W (as in we) and y (as in ye) are sometimes called semi-vowels, as being intermediate between vowels and consonants, or partaking of the nature of both.

B and p represent one and the same position of the articulating organs; but p differs from b in being an utterance of the breath instead of the voice.

D and t stand for one and the same articulation, which is a pressure of the tongue against the gum at the root of the upper front teeth; but t stands for a whispered, and d for a vocal sound.

F and v stand for one and the same articulation, the upper teeth placed on the under lip; but ƒ indicates an expulsion of voiceless breath; v, of vocalized breath, or tone.

Th in thin and th in this represent one and the same articulation, the former with breath, the latter with voice.

S and z stand for one and the same articulation; s being a hissing or whispered sound, and 2 a buzzing and vocal sound. Sh and zh have the same distinction as s and 2, whispered and vocal; but zh not occurring in English words, the sound is represented by si or by other letters; as, in fusion, osier,

azure.

G and k are cognate letters, also j and ch, the first of each couplet being vocal, the second aspirate or uttered with breath alone.

Ng represents a nasal sound.

B has one sound only, as in bite. After m, or before t, it is generally mute; as in dumb, doubt.

C has the sound of k before a, o, u, l and r, as in cat, cot, cup, clock, and crop, and of s before e, i, and y, as in cell, cit, cycle. It may be considered as mute before k; as, in sick, thick. C, when followed by e or i before another vowel, unites with e or i to form the sound of sh. Thus, cetaceous, gracious, conscience, are pronounced ce- ta' shus, gra'shus, con' shense.

D has its proper sound, as in day, bid; when preceded in the same syllable by a whispered or non-vocal consonant, it uniformly takes the sound of t, as in hissed (hist).

F has one sound only; as, in life, fever, except in of, in which it has the sound of v.

G before a, o, and u, is a close palatal articulation; as, in gave, go, gun; before e, i, and y, it sometimes represents the same articulation, but generally indicates a compound sound, like that of j; as in gem, gin, gyves. Before n in the same syllable it is silent; as, in gnaw.

H is a mark of mere breathing or aspiration. After r it is silent; as, in rhetoric.

I in certain words has the use of y consonant; as, in million, pronounced mill'yun. Before r it has a sound nearly resembling that of short u, but more open; as, in bird, flirt.

J represents a compound sound, pretty nearly equivalent to that represented by deh; as, in joy.

K has one sound only; as, in king. It is silent before n in the same syllable; as, in knave.

L has one sound only; as, in lame, mill. It is silent in many words, especially before a final consonant; as, in walk, calm, calf, should.

M has one sound only; as, in man, flame. n in the same syllable; as, in mnemonics. N has one sound only; as, in not, sun. and m; as, in kiln, hymn, solemn.

It is silent before

It is silent after 7

P has one sound only; as, in pit, lap. At the beginning of words, it is silent before n, s, and t; as, in pneumatics, psalm, pshaw, ptarmigan.

Q has the sound of k, but it is always followed by u, and these two letters are generally sounded like kw; as, in question.

R is sounded as in rip, trip, form, carol, mire.

S has its proper sound, as in send, less; or the sound of z, as in rose. Followed by i preceding a vowel, it unites with the vowel in forming the sound of sh; as in mission, pronounced mish'un;-or of its vocal correspondent zh; as in osier, pronounced o'zher.

T has its proper sound, as in turn, at the beginning of words and at the end of syllables. Before i, followed by another vowel, it unites with i to form the sound of sh, as in nation, partial, patience, pronounced na'shun, par'shal, pa'shense. But when sor a precedes t, this letter and the i following it preserve their own sounds; as in bastion, Christian, mixtion, pronounced bast'yun, krist'yan, mikst'yun. T is silent in the terminations ten and tle after s; as in fasten, gristle; also in the words often, chestnut, Christmas, etc.

V has one sound only; as, in voice, live, and is never silent. W before in the same syllable is silent, as in wring, wrong. In most words beginning with wh, the h precedes the w in utterance, that is, wh is simply an aspirated w; thus when is pronounced hwen. But if o follows this combination, the w is silent, as in whole, pronounced hole.

X represents ks, as in war; but it is sometimes pronounced like gz; as, in exact. At the beginning of words, it is pronounced like z; as, in Xenophon.

Z has its proper sound, which is that of the vocal 8; as, in

maze.

Ch has very nearly the sound of tsh; as, in church: or the sound of k; as, in character: or of sh, as in machine.

Gh is mute in every English word, both in the middle and at the end of words, except in the following: cough, chough, clough, enough, laugh, rough, slough, tough, trough, in which it

has the sound of f; hough, lough, shough, in which it has the sound of k; and hiccough, in which it has the sound of p. At the beginning of a word, it is pronounced like g hard; as in ghastly, ghost, gherkin, etc.; hence this combination may be said not to have a proper or regular sound in any English word.

Ph has the sound off, as in philosophy; except in Stephen, pronounced Stevn.

Sh has one sound only; as, in shall.

Th has two sounds; whispered, as in think, both; and Vocal, as in thou, this. When vocal, the th is marked thus, (th), as in thou.

Sc has the sound of sk, before a, o, u, and r; as, in scule, scoff, sculpture, scroll; and the sound of s alone before e, i, and y; as, in scene, scepter, science, Scythian.

ACCENT.

Accent is a forcible stress or effort of voice on a syllable, distinguishing it from others in the same word, by a greater distinctness of sound.

The accented syllable is designated by the mark (').

The general principle by which accent is regulated, is, that the stress of voice falls on that syllable of a word, which renders the articulations most easy to the speaker, and most agreeable to the hearer. By this rule has the accent of most words been imperceptibly established by a long and universal consent.

When a word consists of three or more syllables, ease of speaking requires usually a secondary accent, of less forcible utterance than the primary, but clearly distinguishable from the pronunciation of unaccented syllables; as in superflu'ity, litera'ry.

KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION.

VOWELS.

REGULAR LONG AND SHORT SOUNDS.

LONG.-a, as in fame; e, as in mete; I, as in fine; ō, as in note; ū, as in mute; y, as in fly.

SHORT.-, as in fat; e, as in met; Ĭ, as in fin; ŏ, as in not; ú, as in but; ý, as in nymph.

See over.

KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION-CONTINUED.
VOWELS.-OCCASIONAL SOUNDS.

a broad, as in all,

air, share, pâir, beâr. father, far, bälm, päth. åsk, grass, dance, branch. call, talk, haul, swarm.

a, as in what (like short o) wan, wanton, wallow.

ê like â, as in

ẽ, as in term,

e like long a, as in ï like long e, as in 1, as in bird,

ó like short u, as in
o like long oo, as in
o like short oo, as in
ỗ like broad a, as in
oo (long oo), as in
oo (short oo), as in .
u long, preceded by r, as in
ụ like oo, as in

e, i, o (italic) are silent

thêre, hêir, whêre, êre. ermine, verge, prefer. prey, they, eight. pique, machine, mien. firm, virgin, dirt. dove, son, done, won. prove, do, move, tomb. bosom, wolf, woman. ôrder, form, stôrk. moon, food, booty. foot, book, wool, good. rude, rumor, rural. put, push, pull, full. token, cousin, mason.

REGULAR DIPHTHONGAL SOUNDS.

oi, or oy (unmarked), as in ou, or ow (unmarked), as in

oil, join, toy.
out, owl, vowel.

s sharp (unmarked), as in
s soft, or vocal, like z, as in.
th sharp (unmarked), as in
th flat, or vocal, as in
ng (unmarked), as in
n (much like ng), as in

X, like g2, as in

.

EXAMPLES.

çede, mercy.
eall, eoneur.

child, choose, much.
machine, chaise..
ehorus, epoch.
get, begin, foggy.
gentle, ginger, elegy.
same, gas, dense.
has, amuse, prison.
thing, path, truth.
thine, their, wither.
sing, single.

linger, link, uncle.
exist, auxiliary.

ph (unmarked), like f, as in sylph. qu (unmarked), like kw, as in queen. wh (unmarked), like hw, as in what, when, awhile.

14

*This is not a letter, but a character standing for and.