Groat, wherein it partakes a little of the sound of aw; and in Goal (when it signifies a prison) it [Page 29] sounds like ai, and the G is pronounced soft, as if spelt Jail.

  • Rule XII.
    ue
  • ui

before a consonant in the same syllable have the short sound of the last vowel in each diphthong; viz. ue like a short e as in Guess, Guest, &c.; and ui like a short i, as in Build, Guild, Conduit, &c. But in words ending with silent e, the diphthong ui is pronounced like the English i long, according to the third rule, as in Guide, Guile, Disguise, &c.

Except, 1st,Particular Exceptions.

The following words, wherein the u alone is pronounced, viz. Bruise, Cruise, Fruit, Juice, Nui-sance, Pur-suit, Re­cruit, Sluice, Suit, and Suit-or, which are sounded as if spelt Bruze, Cruze, Nu­sance, &c.

Note,When ua, ue, ui, and uo follow Q in the same syllable, the u has the power of w, which power cannot more easily be ex­plained to foreigners, than by comparing it to the sound of u in the French word Quoi! or Quoy! as in Qua′r-rel, Quack, Question, Quick, Quite, Quit, Quote, &c.

A TABLE of Words which are inde­pendent of the foregoing Rules and Excep­tions, with the common Pronunciation of each expressed in Italicks.

BUOY Boey, Victuals Vittles, Colonel Curnel, George Jorge, Lieutenant Leuf­tenant, Quay Kee, Two Too, Yacht Yot, Yeo­man Yewman, Yelk or Yolk (of an egg) Yoke.

A TABLE of Foreign Words which still retain their original Pronunciation (or nearly so) notwithstanding that they are in a manner adopted, by frequent Use, into the English Language.

ACcoutre, Antique, Archives, Arriere, Banditti, Beau, Bureau, Caviare, Car­touch, Connoisseur, Courier, Croup, Cuirass, Environ, Escritoire, Fascine, Groupe, In­trigue, Lieu, Machine, Magazine, Marine, Palanquin, Pas, Piquant, Pique, Piquet, Po­lice, Poltron, Ponton, Prame, Profile, Ren­dezvous, Roquelaure, Rouge, Scout, Sophi, Soup, Tête-à-tête, Tornado, Toupee, Tour, Transmarine, Vermicelli, Violoncello, Jonquil, Adieu.

FINIS.

A TABLE or INDEX of the Words, which (with their several Compounds and Derivatives) are Exceptions to the foregoing Rules; viz.

AVowels.Sounded likeRule.Exception.Page.
A-Bo′veAu-dessusoŭ3617
A-bro′adDehorsoaaw11128
Ac-qui-e′sceAcquiesceriē135
Af-fro′ntAffrontoŭ2812
An′-gelAngeaĀ218
A′-nyAucunaĕ215
At-to′r-neyProcureuroŭ2812
AufSolauō4118

B     
BassBasseaā218
Bear (noun & verb)Ours et Supportereaai9125
Be-lo′wEn-basowō7422
Be-sto′wDonnerow
Bi′-erUne Biéreiē125
BlithJoyeuxiī2510
BloodSangooŭ6119
BlowCoup, Soufflerowō7321
BollTigeoō2812
Bol-sterChevetoō2812
BombBombeoŭ2812
Bo′r-ageBouracheoŭ2812
Bor-oughBourgoŭ2813
7120
BougeS′enflerouŭ7120
Bou′g-etBougetteouŭ7120
BouseBoire avec excésouoo7121
Bow (noun)Arcowō7321
Bowl (or Basin)Bassin
BreadPaineaĕ9124
BreakRompreeaā9125
Break-fastDéjeunéeaĕ9124
B′eastPoitrineea
Breath (noun)Haleineea
Bree′ch, -es, -ingsFesses, Culotteeeĭ9326
BroadLargeoaaw11128
Bro′th-erFrereoŭ2813
BruiseContusionuiū12129
Bu′syOccupeuĭ2914

C     
Cam-brickBatisteaā218
Cam-bridgeCambridgeaā218
Can-o′eCanoeoeoo9727
Car-ou′seFaire la débaucheouoo7121
Cau′-lif-lowerChoux-fleurauŏ4118
Cey′-lonCeyloneyē8323
Child but not their deriva­tives.Enfantiī2510
Christ but not their deriva­tivesChrist
Clean-ly not in cleanPropreeaĕ9124
Cleanse not in cleanNettoyer
Co′l-ourCouleuroŭ2813
CombPeigneoō2812
ComeVeniroŭ3617
Come-ly(De bonne grace)oŭ
ComfitsConfituresoŭ2813
Com-fortConsolationoŭ2813
Com-panyCompagnieoŭ2813
Com-passContouroŭ2813
ComptCompteoou2812
Con-duitConduitoŭ2813
Con-eyLapinoŭ2813
Con-sta-ble(Commissaire de quartier)oŭ2813
Con-trolController (last syl.)oō2812
Cou′d(Verbe)ouŭ7120
Cov-en-antAccordoŭ2813
Cov-erCouverture
Cov-etConvoiter
Cov-eyVolée d′ oiseaux
CoughTouxouŏ7120
Coul-ter(Soc de charrüe)ouō7120
Coun-tryPaysouŭ7120
Cou-pleCouple
Cour-ageCourage
Course (Dis­course, &c.)Coursouō7120
CourtCour
Cou′s-inCousinouŭ7120
Coz-en (verb)Duperoŭ2813
CrowCorneilleowō7321
CruiseCroiseruiū12129
Cu′-cum-berCo′ncombre (1st syll.)uou157

D     
Da′n-gerDangeraā218
DareOseraă3216
DeadMorteaĕ9124
DeafSourdeaĕ9124
DeathLa morteaĕ9124
DiscomfitDéfaireoŭ2813
DoFaireooo146
DoneFaitoŭ3617
DoorPorteooō6119
DoveColombeoŭ3617
Dou″-bleDoublerouŭ7120
Doub-letDoublet
DoughPâteouō7120
Doz-enDouzaineoŭ2813
DreadCrainteeaĕ9124
DrollComiqueoō2812

E     
En-de′av-ourEfforteaĕ9125
En-dict & IndictStileriī2510
Eng-landAngleterreeĭ239
En-ou′ghAssezouŭ7120

F     
FalseFauxaau219
Fa′-therPereaaw115
Fea′-therPlumeeaĕ9125
FloodDelugeooŭ6119
FloorPlancherooō6119
FlowCoulerowō7321
Flown (from Fly)Echapéowō7321
FolkGensoō2812
FootPiedooŭ6119
ForceForceoō2812
FortFortoō2812
Fo′r-eignEtrangereiĕ9426
9527
Fo′r-feitAmendeeiī9426
FourQuatreouō7120
FriendAmiieĕ9627
FruitFruituiū12129
Fu′r-loughCongéouō7120

G     
GaugeJaugeauā4118
GhostEspritoō2812
GiveDonneriĭ3216
GloveGandoŭ3617
Glow(Etre allumé)owō7321
GoalPrison (G soft)oaā11128
GoldOrooo2813
GoneAlléoŏ3216
GoodBonooŭ6116
Go′v-ernGouverneroŭ2813
GougeGougeouoo7121
GourdCitrouilleouō7120
GreatGrandeaā9125
Groat(Piece de 4 sols)oaaw11128
GrossGrosoō2812
GrowCroitreouō7321

H     
Ha′l-serHausiere (l mute)aaw219
Han′t (for have not)(Verbe)aaw218
HaveAvoiraă3216
Hau′t-boyHautbois (t mute)auō4118
HeadTêteeaĕ9125
Hea′r-kenEcoutereaă9125
HeartCoeureaă9125
HearthFoyereaă9125
Hea′v-enLe cieleaĕ9125
Heav-yPésanteaĕ9125
Hei′f-erGénisseeiĕ9426
Hei′n-ousOdieuxeiā9426
HeirHeritier (h mute)eiā9426
Hey! He′y-day!Ouais!eyī8323
Ho′l-ster(Fourreau de pistoletoō2812
Hon-eyMieloŭ2813
HoodCoiffeooŭ6119
HostHôteoō2812

I     
Jea′l-ousJalouxeaĕ9125
Jeop-ard-yPerileoĕ2813
In-steadAu lieueaĕ9125
JournalJournalouŭ7120
Jour-neyVoïage
JuiceJusuiū12129

K     
KeyClefeyee8323
KnowSçavoirowō7321

L     
Lead (noun)Plombeaĕ9125
Lea′th-erCuireaĕ9125
Lea′v-enLevaineaĕ9125
Lei′s-ureLoisireiā and some­times ĕ9426
Leo′-pardLeopardeoĕ2813
LiveVivreiĭ3216
Lo′n-donLondresoŭ2813
Lose,-erPerdantooo3617
2813
LoveAmouroŭ3617
Lough (or Lake)Lacoŏ7120
LowBasowō7321

M     
Ma-ma′Mamanaaw115
Ma′n-gerMangeoireaā218
Ma′-nyPlusieursaĕ115
Ma′s-terMaîtreaaw218
Mea′s-ureMesureeaĕ9125
MildDouxiī2510
Mis-tea′chEnseigner maleaĕ9125
Mo′n-dayLundioŭ2813
Mo′n-eyL′argentoŭ2813
-Mon-gerVendeuroŭ2813
Mon″-grelMétifoŭ2813
MonkMoineoŭ2813
Mon″-keySingeoŭ2813
MonthMoisoŭ2813
MostLe plus, la plus, &c.oō2812
Mo′th-erMéreoŭ2813
MoveMouvoirooo3617
MouldMouleouō7120
MoultMuerouō7120
MounchMangerouŭ7120
MournDeplorerouō7120
MowFaucherowō7321
Mu′r-rainMortalité parmi les bêtesaiĕ8123

N     
Nou′-rishNourrirouŭ7120
Nui′s-anceIncommoditéuiū12129

O     
O-bli′geObliger (sometimes)iee3416
OneUn, uneoŏ3216
On′-ionOignon (1st syll.)oŭ2813
On′-lySeul (sometimes)oō2812
O′th-erAutreoŭ2813
Ov-enFouroŭ2813
Owe, OwnDevoir, confesserowō7321

P     
Pa′l-seyParalysieaaw219
Pa-paPapaaaw115
Pa-tro′lPatrouilleoō2812
Pea′s-antPaysaneaĕ9125
Pea′s-cod(Cosse de pois)
Peo′-plePeupleeoē2813
Phea′s-antFaisandeaĕ9125
Pi-erJettéeiē125
PintChopineiī2510
Pla′s-terEmplâtreaaw218
Plea′s-antAgréableeaĕ9125
Plea′s-urePlaisir
PollTêteoō2812
PortPort
PostPoste
Po′m-melPommeauoŭ2813
Po′th-erEmbarrasoŭ2813
Po′re-blind(qui a lavue courte)oŭ3617
PoultCoup de mainouō7120
Poul-try, Pou′l-ter-erVolaille, Pou­lailler
Pou′l-ticeCataplâmeouō7120
Pre′t-tyJolieĭ239
ProveProuverooo3617
ProwProüeowō7321
ProwlRoderowō7321
Pur-sui′tPoursuiteuiū12129

R     
Read (perfect tense; parti­ciple passive)eaĕ9125
Rea′d-yPrêteaĕ9125
RealmRoyaumeeaĕ9125
Re-cruitRecrüeuiū12129
RollUn roûleauoō2812
Ro′m-agePerquisitionoŭ2813
RomeRomeooo3617
RontAnimal nainoŭ2813
RoughRudeouŭ7120
Row, noun & verbRang, ramerowō7321

S     
SaidDitaiĕ8123
ScourgeFleauouŭ & ō7120
Scro′llUne bandeoō2812
SewCoudreewō10128
Sey-mourSey-mour (nom)eyē8323
ShoeUn soulieroeoo9727
Shou′d(Verbe)ouŭ7120
ShovePousseroŭ3617
Shov-elUne péleoŭ2813
Shou′l-derEpauleouō7120
ShowMontrerowō7321
SieveCribleieĭ9627
SkeinEcheveaueial9426
Sleight (Artifice)Artificeeiī9426
9527
SlothParesseoō2812
Slough (Suppura­tion from a sore)Matiere qui sort d′une playeouŭ7120
Slo′v-enMal-propreoŭ2813
SlowLentowō7321
SluiceEcluseuiū12129
Smo′th-erEtoufferoŭ2813
SnowNeigeowō7321
SomeQuelqueoŭ3617
SonFilsoŭ2813
SootSuieooŭ6119
SoulAmeouō7120
Sow (verb)Semerowō7120
SpongeEpongeoŭ3617
SportJeuoō2812
SpreadEtendreeaĕ9125
Stea′d-yFermeeaĕ9125
Stood(Pret. de s′ arreter)ooŭ6119
StowArrangerowō7321
StrollRoderoō2812
StrowParsemerowō7321
SuitProcésuiū12129
Suit-orPlaideuruiū12129
Sur-feitIndigestioneiĭ9426
SwearJurereaai9125
SweatSuereaĕ9125
SwordEpéeoō2812

T     
Tear (verb)Déchirereaai1925
TeatMammelleeaĕ1925
Ti-erRangiē125
TheirLeureiai9426
Thereeai3316
ThoughQuoiqueouō7120
Tho′r-ough-fare, Tho′rough-lyPassage, par­faitementoŭ2813
ouŭ7120
ThreadFileaĕ9125
Threa′t-enMenacereaĕ9125
Throughà traversouoo7121
ThrowJetterowō7321
Toàoŭ146
TollPéageoō2812
TombTombeauooo2813
TonTonneauoŭ2813
To′ngueLangueoŭ3617
To′r-toiseTortüeoiŭ5119
TouchToucherouŭ7120
ToughDurouŭ7120
Tow, noun & verbEtoupes, remorquerowō7321
Trea′ch-er-yPerfidieeaĕ9125
TreadMarchereaĕ9125
Trea′s-ureTrésoreaĕ9125
Tro′llRoderoō2812
Trou′-blePeineouŭ7120
TroughAugeouŏ7120
TrowCroireowō7321

V     
VeilVoileeiai9426
VeinVeineeiai9426
Vi′l-lainCoquinaiĕ8123
Un-cou′thGrossierouo71 

W     
Wa′-terL′eauaaw115
Weal (mark of a stripeMarque de coupeaāi9125
Wea′p-onArmeeaĕ9125
Wea′th-erLe temseaĕ9125
WearUsereaai9125
Were(Etre)eai3316
Wheal (a stripe)Marque de coupeaai9125
Whereeai3316
WhoQui, lequelle, laquelleosometimes oo146
WhomLequelle, laquelleoDo2813
WhoseDont
WildSauvageiī2510
WombMatriceooo2813
Wom′an, wom′enFemme, -soŭ2813
WonGagnéoŭ2813
Won-derSurpriseoŭ2813
WoodBoisooŭ6119
WoolLaine
WordMotoŭ2813
WorldMonde
WorkOuvrageoŭ2813
WormVer
Wo′rs-tedEtame
Wo′r-ryDechireroŭ2813
Wo′r-shipAdoration
WortMoût
WorthPrix
WorsePireoŭ2813
Wou′d(Verbe)ouŭ7120
WreakAssouvir sa vengeceeaĕ9125
WritheGuirlande, tordreiee3416

Y     
YeastLevureeaĕ9125
Ye′l-lowJauneeă239
YesOuieĭ239
YetEncore

Z     
Zea′l ous, Zea′lotZelé, zelateureaĕ9125

AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING A Brief ACCOUNT of the chief Peculiarities of the ENGLISH CONSONANTS.

1. B is mute before t, or after m, in the same syllable, as Debt, Lamb, &c.

2. C sounds soft, like s, when followed by e, i, or an apostrophe (denoting the absence of e) as Cedar, City, Danc′d, &c.

C sounds like sh, when followed by ea, ia, ie, or io, making different syllables, as Ocean, Ancient, Precious, Social, &c. except So­ciety.

[Page 2] CC when followed by e or i, sounds like x, as Accept, Accident, &c.

C is mute in Indict, Victuals, Scene, Scent, Science, Sciatica, Scissors, Scission, Scymiter, Scythe, and the proper names Scyros, Scylla, and Scythia.

In all other cases C sounds hard like k.

3. Ch, when properly English, has the same sound with the Italian c, before e or i. Examp. Child, Chain, &c.

It sounds also like sh, in words derived from the French, as Chaise, Champaigne, &c. and like k in words of Greek ex­traction, as Christ, School, Stomach, Arch­angel, &c. pronounced Ark-angel. But if Arch comes before a consonant, ch has then its proper English sound, as in Arch­bishop.

Ch in Loch sounds like f.

Ch is mute in Drachm, Schedule, and Schism.

4. D is mute before ge, as in Judge, Bridge, &c. also in Soldier.

5. F in Of sounds like v.

[Page 3]6. G sounds soft like j before e, i, or an apostro­phe, and hard (like the Greek y) in all other cases.

Examp. Angel, Rage, Rag′d, Giant, Ginger, &c.

Exceptions to G′s sounding soft.

1. In the participles passive of words ending in g hard (and also where-ever g is dou­bled) it continues hard, notwithstanding the vowels e or i, or an apostrophe, as in Dragg′d, Begging, Digging, &c.

2. In the termination ger, where-ever it makes a distinct syllable, g sounds hard, as in An″-ger, Fin″ger, Lon″ger, Stron″ger, &c. in which kind of words it may be ob­served that the g sounds double, so as to belong to both syllables.

3. Derivatives in er, ed, or ing from primi­tives in ng, retain the g hard, as Sing­ing, Sing-er, from Sing; Hang-ing, Hang-er, from Hang; Winged or Wing′d from Wing, &c. In which kind of words it [Page 4] may be observed, that g sounds single, and belongs to the first syllable only.

4. In the following words G is hard, not­withstanding it comes before e or i; viz. Geese, Gewgaw, Geld, Gelt, Gertrude, Get (with its compounds) Gibberish, Gibbous, Giddy, Gift, Gig, Giggle, Gild, Girl, Give, Forgive, Gilt, Gimblet, Gimp, Gird, Girt, Girdle, Begin, Gizzard, Gideon, Gibbons, Gilbert, and Gilpin.

G is mute before n in the same syllable, as Gnash, Sign, Sovereign, &c. also in Phlegm, Seraglio, and Bagnio.

7. Gh sounds like G hard in Ghost, and like ff in Cough, Lough, Laugh, Laughter, Rough, Slough, Tough, Trough, and Enough. In other words it is mute.

8. H is mute in Hour, Honour, Honest, Heir, Herb, Humour, Hostler, Thyme, John, Tho­mas, Thomasin, and Thames. Also in Greek words, when preceded by R, as Rheum, Rhyme, Rhetoric, Myrrh, &c. and lastly at the end of words, as ah, hah, Isaiah, Sa­rah, &c.

[Page 5]9. K is mute before n in the same syllable, as Knave, Know, Knight, &c.

10. L is mute in Balk, Talk, Walk, Stalk, Balm, Calm, Calf, Calves, Falcon, Half, Halves, Holme (an island) and Holmes (a surname) Psalm, Qualm, Salmon, Could, Should, and Would.

11. N is mute after m in the same syllable, as Hymn, Autumn, Solemn, &c.

12. P is mute before s, and between m and t, as Psalm, Tempt, &c.

13. Ph is always sounded like f, except in Ste­phen, Nephew, and Phial, where it sounds like v.

Ph is mute in Phthisic, and is pronounced Tizzic.

14. Q is always followed by u, and, when it begins a syllable, sounds like cw, by which (as Mr. Johnson observes) our Saxon ancestors well expressed it. But in terminations from the Latin -quus, and also in words of French extraction, it sounds like k. Examp. Oblique, Antique, Quoif, Conquer, Risque, Traffique, &c. some of which words [Page 6] are now more commonly spelt with c or k, as Coif, Risk, Traffic, &c.

15. S sounds like z.

1st, In the third persons singular of all verbs, and the plural number of all nouns, as in Has, Was, Tries, Bees, Times, &c.

2dly, In pronouns possessive, as His, Hers, Theirs, and also when preceded by the comma denoting possession, as Father′s, Mother′s, Tom′s, Will′s, &c. (also in the particle as.)

Exception to the two last Sections.

S has its proper sound when preceded by c, k, ck, f, p, q, or t, which admit not the sound of z so easily after them, as Speaks, Beats, Rocks, Jack′s, Dick′s, Gilbert′s, Cock′s-spur, Cat′s-paw, &c.

3dly, S sounds like z preceded by a liquid in the same syllable, as Dam-sel, Crim­son, Thames, Jer-sey, Guern-sey, &c. And also,

[Page 7]4thly, S between two vowels most com­monly sounds like z, as Daisy, Reprisal, Peasant, Please, Rosin, &c.

Except House, Mouse, Louse, Goose, Geese, Sausage, Purchase, Promise, Case, Mason, Bason, Basis, Phasis, and Thesis. Except also substantives in use, derived from La­tin verbs, as U′se, Abu′se, Disu′se, Re′fuse, Excu′se, &c. and adjectives derived from the participles passive of some Latin verbs, as Reclu′se, Profu′se, Abstru′se, &c.

Lastly, Except also the words contained in the next section but one, where s sounds like zh.

S and ss sound like sh in Sure (with its com­pounds) Issue, Tissue, Fissure, Pressure, Rus­sian, &c. also in the terminations -assion, -ession, -ission, -ussion, as in Passion, Impres­sion, Mission, Concussion, &c.

S, when preceded by a vowel and followed by ion or ian, sounds like zh, as Invasion, Ephesian, Vision, Delusion, &c. But if it [Page 8] be preceded by a consonant, it sounds like sh, as in Conversion, Persian, &c.

S sounds also like zh before -ier, as Osier, Hosier, Glasier, Brasier, &c. and in the words Leisure, Measure, Pleasure, and Trea­sure.

S is mute in Isle, Lisle, Carlisle, Island, Viscount, and Demesne.

16. T before io or ia (making part of the same syllable with i) sounds like sh, as Na-tion, Cau-tious, Egyp-tian, Sa-ti-ate, &c. But if t belong to the former syllable, it re­tains its proper Sound, as Quest-ion, Fust­ian, Combust-ion, &c.

T is mute in words ending with -stle, as Castle, Thistle, Bristle, &c.

17. Th has two sounds, the one soft, as in Thy, the other hard (like the Greek [...]) as in Thigh.

I. Th sounds soft,

1st, In Thence, There (with their com­pounds) Then, That, The, Thee, These, This, Those, Thus, Thou, Thy, Thine, Their, Theirs, Them, Though, Although, Beneath, Bequeath, Betroth, Mouths, Tythe, Scythe, Wreath, Booth, and in [Page 9] the verbs Bathe, Mouth, Seeth, Loathe, Soothe, and Breathe.

2dly, Where-ever it occurs between two vowels, as Father, Mother, &c. Except words of Greek extraction, and also derivatives from words ending with th hard, as Earthen from Earth, &c.

3dly, Th sounds soft when placed between r and a vowel, as Burthen, Murther, &c. though in such words d is often written and pronounced instead of th, as Mur­der, Burden. In other cases th sounds hard.

Th is mute in Asthma, with its derivatives.

8. W is mute before r in the same syllable, as Write, Wrath, &c. also in Sword, Swoon, and Answer, with their compounds and de­rivatives.

The other consonants have the same powers as in other languages.

FINIS.

ERRATA.

  • Preface, p. xiv. for 340, read 342.
  • — Note, for 54 r. 47.
  • — for page 15, r. page 30.
  • Page 21, for word, r. verb.

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