and when thus accented (2) it sounds like oo, and makes a syllable by itself. 13. us, as pues but; u sounds like oo. 14. ui, as guitarra a guitar, guisado a ragout; here the u is lost in pronunciation. 15. uin, as guindas cherries, guindar to lift up. Of Consonants. B is pronounced in Spanish, as in English in the word benefice beneficio. C before e and i sounds like s, as Cecilia Cecily a woman's name; but before a, hr, l, o, r, and u, it sounds like k, as Carolina Caroline, caballo a horse, Christo Christ, Claudina Claudia, creacion the creation, criado a man servant, cronologia chronology, crucifero a crossbearer, cuba a cask for wine. C followed by h in the middle or at the end of words of two or three syllables, sounds as if there was a t before it, as in the words mucho much, muchachada a boyish trick, muchacha a little girl, muchacho a boy. D is pronounced as in English. F is pronounced as in English. The Spaniards never double that letter in their writing. Observations. G, J, LL, N, X, being peculiar to the Spanish language, I will endeavour to give a true definition of their sounds and uses; but this must not hinder the pupil from providing himself with a good master, in order to acquire their true pronunciation. G is only guttural before e and i, as in generacion generation, gigantico gigantic. G before a, o, u, is not aspirated or guttural, but is pronounced as in other languages; as gaban a great coat, gordo fat, gusano a worm; in which instances it is easy to perceive that the sounds ga, go, gu, answer to the English pronunciation. H is so lightly aspirated, that in many words it can hardly be perceived; as in halar to speak, hambre hunger, &c. L and LL.-The single L is pronounced as in English; the LL, like the French liquid in the words fille a daughter, famille a family; or like the glio of the Italian, in figlio a son; or the lh of the Portuguese in the word filho a son, filha a daughter; &c.: as llamar to call, llanexa equality, llave a key, llegar, to arrive, llevar to carry away, llover to rain, lluvia rain:-read liamar, lianeza, liave, liegar, lievar, liover, liuvia, &c. LL is never found at the end of words. M and N are pronounced as in English. N. This letter is quite peculiar to the Spanish language, and has been adopted by them for the French gne, and they call it n contilde: its greatest use is found in the words señor sir, maña dexterity, mañana tomorrow,— read segnor, mogna, magnana, &c. The pronunciation of this letter should be heard from a master's mouth. P, Q, R, are pronounced as in English. S is pronounced in Spanish words as if there were 'ss, even between two vowels, as in the verb poder to be able, preterite subjunctive que pudiese he might be able, que pudiesen they might be able. T is pronounced as in English. X is guttural, and sounds almost like j: these two letters are so much alike in pronunciation, that the one is often used for the other, except when x is directly at the end of words, as relox a clock or watch; but in the middle, as lejos or lexos afar off, they are indifferently written by the Spaniards: nevertheless, to write correctly one must be attentive to the etymology. Z is pronounced as in English. When the scholar has read attentively these rules, he may take every consonant separately and join it to each vowel, in order to make syllables, and thus learn how to read. Babada, babear, beler, bigarro, bobo, bubilla, brabante, braceage, bragillas, brear, Bretaña, brillo, brochado. Caballo, cebolla, cibera, coartar, cubazo, chachara, chacharero, cherna, chichisveo, chocado, chufeta, claustro, clemente, cliente, clocar, clueco, crasitud, crecido, criador, cronografo, cruceras. Dable, debaxo, dignidad, dobladillo, dueña, dulzura. Fabrica, Febrero, forrage, fuerte, flagicio, flechar, flibote, focadura, fluctuacion, fracasar, fregacion, frigerativo, frialdad, frogar, frontero, fructuosamente. Gabela, generacion, girasol, golpe, gorgear, gladiator, gleba, globo, glutinoso, gnomonica, gobernador, gobernalle, gracejar, graduacion, grajado, greguesquillos, grieta, gritador, groseza, grua, grueras, grueso, grumille, gruñidor, gruta, guacamayo, guedeja, guedejudo, guia, guiño, gurrumina. Hacienda, hechizo, hidalgo, hojuela, huesped. Jabali, Jesu Christo, jocosamente, Jordan, Juegos. Pabellon, pecadillo, piadoso, poblacion, pubertad, placeme, plegador, pliego, plomero, plumazo, prática, preambulo, primado, probar, prueba. Quaderna, quedar, quemar, quipos, quociente. Rabear, rejilla, riguroso, rogador, ruginoso. Sabandija, secadillos, siervo, sobrino, subduplo. Tablillas, temeroso, tibieza, toston, tumulto, trabajo, trebejo, trigesimo, trofeo, trujaman. Vadeable, velador, viduño, volvible, vulpeja. Xabalconar, xefe, xeque, xibion, xorgolin, xugoso. Yacija, yema, yerro, yoguir, gugo, yusion. Zaborda, zeloso, zilorgano, zompo, zurrador. Of Accents. The Spanish language has but two accents, the acute () and the circumflex ('). The acute serves for the prolongation of a syllable, as váya I may go, véo I see, veia I did see, voy I go, dóy I give, junto together. This accent is likewise put upon the five vowels á, é, 1, 6, ú. The circumflex serves to denote that the preceding letter, if it is ch, sounds like k; or if it is x it sounds like kċ; as chimia chemistry, examinar to try. CHAPTER II. ORTHOGRAPHY. Of Punctuation. PUNCTUATION is used in writing and printing to denote the place where the reader ought to stop to take breath ; or to distinguish more easily the different parts of a sentence. The stops are of six sorts, of which the names and shapes are as follow: () Virgula û Coma.. (;) Punto y coma.. (:) Dos puntos. (.) Punto. A Comma. A Semicolon. A Colon. A Full Stop. (?) Nota de interrogacion.. A Note of Interrogation. (!) Nota de Admiracion... A Note of Admiration. These stops are necessary to avoid obscurity, to prevent misconstruction, and for the better understanding of what we read or write. Here follows the use which good authors make of them, and which is grounded upon reason: A comma is used, 1st, in an enumeration, to distinguish the things enumerated, as Las partes de la oracion son el substantivo, el adjectivo, el pronombre, el verbo, el participio, el adverbio, &c:-2d, to distinguish the different parts of a sentence, and to give the reader a proper time for breathing, as Hermana mia, gran consuelo me ha preparado Dios quando bien lo necesitaba, en dos cartas tuyas, una de 18 y otra de 20 de Mayo que recibi a un mismo tiempo, &c. We do not use a comma between the different parts of a short sentence which can be expressed at one breath, as Tengo negocios urgentes, I have earnest business. A semicolon is used to distinguish the two parts of a sentence of some length, when the first has a complete sense of itself, as Muchos reputan como rudeza é imperfeccion la sencillez de la antigua musica; pero nosotros sentimos que esta misma dóte la acredita. A colon is used after a sentence which could subsist alone, because it makes a complete sense of itself, but which, however, is followed by another, which explains or extends it, as La virtud y el vicio producen diferentes efectos: esta causa la miseria de los hombres, y esa haceles felices. N. B. A semicolon or a colon can be, and often is, indifferently used for each other. A full stop is used when the sentence is complete, as La caridad es la primera de las virtudes christianas, Charity is the first of all christian virtues. A note of interrogation is used at the beginning and at the end of a sentence which expresses a question, as ¿Está su padre en casa? Is his father at home? A note of admiration is put at the beginning and at the end of a sentence which expresses admiration and surprise, as ¡Que sobrehumana fuerza es esta! ¡Que palacio! ¡Que quartos! ¡Que galerias! Of Capital Letters. Capital or great letters are used, 1st, In the beginning of every sentence in prose. They |