VOICE Letters, or Vowels,

A, E, I, O, U, and Y.

A sounds like the French e in bête, as in ca-ble, fa-ble, sa-ble, ba-ker, ha-ven, la-dy, ma-ker.

E like the French i in mille, as in be, he e-vil, le-gal, &c.

I. The English sound of i must be acquired by ear or imitation.

O like the French o, or au, as in go, so, no 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 buy, guy, (wherein u is mute,) dry, fry, my, dye, &c. in dissyllables accented on the last syllable, as ally, comply, deny, &c. and in all words compounded with the Latin word fio, as deify, magnify, specify, &c.

Double Voice-Letters, called Diphthongs.

Au and aw like the foreign a, as in maul, paul, sprawl, law, saw, paw. See Rule IV.

Oi and oy, as in oil, boil, boy. See Rule V.

Oo like the French ou, as in boot, broom, loop, poor. See Rule VI.

Ou, ow, as in bound, crown. See Rule VII.

Improper Diphthongs, wherein only one of the vowels are sounded.

Ai, ay, and ey, like the English a, or French ai, as ai in Bail, dainty, gain, nail, sail, Ay in may, pray, say, way. Ey in prey, grey, they, whey, convey, obey, survey. See Rule VIII.

Ae, ea, ee, ei, ie, and oe, like the English e, or foreign i, as ae aether, ea in pea, sea. Ee in eel, deep, feet, meet, steep. Ei in ceiling, seize, receive. Ie in shield, grieve, grief, reprieve, Oe in foetus, subpoena, &c. ex­cept in the end of a word ie is like i, as in die, lie, and oe is like o, as in foe, hoe, toe. See Rule IX. and its exceptions.

Eu, ew, and iew, like a single u long, as in Europe, dew, view. See Rule X.

Oa like o long, as in boat, coat, grown, moan, &c. See Rule XI.

Ue like a short e, as in guess, guest. See Rule XII.

Ui like a short i, as in build, guild. See Rule XII.

A TABLE of VOWELS, DIPH­THONGS and TERMINATIONS, the English sound of which cannot be easily expressed in foreign letters, and should therefore be learned by ear, viz.

I long, ^* as in bible, mitre, nitre, pirate.

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, power.

Also the following terminations, viz.

• -ire,
• -tion
• -cious
• -tious

as in dire, fire, salvation, delicious, fictitious, &c.

English Alphabet.

• A a like ai, ay, ey, or the French ê.
• B b Ba, Be, Bi, Bo, Bu.
• C c like K before a, o, u,—ca, co, cu.
• C c like S before e, i, y,—ce, ci, cy.
• D d Da, De, Di, Do, Du, Dy.
• E e like ae, ea, ee, or the foreign i.
• F f like Ph, or Greek Φ, Fa, Fe, Fi, Fo, Fu, Fy.
• G g like gh, or Greek Γ, before a, o, and u, as Ga, Go, Gu,
• G g like g soft, or j, before e, i, and y, as Ge, Gi, Gy, except a few words; viz. geese, gewgaw, geld, gelt, 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, Gilpin.
• H h Ha, He, Hi, Ho, Hu, Hy, but is mute in a few words; as 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.
• I i English, or long, like the Greek [...], or some­thing like the French i before n in prince.
• [Page 7]J j consonant like g soft, Ja, Je, Ji, Jo, Ju, Jy.
• K k Ka, Ke, Ki, Ko, Ku, Ky.
• L l La, Le, Li, Lo, Lu, Ly.
• M m Ma, Me, Mi, Mo, Mu, My.
• N n Na, Ne, Ni, No, Nu, Ny.
• O o long, like the foreign o.
• P p Pa, Pe, Pi, Po, Pu, Py.
• Q q Qua, Que, Qui, Quo, Qu, Quy.
• R r Ra, Re, Ri, Ro, Ru, Ry.
• S s Sa, Se, Si, So, Su, Sy.
• T t Ta, Te, Ti, To, Tu, Ty.
• U u like ew in dew, few, new, &c.
• V v consonant, Va, Ve, Vi, Vo, Vu, Vy.
• W w Wa, We, Wi, Wo, Wu, Wy.
• X x Xa, Xe, Xi, Xo, Xu, Xy.
• Y y Ya, Ye, Yi, Yo, Yu.
• Z z Za, Ze, Zi, Zo, Zu, Zy.
• Ch Cha, Che, Chi, Cho, Chu, Chy, ex­cept in words derived from the Greek tongue, wherein it sounds like c hard or k.
• Ph like f, Pha, Phe, Phi, Pho, Phu, Phy.
• Sh Sha, She, Shi, Sho, Shu, Shy.
• Th sometimes like Greek Θ, (or hard,) as in thank, think, thigh, &c. and sometimes like dth, (or soft,) as in thou, they, that, this, though, or tho', thus, thence.
• Wh Wha, Whe, Whi, Who, Whu, Why.

(EXCEPTIONS to RULE I.)

Particular exceptions concerning a at the end of a syllable.

A is like the French a, or English diphthong aw, in wa-ter; it has a medium-sund be­tween aw and the English a in fa-ther, and the last syllable of pa-pa, mam-ma; and it sounds like a short e, or foreign é, in a-ny and ma-ny.

Particular exceptions concerning i.

I sounds like the English e, or foreign i, in ac-qui-esce, bi-er, pi-er, ti-er.

General exceptions concerning i.

I is pronounced short before another vowel in the termination of all words of more than two syllables when it is not radical; as in a′-mi-a-ble, de-mo-ni-ac′, ca′r-ri-age, so′-ci-al, Wi′l-li-am, Sty′g-i-an, da′l-li-ance, va′l-i-ant, Span′-i-ard, a′-pi-ary, so′-ci-al, in-sid-ia′-tor, al-le-vi-a′-tion, ma′r-ri-ed, a′-li-en, co′n-sci-ence, am′-bi-ent, gla′-si-er, spe′-ci-es, se-rag′-li-o, ax′-i-om, pos-te′-ri-or, wa′r-ri-our, con′-sci-ous, i′d-i-ot, pre′-mi-um, &c. But, in the proper names Ma­ri′-a and So-phi′-a, when given to En­glish [Page 13] women, it is pronounced according to rule. Also in af-fi-ance, and the deriva­tives from the dissyables 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.

O is like oo in do, (and its compounds,) to, and who, though the latter (who) is pro­nounced according to the rule in the nor­thern parts of England.

U is like the English ou (hereafter explain­ed) in the first syllable of cu-cumber.

General exception concerning y.

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.

A Repetition of RULE II. respecting Vowels, or Voice-Letters, in syllables ending with a consonant.

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.

• 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, (see page 5,) as in odd, got, not, rob, &c. and in mud, grub, strut, stun, &c.

EXCEPTIONS to RULE II.

Particular exceptions concerning a before a consonant.

A is like the French ai in a′n-gel, bass, cám-brick, Cám-bridge, da′n-ger, and [Page 15] mán-ger. It has a medium sound between aw and the English a in han't, (for have not,) más-ter, and plás-ter,; and is like aw in hal-ser, (wherein l is mute,) false, and pal-sy.

General exceptions concerning a before a con­sonant.

A has the sound of aw likewise before ld and lt, as in bald, cal-dron, al-tar, &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 shorter, as in half, calm, salve, com­mand, demand, &c.

Particular exceptions concerning e before a consonant.

E is like a short i in England, pretty, yes, and yet, and like a short a in yel-low.

General exception concerning e before s.

E is long before s in the ultimate of plural nouns, and third persons singular [Page 16] of verbs when preceded by c, s, z, or g, as in fá-ces, ^* hór-ses, as-sí-zes, rá-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.

I retains its English or long sound in blithe, endict and indict, (wherein c is mute,) mild, pint, and wild; also in child and Christ, but not in their derivatives, chil­dren, christen, and Christian.

General exceptions concerning i before a con­sonant.

I is 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 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 be-nign, sign, [Page 17] and its compounds consign, design, &c. and their derivatives in -er, -ed, -edly, and -ment, but no others; for in re-sig-na-tion, consig-na-tion, sig-ni-fied, &c. the i is short according to rule, and the g is pronounced.

General exceptions concerning o before a con­sonant.

O retains its long sound in all words ending in ld and lt, as behóld, bold, cold, bolt, colt, &c. and in all their compounds and derivatives.

Particular exceptions of o before a consonant.

O is long in boll, bolster, comb, (wherein b is mute,) control, droll, folk, (where­in l is mute,) force, fort, ghost, gross, holster, host, most, only, post, poll, pat-roll, 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, ac­count, &c.

O has the sound of a short u ^* in af-frónt, at-tór-ney, bomb, bór-age, bó-rough, [Page 18] bró-ther, co-lour, cóm-fits, cóm-fort, cóm-pany, cóm-pass, cón-duit, cón-ey, cón-sta-ble, cóz-en, cóv-e-nant, cóv-er, cóv-et, cóv-ey, dis-cóm-fit, dóz-en, góv-ern, hón-ey, Lón-don, Món-day, món-ey, monk, món-key, món-ger, món-grel, month, móth-er, ón-ion, óth-er, óv-en, póm-mel, póth-er, róm-age, ront, son, shóv-el, slóv-en, smóth-er, ton, thó-rough-ly, won, wón-der, word, world, work, worm, wór-sted, worth, wóm-an, (in the sin­gular only, the plural being pronounced as if spelt wím-men,) wór-ry, wort, wór-ship, and their compounds, &c. except diÓs;-cov-er and re-cóv-er, which are pronoun­ced according to rule.

O is sounded like oo in tomb and womb, (wherein b is silent,) lo-ser, gold, whom, and whose;^* and is mute in jeóp-ar-dy, leó-pard, and peó-ple, which are pro­nounced as if written jép-par-dy, lép-pard, pée-ple.

Particular exceptions of u before a consonant.

U is like a short i in bu-sy, and its com­pounds, &c. and the s like z.

Repetition of RULE III. relating to VOWELS in syllables ending with si­lent e.

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

Examples.

Ace, face, re-céde, dice, vote, con-fúte, vague, vogue, col-légue, &c. Also ad-více, de-více, en-tíce, suf-fíce, sac-ri-fíce, a-líve, con-níve, con-tríve, de-prive, de-ríve, re-víve, and sur-víve, which are accented on the last syllable.

N. B. Derivatives from words ending in e for the most part retain their original sound, even when the e is omitted, as spar-ing, -ed, from spare; wast-er, -ing, -ed, from waste; rang-er, -ing, -ed, from range; &c.

The vowel a is long, even before two conso­nants, when they are followed by e in the same syllable, (except before -nce,) as in ache, haste, waste, change, grange, range, &c. and their compounds and de­rivatives.

EXCEPTIONS to RULE III.

General exceptions.

The four vowels, e, i, o, u, are sounded short before two consonants, as in fringe, re-venge, solve, serve, tinge, sludge, grudge, &c.

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 cál-a-mine, Cáth-a-rine, cát-a-logue, déc-a-logue, de-pós-ite, dés-tine, de-tér-mine, dis-frán-chise, dóc-trine, én-gine, ép-i-logue, éx-qui-site, grán-ite, har-ángue, fín-ite, and its compounds, már-it-ime, méd-i-cine, mín-ute, (not the adjective for small,) mor-tise, péd-a-gogue, prác-tise, (verb,) pró-logue, pró-mise, sap-phire, sy′n-a-gogue, tréa-tise, and u-rine.

Particular exceptions.

The following monosyllables are likewise pronounced as if e final were absent, viz. dare, (the verb,) give, gone, have, live, and one. ^‡

There, were, and where, are pronounced as if spelt with the diphthong ai, thair, [Page 21] 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.

I is sounded like ee in writhe and o-blige, though in the northern parts of England the latter is sounded according to rule.

General exceptions concerning i in syllables ending with silent e.

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 sér-vile, jú-ven-ile, ca-príce, mál-ice, én-dive, pós-it-ive, &c.

Particular exceptions concerning o in syllables ending in silent e.

O like a short u in a-bóve, come, cóme-ly, done, dove, glove, love, póre-blind, [Page 22] some, shove, sponge, tongue, worse, and in the termination -dom; and like oo in lose, move, prove, and Rome.

Of PROPER DIPHTHONGS.

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

Of improper Diphthongs.

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

A TABLE of words, which are indepen­dent of the foregoing Rules and Excep­tions, with the common Pronunciation expressed in Italics.

BUOY, boey; victuals, vittles; colo­nel, curnel; George, Jorge; island, iland; 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, escrutoire, 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.