Note. The compiler has meliorated the rule for the sound of c, viz. c before e i or y sounds like s in the following syllables; to wit, in lace the c sounds like s as lase, and where a c ends a syllable and the following syllable begins with e, i, or y, the c sounds like s, as in ratiocinate, reciprocity, as rash e os' e nate, res e pros' e ty: we will divide the last word according to the old system, viz. re ci pro ci ty, in the last division, the first and third syllables have the long vowel sound in the orthography, and the short consonant sound in the orthoepy. This absurd and arbitrary rule is a chaos, and destroys the pronunciation in the preceding and following words, viz. Dec' i mal, Doc' i ble, Ve rac i ty, Im plic' it, Sim plic' i ty, Ve loc' i ty, Vic' i nal, Ver tic' i ty, Tac' it, Vi vac'i ty, Ca pac'i ty, Fe lic' i ty, and Fe roc' i ty, these words cannot be pronounced by the quantity of letters that constitute each syllable under the old orthographical system: the division of syllables is to give the pronunciation of the word to the young Tyro. The old rule destroys the orthoepy and ought to be annihilated; for where two rules are at war with each other, the one will destroy the other. EXPLANATION OF SOME OF THE CHARACTERS USED IN THE WORK. ? The interrogative point? denotes, when placed between syllables, that the letter which precedes it will follow it, as copy, kop pe. R Inverted interrogative point denotes that the letter which follows it will precede it, as an; gle as ang gle. An exclamatory point! denotes redundant letters, as high! for hi. 'An apostrophe' denotes the accentual syllable, as må'ker the accent on the first syllable. The italic letters are vicarious, as they are elucidated in the Tables of Orthography and Orthöepy. The hyphen represents a consonant between two vowels, as u e for use. |