# A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary (4th edition)/Principles

CONTENTS OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION.
| Alphabet | No. 1 |
| Definition of vowels and consonants | 5 |
| Analogical table of the vowels | 16 |
| Diphthongs and triphthongs enumerated | 17 |
| Consonants distinguished into classes | 18 |
| Analogical table of the consonants | 29 |
| Organic formation of the letters | 31 |
| Of the quantity and quality of the vowels | 62 |
| Of the influence of accent on the sounds of the letters | 69 |
| The letter A and its different sounds | 72 |
| The letter E and its different sounds | 93 |
| The letter I and its different sounds | 105 |
| The letter O and its different sounds | 161 |
| The letter U and its different sounds | 171 |
| The letter Y and its different sounds | 180 |
| The letter W and its different sounds | 189 |
| Of the diphthongs called semi-consonants | 196 |
| Of the diphthongs AE, AI, AO, and all the rest in their alphabetical order | 199 |
| Of the sounds of the consonants | 347 |
| B, when mute | ibid |
| C, its different sounds | 348 |
| D, its different sounds | 358 |
| Improperly changed into T. Dr. Lowth's opinion of this change in certain verbs, considered, and corrected | 169 |
| F, its different sounds | 377 |
| G, its different sounds | 377 |
| G, always mute before N in the same syllable at the end of a word, exemplified in the words impugn, oppugn, propugn, expugn, impregn, etc. with the authorities of the most respectable orthöepists | 386 |
| H, when sounded, and when mute | 394 |
| J, its uniform sound | 398 |
| K, when sounded, and when mute | 699 |
| L, when sounded, and when mute | 401 |
| M, when sounded, and when mute | 407 |
| N, when it has its naso-guttural sound | 408 |
| When it has its ringing sound in the participial termination ing | 410 |
| P, when sounded, and when mute | 412 |
| PH, its uniform sound | ibid |
| Q, its different sounds, when combined with u | 414 |
| R, when its sound is transposed | 416 |
| When it is to be pronounced rough, and when smooth | 419 |
| S, its different sounds | ibid |
| When it is to be pronounced like z | 432 |
| When it is to be pronounced like sh and zh | 430 |
| Mr. Sheridan's error in this point detected | 454 |
| T, its different sounds | 459 |
| How it slides into sh in the numerous termination tion | ibid |
| Why it slides into this sound before u, preceded by the accent | 461 |
| Mr. Sheridan's error in this point detected | 462 |
| TH, its different sounds | 465 |
| When the h is silent in this combination | 471 |
| T, when silent | 472 |
| V, its uniform sound | 473 |
| W, when silent, and when sounded | 474, 475 |
| X, is exactly similar to ks, and liable to the same alterations of sound | 479 |
| Mr. Sheridan's error in this point detected | 480 |
| Y as a consonant, and its different sounds | 482 |
| Z, improperly resolved by Dr. Johnson into s hard. Its true name Izzard | No. 483 |
| Its different sounds | 484 |
| Of the Nature of Accent. ||
| The only true definition of accent | 488 |
| The different position of the English accent | 489 |
| Accent on dissyllables | 491 |
| Dissyllable nouns and verbs differently accented | 492 |
| Accent on trisyllables | 501 |
| Partial dependance of the English accent on that of the Greek and Latin | 533 |
| Accent on Polysyllables | 504 |
| Enclitical accent exemplified in the termination logy, graphy, etc. | 513, 518 |
| The tendency of compounds to contract the sound of the simple | 515 |
| Secondary accent | 522 |
| The shortening power of this accent | 527 |
| On Quantity. ||
| The shortening power of the secondary accent exemplified in the uncertainty and inconsistency of Mr. Sheridan and Dr. Kenrick in their division of words into syllables | 530 |
| On Syllabication. ||
| Syllabication different according to the different ends to be attained by it | 538 |
| Syllabication exhibiting the sound of a word, depending, in some measure, on the nature of the letters prior to actual pronunciation | 542 |
| The almost total independence of the English quantity on that of the Greek and Latin, exemplified by an enumeration of most of the dissyllables in our language derived from the Latin and Greek | 544 |
| The only possible case in which we can argue from the Latin quantity to the English | ibid |
| Dissyllables from the Saxon and French languages enumerated | ibid |
| Causes of the prevalence of shortening the first syllable of dissyllables from these languages | ibid |
| Of the quantity of unaccented syllables ending with a vowel | 547 |
| Uncertainty and inconsistency of Dr. Kenrick in his notation of the quantity of these vowels | ibid |
| Uncertainty and inconsistency of Mr. Sheridan an Dr. Kenrick in marking the quantity of these vowels | 551 |
| Exception to the general rule of pronouncing these syllables when e is followed by r | 558 |
| Uncertainty of our best orthöepists in their syllabication of such words, exemplified by a list from Sheridan, Kendrick, Scott, and Perry | 554 |
| Peculiar delicacy of the sound of these syllables | 555 |
| Tendency of o before r to go into the same obscurity as e, exemplified in the diversity and inconsistency of our best orthöepists in marking these syllables | 557 |
| Table of the simple and diphthongal vowels, referred to as a key to the figures over the letters in the Dictionary | 559 |
PRINCIPLES
OF
ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION.
1. The First Principles or Elements of Pronunciation are Letters:
The Letters of the English Language are: :
| Roman. | Italick. | Name. |
| A a | A a | a |
| B b | B b | bee |
| C c | C c | see |
| D d | D d | dee |
| E e | E e | e |
| F f | F f | eff |
| G g | G g | jee |
| H h | H h | aitch |
| I i | I i | i or eye |
| J j | J j | j consonant, or jay |
| K k | K k | kay |
| L l | L l | el |
| M m | M m | em |
| N n | N n | en |
| O o | O o | o |
| P p | P p | pee |
| Q q | Q q | cue |
| R r | R r | ar |
| S ſ s | S ſ s | eſs |
| T t | T t | tee |
| U u | U u | u, or you |
| V v | V v | v consonant, or vee |
| W w | W w | double u |
| X x | X x | eks |
| Y y | Y y | wy |
| Z z | Z z | zed, or izzard. (418) |
2. To these may be added certain combination of letters sometimes used in printing; as ct, ſt, fl, ſl, ſb, ſh, ſk, ſſ, ff, ſi, ſſi, fi, ffi, ffl, and et, or and per se and, or rather et per se and; ct, ſt, fl, fi, ſl, ſb, ſh, ſk, ff, ſſ, f, ſſi, fi, ffi, et.
3. Our letters, says Dr. Johnson, are commonly reckoned twenty-four, because anciently i and j, as well as u and v, were expressed by the same character; but as these letters, which had always different powers, have now different forms, our alphabet may be properly said to consist of twenty-six letters.
4. In considering the sounds of these first principles of language, we find that some are so simple and unmixed, that there is nothing required but the opening of the mouth to make them understood, and to form different sounds. Whence they have the names of vowels, or voices, or vocal sounds. On the contrary, we find that there are others, whose pronunciation depends on the particular application and use of every part of the mouth, as the teeth, the lips, the tongue, the palate, etc. which yet cannot make any one perfect sound but by their union with those vocal sounds; and these are called consonants, or letters sounding with other letters.
Definition of Vowels and Consonants.
5. Vowels are generally reckoned to be five in number; namely, a, e, i, o, u; y and w are called vowels when they end a syllable or word, and consonants when they begin one.
6. The definition of a vowel, as little liable to exception as any, seems to be the following: A vowel is a simple sound formed by a continued effusion of the breath, and a certain conformation of the mouth, without any alteration in the position, or any motion of the organs of speech, from the moment the vocal sound commences till it ends.
7. A consonant may be defined to be, an interruption of the effusion of vocal sound, arising from the application of the organs of speech to each other.
8. Agreeably to this definition, vowels may be divided into two kinds, the simple and compound. The simple a, e, o, are those which are formed by one conformation of the organs only; that is, the organs remain exactly in the same position at the end as at the beginning of the letter; whereas in the compound vowels i and u, the organs alter their position before the letter is completely sounded: nay, these letters, when commencing a syllable, do not only require a different position of the organs in order to form them perfectly, but demand such an application of the tongue to the roof of the mouth, as is inconsistent with the nature of a pure vowel; for the first of these letters, i, when sounded alone, or ending a syllable with the accent upon it, is a real diphthong, composed of the sounds of a in father, and of e in the, exactly correspondent to the ​sound of the noun eye; and when this letter commences a syllable, as in min-ion, pin-ion, etc. the sound of e with which it terminates is squeezed into a consonant sound, like the double e heard in queen, different from the simple sound of that letter in quean, and this squeezed sound in the commencing i makes it exactly similar to y in the same situation; which, by all grammarians, is acknowledged to be a consonant. The latter of these compound vowels, u, when initial, and not shortened by a consonant, commences with this squeezed sound of e equivalent to the y, and ends with a sound given to oo in woo and coo, which makes its name in the alphabet exactly similar to the pronoun you. If, therefore, the common definition of a vowel be just, these two letters are so far from being simple vowels, that they may be more properly called semi-consonant diphthongs.
9. That y and w are consonants when they begin a word, and vowels when they end one, is generally acknowledged by the best grammarians; and yet Dr. Lowth has told us, that w is equivalent to oo; but if this were the case, it would always admit of the particle an before it: for though we have no word in the language which commences with these letters, we plainly perceive, that if we had such a word, it would readily admit of an before it, and consequently that these letters are not equivalent to w. Thus we find, that the common opinion, with respect to the double capacity of these letters, is perfectly just.
10. Besides the vowels already mentioned, there is another simple vowel sound found under the oo in the words woo and coo; these letters have, in these two words, every property of a pure vowel, but when found in food, mood, etc. and in the word too, pronounced like the adjective two: here the oo has a squeezed sound, occasioned by contracting the mouth, so as to make the lips nearly touch each other; and this makes it, like the i and u, not so much a double vowel, as a sound between a vowel and a consonant.
Classification of Vowels and Consonants.
11. Vowels and consonants being thus defined, it will be necessary, in the next place, to arrange them into such classes as their similitudes and specific differences seem to require.
12. Letters, therefore, are naturally divisible into vowels and consonants.
13. The vowels are, a, e, i, o, u; and y and w when ending a syllable.
14. The consonants are, b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z; and y and w when beginning a syllabe.
15. The vowels may be subdivided into such as are simple and pure, and into such as are compound and impure. The simple or pure vowels are such as require only one conformation of the organs to form them, and no motion in the organs while forming.
16. The compound or impure vowels are such as require more than one conformation of the organs to form them, and a motion in the organs while forming. These observations premised, we may call the following scheme
An Analogical Table of the Vowels :
| a | pa-per | simple or pure vowels. |
| a | fa-ther | simple or pure vowels. |
| a | wa-ter | simple or pure vowels. |
| e | me-tre | simple or pure vowels. |
| o | no-ble | simple or pure vowels. |
| oo | coo | simple or pure vowels. |
| i | ti-tle | compound or impure vowels. |
| y | cy-der | compound or impure vowels. |
| u | lu-cid | compound or impure vowels. |
| w | pow-er | compound or impure vowels. |
Diphthongs and Triphthongs enumerated.
17. Two vowels forming but one syllable are generally called a diphthong, and three a triphthong: these are the following:
| ae Caesar | ei ceiling | oa coat | ui languid |
| ai aim | eo people | oe oeconomy | uy buy |
| ao gaol | eu feud | oi voice | aye (for ever) |
| au taught | ew jewel | oo moon | eau beauty |
| aw law | ey they | ou found | eou plenteous |
| ay say | ia poniard | ow now | ieu adieu |
| ea clean | ie friend | oy boy | iew view |
| ee reed | io passion | ue mansuetude | oeu manoeuvre. |
Consonants enumerated and distinguished into Classes.
18. The consonants are divisible into mutes, semi-vowels, and liquids.
19. The mutes are such as emit no sound without a vowel, as b, p, t, d, k, and c and g hard.
20. The semi-vowels are such as emit a sound without the concurrence of a vowel, as f, v, s, z, x, g soft or j.
21. The liquids are such as flow into, or unite easily with the mutes, as l, m, n, r.
22. But, besides these, there is another classification of the consonants, of great importance to a just idea of the nature of the letters, and that is, into such as are sharp or flat, and simple or aspirated.
23. The sharp consonants are, p, f, t, s, k, c hard.
24. The flat consonants are, b, v, d, z, g hard.
25. The simple consonants are those which have always the sound of one letter unmixed with others, as b, p, f, v, k, g hard, and g soft, or j.
26. The mixed or aspirated consonants are those which have sometimes a hiss or aspiration joined with them, which mingles with the letter, and alters its sound, as t in motion, d in soldier, s in mission, and z in azure.
27. There is another distinction of consonants arising either from the seat of their formation, or from those organs which are chiefly employed in forming them. The best distinction of this kind seems to be that which divides them into labials, dentals, gutturals, and nasals.
28. The labials are, b, p, v, f. The dentals are, t, d, s, z, and soft g or j. The gutturals are, k, q, c hard, and g hard. The nasals are, m, n, and ng.
29. These several properties of the consonants may be exhibited at one view in the following table, which may be called
An Analogical Table of the Consonants. :
| Mute labials | Sharp, p, pomp | Sharp, p, pomp | Sharp, p, pomp | Sharp, p, pomp | labio-nasal liquid m |
| labio-nasal liquid m ||||
| Hissing labials | Sharp, f, if | Sharp, f, if | Sharp, f, if | Sharp, f, if | | labio-nasal liquid m |
| labio-nasal liquid m ||||
| Mute dentals | Sharp, t | tat | aspirated | etch | dento nasal liquid n |
| Mute dentals | Flat, d | dad | aspirated | edge or j | dento nasal liquid n |
| Hissing dentals | Sharp, s | say | aspira. | esh passion | dental liquid l |
| Hissing dentals | Flat, z | as | aspira. | ezhe vision | dental liquid l |
| Lisping dentals | Sharp, eth, death | Sharp, eth, death | Sharp, eth, death | Sharp, eth, death | |
| Gutturals | Sharp, k, kick | Sharp, k, kick | Sharp, k, kick | Sharp, k, kick | guttural liquid r |
| guttural liquid r ||||
| Dento-guttural or nasal ng, bang. ||||||
30. Vowels and consonants being thus defined and arranged, we are the better enabled to enter upon an enquiry into their different powers, as they are differently combined with each other. But previous to this, that nothing may be wanting to form a just idea of the first principles of pronunciation, it may not be improper to show she organic formation of each letter.
Organic formation of the Letters
31. Though I think every mechanical account of the organic formation of the letters rather curious than useful, yet, that nothing which can be presented to the eye may be wanting to inform the ear, I shall in this follow those who have been at the pains to trace every letter to its seat, and make us, as it were, to touch the sounds we articulate.
Organic formation of the Vowels.
32. It will be necessary to observe, that there are three long sounds of the letter a, which are formed by a greater or less expansion of the internal parts of the mouth.
33. The German a, heard in ball, wall, etc. is formed by a strong and grave expression of the breath through the mouth, which is open nearly in a circular form, while the tongue, contracting itself to the root, as if to make way for the sound, almost rests upon the under jaw.
34. The Italian a, heard in father, closes the mouth a little more than the German a; and by raising the lower jaw, widening the tongue, and advancing it a little nearer to the lips, renders its sound less hollow and deep.
35. The slender a, or that heard in lane, is formed in the mouth still higher than the last; and in pronouncing it, the lips, as if to give it a slender sound, dilate their aperture horizontally; while the tongue, to assist this narrow emission of breath, widens itself to the cheeks, raises itself nearer the palate, and by theses means a less hollow sound than either of the former is produced.
36. The e in e-qual is formed by dilating the tongue a little more, and advancing it nearer to the palate and the lips, which produces the slenderest vowel in the language; for the tongue is, in the formation of this letter, as close to the palate as possible, without touching it; as the moment ​the tongue touches the palate, the squeezed sound of ee in thee and meet is formed, which, by its description, must partake of the sound of the consonant y.
37. The i in i-dol is formed by uniting the sound of the Italian a in father, and the e in e-qual, and pronouncing them as closely together as possible. See Directions to Foreigners at the beginning of this book, page 20.
38. The o in o-pen is formed by nearly the same position of the organs as the a in wa-ter; but the tongue is advanced a little more into the middle of the mouth, the lips are protuded, and form a round aperture like the form of the letter, and the voice is not so deep in the mouth as when a is formed, but advances to the middle or hollow of the mouth.
39. The u in u-nit is formed by uniting the squeezed sound ee to a simple vowel sound, heard in woo and coo; the oo in these words is formed by protruding the lips a little more than in o, forming a smaller aperture with them, and, instead of swelling the voice in the middle of the mouth, bringing it as forward as possible to the lips.
40. Y final, in try, is formed like i: and w final in now, like the oo, which has just been described.
In this view of the organic formation of the vowels we find that a, e, and o, are the only simple or pure vowels: that i is a diphthong, and that u is a semi-consonant. If we were inclined to contrive a scale for measuring the breadth or narrowness, or, as others term it, the openness or closeness of the vowel, we might begin with e open, as Mr. Elphinston calls its, and which he announces to be the closest of all the vocal powers. In the pronunciation of this letter we find the aperture of the mouth extended on each side; the lips almost closed, and the sound issuing horizontally. The slender a in waste opens the mouth a little wider. The a in father opens the mouth still more, without contracting the corners. The German a, heard in wall, not only opens the mouth wider than the former a, but contracts the corners of the mouth so as to make the aperture approach nearer to a circle, while the o opens the mouth still more, and contracts the corners so as to make it the os rotundum, a picture of the letter it sounds. If therefore the other vowels were, like o, to take their forms from the aperture of the mouth in pronouncing them, the German a ought necessarily to have a figure as nearly approaching the o in form as it does in-sound; that is, it ought to have that elliptical form which approaches nearest to the circle; as the a of the Italians, and that of the English in father, ought to form ovals, in exact proportion to the breadth of their sounds; the English a in waste ought to have a narrower oval; the e in the ought to have the curve of a parabola, and the squeezed sound of ee in seen, a right line: or to reduce the lines to solids, the o would be a perfect globe, the German a an oblate spheroid like the figure of the earth, the Italian a like an egg, the English slender a a Dutch skittle, the e a rolling pin, and the double e a cylinder.
Organic Formation of the Consonants.
41. The best method of shewing the organic formation of the consonants will be to class them into such pairs as they naturally fall into, and then, by describing one, we shall nearly describe its fellow; by which means the labour will be lessened, and the nature of the consonants better perceived. The consonants that fall into pairs are the following:
| p | f | t | s | sh | th | k | ch | chair |
| b | v | d | z | zh | dh | g | j | jail |
42. Holder, who wrote the most elaborately and philosophically upon this subject, tells us, in his Elements of Speech, that when we only whisper we cannot distinguish the first rank of these letters from the second. It is certain the difference between them is very nice; the upper letters seeming to have only a smarter, brisker appulse of the organs than the lower; which may not improperly be distinguished by sharp and flat. The most marking distinction between them will be found to be a sort of guttural murmur, which precedes the latter letters when we wish to pronounce them forcibly, but not the former. Thus if we close the lips, and put the finger on them to keep them shut, and strive to pronounce the p, no sound at all will be heard; but in striving to pronounce the b we shall find a murmuring sound from the throat, which seems the commencement of the letter; and if we do but stop the breath by the appulse of the organs, in order to pronounce with greater force, the same may be observed of the rest of the letters.
43. This difference in the formation of these consonants may be more distinctly perceived in the s and z than in any other of the letters; the former is sounded by the simple issue of the breath between the teeth, without any vibration of it in the throat, and may be called a hissing sound; while the latter cannot be formed without generating a sound in the throat, which may be called a vocal sound. The upper rank of letters, therefore, may be called breathing consonants; and the lower, vocal ones.
44. These observations premised, we may proceed to describe the organic formation of each letter.
45. P and B are formed by closing the lips till the breath is collected, and then letting it issue by forming the vowel e.
46. F and V are formed by pressing the upper teeth upon the under lip, and sounding the vowel e before the former and after the latter of these letters.
47. T and D are formed by pressing the tip of the tongue to the gums of the upper teeth, and then separating them, by pronouncing the vowel e.
​48. S and Z are formed by placing the tongue in the same position as in T and D, but not so close to the gums as to stop the breath: a space is left between the tongue and the palate for the breath to issue, which forms the hissing and buzzing sound of these letters.
49. SH heard in mission, and zh in evasion, are formed in the same seat of sound as s and z; but in the former, the tongue is drawn a little inwards, and at a somewhat greater distance from the palate, which occasions a fuller effusion of breath from the hollow of the mouth, than in the latter, which are formed nearer to the teeth.
50. TH in think, and the same letters in that are formed by protruding the tongue between the fore teeth, pressing it against the upper teeth, and at the same time endeavouring to sound the s or z; the former letter to sound th in think, and the latter to sound th in that.
51. K and G hard are formed by pressing the middle of the tongue to the roof of the mouth, near the throat, and separating them a little smartly to form the first, and more gently to form the last of these letters.
52. CH in chair, and J in jail, are formed by pressing t to sh, and d to zh.
53. M is formed by closing the lips, as in P and B, and letting the voice issue by the nose.
54. N is formed by resting the tongue in the same portion as in T or D, and breathing through the nose, with the mouth open.
55. L is formed by nearly the same position of the organs as t and d, but more with the tip of the tongue, which is brought a little forwarder to the teeth, while the breath issues from the mouth.
56. R is formed by placing the tongue nearly in the position of t, but at such a distance from the palate as suffers it to jar against it, when the breath is propelled from the throat to the mouth.
57. NG in ring, sing, etc. is formed in the same seat of sound as g hard; but while the middle of the tongue presses the root of the mouth, as in G, the voice passes principally through the nose, as in N.
58. Y consonant is formed by placing the organs in the position of e, and squeezing the tongue against the roof of the mouth, which produces ee, which is equivalent to initial y. (36)
59. W consonant is formed by placing the organs in the position of oo, described under u, and closing the lips a little more, in order to propel the breath upon the succeeding vowel which it articulates.
60. In this sketch of the formation and distribution of the consonants, it is curious to observe on how few radical principles the almost infinite variety of combination in language depends. It is with some degree of wonder we perceive that the slightest aspiration, the almost insensible inflexion of nearly similar sounds, often generate the most different and opposite meanings. In this view of nature, as in every other, we find uniformity and variety very conspicuous. The single fiat, at first impressed on the chaos, seems to operate on languages; which, from the simplicity and paucity of their principles, and the extent and power of their combinations, prove the goodness, wisdom, and omnipotence of their origin.
61. This analogical association of sounds is not only curious, but useful: it gives us a comprehensive view of the powers of the letters; and, from the small number that are radically different, enables us to see the rules on which their varieties depend: it discovers to us the genius and propensities of several languages and dialects, and, when authority is silent, enables us to decide agreeably to analogy.
62. The vowels, diphthongs, and consonants, thus enumerated and defined, before we proceed to ascertain their different powers, as they are differently associated with each other, it may be necessary to give some account of those distinctions of sound in the same vowels which express their quantity as long or short, or their quality as open or close, or slender and broad. This will appear the more necessary, as these distinctions so frequently occur in describing the sounds of the vowels, and as they are not unfrequently used with too little precision by most writers on the subject.
Of the Quantity and Quality of Vowels.
63. The first distinction of sound that seems to obtrude itself upon us when we utter the vowels, is a long and a short sound according to the greater or less duration of time taken up in pronouncing them. This distinction is so obvious as to have been adopted in all languages, and is that to which we annex clearer ideas than to any other; and though the short sounds of some vowels have not in our language been classed, with sufficient accuracy, with their parent long ones, yet this has bred but little confusion, as vowels long and short are always sufficiently distinguishable; and the nice appropriation of short sounds to their specific long ones is not necessary to our conveying what sound we mean, when the letter to which we apply these sounds is known, and its power agreed upon.
64. The next distinction of vowels into their specific sounds, which seems to be the most generally adopted, is that which arises from the different apertures of the mouth in forming them. It is certainly very natural, when we have so many more simple sounds than we have characters by which to express them, to distinguish them by that which seems their organic definition; and we accordingly find vowels denominated by the French, ouvert and fermé; by the Italians, aperto, and chiuso; and by the English, open and shut.
​65. But whatever propriety there may be in the use of these terms in other languages, it is certain they must be used with caution in English, for fear of confounding them with long and short. Dr. Johnson and other grammarians call the a in father the open a: which may, indeed, distinguish it from the slender a in paper; but not from the broad a in water, which is still more open. Each of these letters has a short sound, which may be called a shut sound; but the long sound cannot be so properly denominated open, as more or less broad; that is, the a in paper, the slender sound; the a in father, the broadish or middle sound; and the a in water, the broad sound. The same may be observed of the o. This letter has three long sounds, heard in move, note, nor; which graduate from slender to broadish, and broad, like the a. The i also in mine, may be called the broad i, and that in machine the slender i; though each of them is equally long; and though these vowels that are long may be said to be more or less open, according to the different apertures of the mouth in forming them, yet the short vowels cannot be said to be more or less shut: for as short always implies shut, (except in verse) though long does not always imply open, we must be careful not to confound long and open, and close and shut, when we speak of the quantity and quality of the vowels. The truth of it is, all vowels either terminate a syllable, or are united with a consonant. In the first case, if the accent be on the syllable, the vowel is long, though it may not be open: in the second case, where a syllable is terminated by a consonant, except that consonant be r, whether the accent be on the syllable or not, the vowel has its short sound, which, compared with its long one, may be called shut: but as no vowel can be said to be shut that is not joined to a consonant, all vowels that end syllables may be said to be open, whether the accent be on them or not. (550) (551)
66. But though the terms long and short, as applied to vowels, are pretty generally understood, an accurate ear will easily perceive that these terms do not always mean the long and short sounds of the respective vowels to which they are applied; for if we choose to be directed by the ear in denominating vowels, long or short, we must certainly give these appellations to those sounds only which have exactly the same radical tone, and differ only in the long or short emission of that tone. Thus measuring the sounds of the vowels by this scale, we shall find that the long i and y have properly no short sounds but such as seem essentially distinct from their long ones; and that the short sound of these vowels is no other than the short sound of e, which is the latter letter in the composition of the diphthongs. (37)
67. The same want of correspondence in classing the long and short vowels we find in a, e, o, and u; for as the e in theme does not find its short sound in the same letter in them, but in the i in him; so the e in them must descend a step lower into the province of a for its long sound in tame. The a in carry is not the short sound of the a in care, but of that in car, father, etc. as the short broad sound of the a in want, is the true abbreviation of that in wall. The sound of o in don, gone, etc. is exactly correspondent to the a in swan, and finds its long sound in the a in wall, or the diphthong aw in dawn, lawn, etc. while the short sound of the o in tone, is nearly that of the same letter in ton, (a weight) and corresponding with what is generally called the short sound of u in tun, gun, etc. as the long sound of u in pule, must find its short sound in the u in pull, bull, etc. for this vowel, like the i and y, being a diphthong, its short sound is formed from the latter part of the letter equivalent to double o; as the word pule, if spelled according to the sound, might be written peoole.
68. Another observation preparatory to a consideration of the various sounds of the vowels and consonants seems to be the influence of the accent; as the accent or stress which is laid upon certain syllables has so obvious an effect upon the sounds of the letters, that unless we take accent into the account, it will be impossible to reason rightly upon the proper pronunciation of the Elements of Speech.
Of the Influence of Accent on the sounds of the Letters.
69. It may be first observed, that the exertion of the organs of speech necessary to produce the accent or stress, has an obvious tendency to preserve the letters in their pure and uniform sound, while the relaxation or feebleness which succeeds the accent as naturally surfers the letters to slide into a somewhat different sound a little easier to the organs of pronunciation. Thus the first a in cabbage is pronounced distinctly with the true sound of that letter, while the second a goes into an obscure sound bordering on the i short, the slenderest of all sounds; so that cabbage and village have the a in the last syllable scarcely distinguishable from the e and i in the last syllables of college and vestige.
70. In the same manner the a, e, i, o, and y coming before r, in a final unaccented syllable, go into an obscure sound so nearly approaching to the short u, that if the accent were carefully kept upon the first syllables of liar, lier, elixir, mayor, martyr, etc. these words, without any perceptible change in the sound of their last syllables, might all be written and pronounced lieur, lieur, elixur, mayur, martur, etc.
71. The consonants also are no less altered in their sound by the position of the accent than the vowels. The k and s in the composition of x, when the accent is on them, in exercise, execute, etc. preserve their strong pure sound; but when the accent is on the second syllable, in exact, exonerate, etc. these letters slide into the duller and weaker sounds of g and z, which are easier to the organs of ​pronunciation. Hence not only the soft c and the s go into th, but even the t, before a diphthong, slides into the same letters when the stress is on the preceding syllable. Thus in society and satiety the c and t preserve their pure sound, because the syllables ci and ti have the accent on them; but in social and satiate these syllables come after the stress, and from the feebleness of their situation naturally fall into the shorter and easier sound, as if written soshial, and sashiate. See the word Satiety.
A.
72. A has three long sounds and two short ones.
73. The first sound of the first letter in our alphabet is that which among the English is its name. (See the letter A at the beginning of the Dictionary) This is what is called, by most grammarians, its slender sound (35) (65); we find it in the words lade, spade, trade, etc. In the diphthong ai we have exactly the same sound of this letter, as in pain, gain, stain, etc. and sometimes in the diphthong ea, as bear, swear, pear, etc. nay, twice we find it, contrary to every rule of pronunciation, in the words where and there, and once in the anomalous diphthong ao in gaol. It exactly corresponds to the sound of the French e in the beginning of the words être and tête.
74. The long slender a is generally produced by a silent e at the end of a syllable; which e not only keeps one single intervening consonant from shortening the preceding vowel, but sometimes two: thus we find the mute e makes of rag, rage, and very improperly keeps the a open even in range, change, etc. (See Change) hat, with the mute e, becomes hate, and the a continues open, and, perhaps, somewhat longer in haste, waste, paste, etc. though it must be confessed this seems the privilege only of a; for the other vowels contract before the consonants ng in revenge, cringe, plunge; and the ste in our language is preceded by no other vowel but this. Every consonant but n shortens every vowel but a, when soft g and e silent succeed; as, bilge, badge, hinge, spunge, etc.
75. Hence we may establish this general rule: A has the long, open, slender sound, when followed by a single consonant, and e mute, as lade, made, fade, etc. The only exceptions seem to be, have, are, gape, and bade, the past time of to bid.
76. A has the same sound, when ending an accented syllable, as pa-per, ta-per, spec-ta-tor. The only exceptions are, fa-ther, ma-ster, wa-ter.
77. As the short sound of the long slender a is not found under the same character, but in the short e (as may be perceived by comparing mate and met), (67) we proceed to delineate the second sound of this vowel, which is that heard in father, and is called by some the open sound; (34) but this can never distinguish it from the deeper sound of the a in all, tall, etc. which is still more open: by some it is styled the middle sound of a, as between the a in pale, and that in wall: it answers nearly to the Italian a in Toscano, Romana, etc. or to the final a in the naturalized Greek words, papa, and mamma; and in baa; the word adopted in almost all languages to express the cry of sheep. We seldom find the long sound of this letter in our language, except in monosyllables ending with r, as far, tar, mar, etc. and in the word father. There are certain words from the Latin, Italian, and Spanish languages, such as lumbago, bravado, tornado, camisado, farrago, etc. which are sometimes heard with this sound of a; but except in bravo, heard chiefly at the theatres, the English sound of a is preferable in all these words.
78. The long sound of the middle or Italian a is always found before r in monosyllables, as car, far, mar, etc. before the liquids lm; whether the latter only be pronounced, as in psalm, or both, as in psalmist: sometimes before lf, and lve, as calf, half, calve, halve, salve, etc. and, lastly, before the sharp aspirated dental th in bath, path, lath, etc. and in the word father: this sound of the a was formerly more than at present found before the nasal liquid n, especially when succeeded by c, t, or d, as dance, glance, lance, France, chance, prance, grant, plant, slant, slander, etc.
79. The hissing consonant s was likewise a sign of this sound of the a, whether doubled, as in glass, grass, lass, etc. or accompanied by t, as in last, fast, vast, etc. but this pronunciation of a seems to have been for some years advancing to the short sound of this later, as heard in hand, land, grand, etc. and pronouncing the a in after, answer, basket, plant, mast, etc. as long as in half, calf, etc. borders very closely on vulgarity: it must be observed, however, that the a before n in monosyllables, and at the end of words, was anciently written with u after it, and so probably pronounced as broad as the German a; for Dr. Johnson observes, "many words pronounced with a broad were anciently written with au, as fault, mault; and we still write fault, vault. This was probably the Saxon sound, for it is yet retained in the northern dialects, and in the rustic pronunciation, as maun for man, haund for hand." But since the u has vanished, the a has been gradually pronounced slenderer and shorter, till now almost every vestige of the ancient orthography seems lost; though the terminaton mand in command, demand, etc. formerly written commaund, demaund, still retains the long sound inviolably.
​80. As the mute l in calm, psalm, calf, half, etc. seems to lengthen the sound of this letter, so the abbreviation of some words by apostrophe seems to have the same effect. Thus when, by impatience, that grand corrupter of manners as well as language, the no is cut out of the word cannot, and the two syllables reduced to one, we find the a lengthened to the Italian or middle a, as cannot, can't; have not, ha'nt; shall not, sha'n't, etc. This is no more than what the Latin language is subject to; it being a known rule in that tongue, that when, by composition or otherwise, two short syllables become one, that syllable is almost always long, as alius has the penultimate long because it comes from aliius, and the two short vowels in coago become one long vowel in cogo, etc.
81. The short sound of the middle or Italian a, which is generally confounded with the short sound of the slender a, is the sound of this vowel in man, pan, tan, mat, hat, etc. we generally find this sound before any two successive consonants (those excepted in the foregoing remarks) and even when it comes before an r, if a vowel follow, or the r be doubled; for if this consonant be doubled, in order to produce another syllable, the long sound becomes short, as mar, marry; car, carry, etc. where we find the monosyllable has the long, and the dissyllable the short sound; but if a come before r, followed by another consonant, it has its long sound, as in part, partial, etc.
82. The only exception to this rule is in adjectives derived from substantives ending in r; for in this case the a continues long, as in the primitive. Thus the a in starry, or full of stars, is as long as in star; and the a in the adjective tarry, or besmeared with tar, is as long as in the substantive tar, though short in the word tarry, (to stay.)
83. The third long sound of a is that which we more immediately derive from our maternal language the Saxon, but which at present we use less than any other: this is the a in fall, ball, gall: (33) we find a correspondent sound to this a in the diphthongs au and aw, as laud, law, saw, etc. though it must here be noted, that we have improved upon our German parent, by giving a broader sound to this letter, in these words, than the Germans themselves would do, were they to pronounce them.
84. The long sound of the deep broad German a is produced by ll after it, as in all, wall, call; or, indeed, by one l, and any other consonant, except the mute labials p, b, f, and v, as salt, bald, false, falshion, falcon, etc. The exceptions to this rule arc generally words from the Arabic and Latin languages, as Alps, Albion, asphaltic, falcated, salve, calculate, amalgamate, Alcoran, and Alfred, etc. the two last of which may be considered as ancient proper names which have been frequently latinized, and by this means have acquired a slenderer sound of a. This rule, however, must be understood of such syllables only as have the accent on them: for when al, followed by a consonant, is in the first syllable of a word, having the accent on the second, it is then pronounced as in the first syllables of al-ley, val-ley, etc. as alternate, balsamic, falcade, falcation, etc. Our modem orthography, which has done its utmost to perplex pronunciation, has made it necessary to observe, that every word compounded of a monosyllable with ll, as albeit, also, almost, downfall, etc. must be pronounced as if the two liquids were still remaining, notwithstanding our word-menders have wisely taken one away, to the destruction both of sound and etymology; for, as Mr. Elphinston shrewdly observes, "Every reader, young and old, must now be so sagacious an analyst as to discern at once not only what are compounds and what are their simples, but that al in composition is equal to all out of it; or in other words, that it is both what it is, and what it is not." Prin. Eng. Language, vol. I. page 60. See No. 406.
85. The w has a peculiar quality of broadening this letter, even when prepositive: this is always the effect, except when the vowel is closed by the sharp or flat guttural k or g, x, ng, nk, or the sharp labial f, as wax, waft, thwack, twang, twank: thus we pronounce the a broad, though short in wad, wan, want, was, what, etc, and though other letters suffer the a to alter its sound before ll, when one of these letters goes to the formation of the latter syllable, as tall, tal-low; hall, hal-low; call, cal-low, etc. yet we see w preserve the sound of this vowel before a single consonant, as wal-low, swal-low, etc.
86. The q including the sound of the w, and being no more than this letter preceded by k, ought, according to analogy, to broaden every a it goes before like the w; thus quantity ought to be pronounced as if written kwontity, and quality should rhyme with jollity; instead of which we frequently hear the w robbed of its rights in its proxy; and quality so pronounced as to rhyme with legality; while to rhyme quantity, according to this affected mode of pronouncing it, we must coin such words as plantity, and consonanity. The a in Quaver and Equater is an exception to this rule, from the preponderancy of another which requires a, ending a syllable under the accent, to have the slender sound of that letter; to which rule, father, master, and water, and, perhaps, quadrant, are the only exceptions.
87. The short sound of this broad a is heard when it is preceded by w, and succeeded by a single consonant in ​the same syllable, as wal-low, swal-low, etc. or by two consonants in the same syllable, as want, wast, wasp, etc. but when l or r is one of the sonsonants, the a becomes long, as walk, swarm, etc.
Irregular and unaccented Sounds.
88. But besides the long and short sounds common to all the vowels, there is a certain transient indistinct pronunciation of some of them, when they are not accented, that cannot be so easily settled: when the accent is not upon it, no vowel is more apt to run into this imperfect sound than the a; thus the particle a before participles, in the phrases a-going, a-walking, a-shooting, etc. seems, says Dr. Lowth, to be the true and genuine preposition on, a little disguised by familiar use and quick pronunciation: the same indistinctness, from rapidity and coincidence of sound, has confounded the pronunciation of this mutilated preposition to the ear, in the different questions what's o'clock, when we would know the hour, and what's a clock, when we would have the description of that horary machine; and if the accent be kept strongly on the first syllable of the word tolerable, as it always ought to be, we find scarcely any distinguishable difference to the ear, if we substitute u or o instead of a in the penultimate syllable. Thus tolerable, toleroble, toleruble, are exactly the same word to the ear, if pronounced without premeditation or transposing the accent, for the real purpose of distinction; and inwards, outwards, etc. might, with respect to sound, be spelt inwurds, outwurds, etc. Thus the word man, when not under the accent, might be written mun in nobleman, husbandman, woman; and tertian and quartan, tertiun and quartun, etc. The same observation will hold good in almost every final syllable where a is not accented, as medal, dial, giant, bias, etc. defiance, temperance, etc. but when the final syllable ends in age, ate, or ace, the a goes into a somewhat different sound. See 90 and 91.
89. There is a corrupt, but a received pronunciation of this letter in the words any, many, Thames, where the a sounds like short e, as if written enny, menny, Tems. Catch, among Londoners, seems to have degenerated into Ketch; and says, the third person of the verb to say, has, among all ranks of people, and in every part of the united kingdoms, degenerated into sez, rhyming with Fez.
90. The a goes into a sound approaching the short i, in the numerous termination in age, when the accent is not on it, as cabbage, village, courage, etc. and are pronounced nearly as if written cabbige, village, courige, etc. The exceptions to this rule are chiefly among words of three syllables, with the accent on the first; these seem to be the following: Adage, presage, scutage, hemorhage, vassalage, carcilage, guidage, pucilage, mucilage, cartilage, pupilage, orphanage, villanage, appanage, concubinage, baronage, patronage, parsonage, personage, equipage, ossifrage, saxifrage, umpirage, embassage, hermitage, heritage, parentage, messuage.
91. The a in the numerous termination ate, when the accent is on it, is pronounced somewhat differently in different words. If the word be a substantive, or an adjective, the a seems to be shorter than when it is a verb: thus a good ear will discover a difference in the quantity of this letter, in delicate, and dedicate; in climate, primate, and ultimate; and the vowels to calculate, to regulate, and to speculate, where we find the nouns and adjectives have the a considerably shorter than the verbs. Innate, however, preserves the a as long as if the accent were on it: but the unaccented terminations in ace, whether nouns or verbs, have the a so short and obscure as to be nearly similar to the u in us; thus palace, solace, menace, pinnace, p pulace, might, without any great departure from their common sound, be written pallus, sollus, etc. while furnace almost changes the a into i, and might be written furniss.
92. When the a is preceded by the gutturals, hard g or c, it is, in polite pronunciation, softened by the intervention of a sound like e, so that card, cart, guard, regard, are pronounced like ke-ard, ghe-ard, re-ghe-ard. When the a is pronounced like ke-ard, ghe-ard, re-ghe-ard. When the a is pronounced short, as in the first syllable of candle, gander, etc. the interposition of the e is very perceptible, and indeed unavoidable: for though we can pronounce guard and cart without interposing the e, it is impossible to pronounce garrison and carriage in the same manner. This sound of the a is taken notice of in Steele's Grammar, page 49. Nay, Ben Jonson remarks the same sound of this letter; which proves that it is not the offspring of the present day; (160) and I have the satisfaction to find Mr. Smith, a very accurate inquirer into the subject, entirely of my opinion. But the sound of the a, which I have found the most difficult to appreciate, is that where it ends the syllable, either immediately before or after the accent. We cannot give it any of its three open sounds without hurting the ear: thus in pronouncing the words abound and diadem, ay-bound, ab-bound, and aw-bound; di-ay-dem, di-ah-dem, and di-aw-dem, are all improper; but giving the a the second or Italian sound, as ah-bound and di-ah-dem, seems the least so. For which reason I have, like Mr. Sheridan, adopted the short sound of this letter to mark this unaccented a: but if the unaccented a be final, which is not the case in any word purely English, it then seems to approach still nearer to the Italian a in the last syllable of papa, and to the a in father; as may be heard in the deliberate pronuncication of the words idea, Africa, Delta, etc. (88) See the letter A at the beginning of the Dictionary.
E.
93. The first sound of e is that which it has when lengthened by the mute e final as in glebe, theme, etc. or when it ends a syllable with the accent upon it, as se-cre-tion, ad-he-sion, etc. (36)
94. The exceptions to this rule are, the words where and there; in which the first e is pronounced like a, as if ​written whare, thare; and the auxiliary verb were, where the e has its short sound, as if written were, rhyming with the last syllable of pre-fer and ere, (before) which sounds like air. When there is in composition in the word therefore, the e is generally shortened, as in were, but in my opinion improperly.
95. The short sound of e is that heard in bed, fed, red, wed, etc. this sound before r is apt to slide into short u; and we sometimes hear mercy sounded as if written murcy: but this, though very near, is not the exact sound.
Irregular and unaccented Sounds.
96. The e at the end of the monosyllables be, he, me, we, is pronounced ee, as if written bee, hee, etc. It is silent at the end of words purely English, but is pronounced distinctly at the end of some words from the learned languages, as epitome, simile, catastrophe, apostrophe, etc.
97. The first e in the poetic contractions, e'er and ne'er, is pronounced like a, as if written air and nair.
98. The e in her is pronounced nearly like short u; and as we hear it in the unaccented terminations of writer, reader, etc. pronounced as if written writur, readur, where we may observe that the r being only a jar, and not a definite and distinct articulation like the other consonants, instead of stopping the vocal efflux of voice, lets it imperfectly pass, and so corrupts and alters the true sound of the vowel. The same may be observed of the final e after r in words ending in cre, gre, tre, where the e is sounded as if it were placed before the r, as in lucre, maugre, theatre, etc. pronounced lukur, maugur, theatur, etc. See No. 418. It may be remarked, that though we ought cautiously to avoid pronouncing the e like u when under the accent, it would be nimis Atticé, and border too much on affectation of accuracy to preserve this εound of e in unaccented syllables before r; and though terrible, where e has the accent, should never be pronounced as if written turrible, it is impossible without pedantry, to make any difference in the sound of the last syllable of splendour and tender, sulphur and suffer, or martyr and garter. But there is a small deviation from rule when this letter begins a word, and is followed by a double consonant with the accent on the second syllable: in this case we find the vowel lengthen as if the consonant were single. See Efface, Despatch, Embalm.
99. This vowel, in a final unaccented syllable, is apt to slide into the short i: thus faces, ranges, praises, are pronounced as if written faciz, rangiz, praiziz; poet, covet, linen, duel, etc. as if written poit, covit, linin, duil, etc. Where we may observe, that though the e goes into the short sound of i, it is exactly that sound which corresponds to the long sound of e. See Port Royal Grammaire, Latin, p. 142.
100. There is a remarkable exception to the common sound of this letter in the words clerk, serjeant, and a few others, where we find the e pronounced like the a in dark and margin. But this exception, I imagine, was, till within these few years, the general rule of sounding this letter before r, followed by another consonant. See Merchant. Thirty years ago every one pronounced the first syllable of merchant like the monosyllable march, and as it was anciently written marchant. Service and servant are still heard among the lower order of speakers, as if written sarvice and sarvant; and even among the better sort, we sometimes hear the salutation, Sir, your servant! though this pronunciation of the word singly would be looked upon as a mark of the lowest vulgarity. The proper names, Derby, and Berkeley, still retain the old sound, as if written Darby and Barkeley; but even these, in polite usage, are getting into the common sound, nearly as if written Durby and Burkeley. As this modern pronunciation of the e has a tendency to simplify the language by lessening the number of exceptions, it ought certainly to be indulged.
101. This letter falls into an irregular sound, but still a sound which is its nearest relation, in the words, England, yes, and pretty, where the e is heard like short i. Vulgar speakers are guilty of the same irregularity in engine, as if written ingine; but this cannot be too carefully avoided.
102. The vowel e before l and n in the final unaccented syllable, by its being sometimes suppressed and sometimes not, forms one of the most puzzling difficulties in pronunciation. When any of the liquids precede these letters, the e is heard distinctly, as woollen, flannel, women, syren; but when any of the other consonants come before these letters, the e is sometimes heard, as in novel, sudden; and sometimes not, as in swivel, raven, etc. As no other rule can be given for this variety of pronunciation, perhaps the best way will be to draw the line between those words where e is pronounced, and those where it is not; and this, by the help of the Rhyming Dictionary, I am luckily enabled to do. In the first place, then, it may be observed, the e before l, in a final unaccented syllable, must always be pronounced distinctly, except in the following words: Shekel, weasel, ousel, nousel, (better written nuzzle) navel, ravel, snivel, rivel, drivel, shrivel, shovel, grovel, hazel, drazel, nozel. The words are pronounced as if the e were omitted by an apostrophe, as shek'l, weas'l, ous'l, etc. or rather as if written sheckle, weasle, ousle, etc. but as these are the only words of this termination that are so pronounced, great care must be taken that we do not pronounce travel, gravel, rebel, (the substantive) parcel, chapel, and vessel, in the same manner; a fault to which many are very prone.
103. E before n in a final unaccented syllabic, and not preceded by a liquid, must always be suppressed in the verbal terminations in en, as to loosen, to hearken, and in other words, except the following: Sudden, mynchin, kitchen, hyphen, chicken, ticken, (better written ticking) jerken, aspen, platen, paten, marten, latten, patten, leaven or leven, sloven, mittens. In these words the e is heard distinctly, contrary ​to the general rule which suppresses the e in these syllables, when preceded by a mute, as harden, heathen, heaven, as if written hard'n, heath'n, heav'n, etc. nay, even when preceded by a liquid in the words fallen and stolen, where the e is suppressed, as if they were written fall'n and stoll'n: garden and burden, therefore, are very analogically pronounced gard'n and burd'n; and this pronunciation ought the rather to be indulged, as we always hear the e suppressed in gardener and burdensome, as if written gard'ner and burd'nsome. See No. 472.
104. This diversity in the pronunciation of these terminations ought the more carefully to be attended to, as nothing is so vulgar and childish as to hear swivel and heaven pronounced with the e distinctly, or novel and chicken with the e suppressed. But the most general suppression of this letter is in the preterits of verbs and in participles ending in ed: here, when the e is not preceded by d or t, the e is almost universally sunk, (362) and the two final consonants are pronounced in one syllable: thus loved, lived, barred, marred, are pronounced as if written lovd, livd, bard, mard. The same may be observed of this letter when silent in the singulars of nouns, or the first persons of verbs, as theme, make, etc. which form themes in the plural, and makes in the third person, etc. where the last e is silent, and the words are pronounced in one syllable. When the noun or first person of the verb ends in y, with the accent on it, the e is likewise suppressed, as a reply, two replies, he replies, etc. When words of this form have the accent on the preceding syllables, the e is suppressed, and the y pronounced like short i, as cherries, marries, carries, etc. pronounced cherriz, marriz, carriz, etc. In the same manner, carried, married, embodied, etc. are pronounced as if written carrid, marrid, embodid, etc. (282) But it must be carefully noted, that there is a remarkable exception to many of these contractions when we are pronouncing the language of scripture: here every participial ed ought to make a distinct Syllable, where it is not preceded by a vowel: thus, "Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" Here the participles are both pronounced in three syllables; but in the following passage, "Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Called preserves the e, and is pronounced in two syllables; and justified and glorified suppress the e, and are pronounced in three.
I.
105. This letter is a perfect diphthong, composed of the sounds of a in father, and e in he, pronounced as closely together as possible. (37) When these sounds are openly pronounced, they produce the familiar assent ay; which by the old English dramatic writers, was often expressed by I: hence we may observe, that unless our ancestors pronounced the vowel I like the o in oil, the present pronunciation of the word ay in the House of Commons, in the phrase the Ayes have it, is contrary to ancient as well as to present usage: such a pronunciation of this word is now coarse and rustic. The sound of this letter is heard when it is lengthened by final e, as time, thine, or ending a syllable with the accent upon it, as ti-tle, di-al; in monosyllables ending with nd, as bind, find, mind, etc. in three words ending with ld, as child, mild, wild; and in one very irregularly ending with nt, as pint. (37)
106. There is one instance where this letter, though succeeded by final e, does not go into the broad English sound like the noun eye, but into the slender foreign sound like e. This is, in the word shire, pronounced as if written sheer, both when single, as a knight of the shire; or in composition, as in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, etc. This is the sound Dr. Lowth gives it in his Grammar, page 4: and it is highly probable that the simple shire acquired this slender sound from its tendency to become slender in the compounds, where it is at a distance from the accent, and where all the vowels have a natural tendency to become short and obscure. See Shire.
107. The short sound of this letter is heard in him, thin, etc. and when ending an unaccented syllable, as van-i-ty, qual-i-ty, etc. where, though it cannot be properly said to be short, as it is not closed by a consonant, yet it has but half its diphthongal sound. This sound is the sound of e, the last letter of the diphthong that forms the long I; and it is not a little surprising that Dr. Johnson should say that the short i was a sound wholly different from the long one. (551)
108. When this letter is succeeded by r, and another consonant not in a final syllable, it has exactly the sound of e in vermin, vernal, etc. as virtue, virgin, etc. which approaches to the sound of short u; but when it comes before r, followed by another consonant in a final syllable, it acquires the sound of u exactly, as bird, dirt, shirt, squirt, etc. Mirth, birth, gird, girt, skirt, girl, whirl, and firm, are the only exceptions to this rule, where i is pronounced like e, and as if the words were written, merth, berth, and ferm.
109. The letter r, in this case, seems to have the same influence on this vowel, as it evidently has on a and o. When these vowels come before double r, or single r, followed by a vowel, as in arable, carry, marry, orator, horrid, forage, etc. they are considerably shorter than when the r is the final letter of the word, or when it is succeeded by another consonant, as in arbour, car, mar, or, nor, for. In the same manner, the i, coming before either double r, or single r, followed by a vowel, preserves its pure, short sound, as in irritate, spirit, conspiracy, etc. tut when r is followed by another consonant, or is the final letter of a word with the accent upon it, the i goes into a deeper and broader sound, ​equivalent to short e, as heard in virgin, virtue, etc. So fir, a tree, is perfectly similar to the first syllable of ferment, though often corruptly pronounced like fur, a skin. Sir and stir are exactly pronounced as if written Sur and stur. It seems, says Mr. Nares, that our ancestors distinguished these sounds more correctly. Bishop Gardiner, in his first letter to Cheke, mentions a witticism of Nicholas Rowley, a fellow Cantab with him, to this effect: "Let handsome girls he called virgins; plain ones vurgins."
"Si pulchra est, virgo, sin turpis, vurgo vocetur."
Which, says Mr. Elphinston, may be modernised by the aid of a far more celebrated line:
"Sweet virgin can alone the fair express, Fine try degrees, and beautifully less: But let the hoyden, homely, rough-hewn vurgin, Engross the homage of a Major Sturgeon."
110. The sound of i, in this situation, ought to be the more carefully attended to, as letting it fall into the sound of u, where it should have the sound of e, has a grossness in it approaching to vulgarity. Perhaps the only exception to this rule is, when the succeeding vowel is u; for this letter being a semi-consonant, has some influence on the preceding i, though not so much as a perfect consonant would have. This makes Mr. Sheridan's pronunciation of the i in virulent, and its compounds, like that in virgin, less exceptionable than I at first thought it; but since we cannot give a semi-sound of short i to correspond to the semi-consonant sound of u, I have preferred the pure sound, which I think the most agreeable to polite usage. See Mr. Garrick's Epigram upon the sound of this letter, under the word Virtue.
Irregular and unaccented Sounds.
111. There is an irregular pronunciation of this letter, which has greatly multiplied within these few years, and that is, the slender sound heard in ee. This sound is chiefly found in words derived from the French and Italian languages; and we think we show our breeding by a knowledge of those tongues, and an ignorance of our own:
"Report of fashions in proud Italy, Whose manners still our tardy apish nation Limps after, in base awkward imitation."
Shakespeare, Richard II.
When Lord Chesterfield wrote his letters to his son, the word oblige was, by many polite speakers, pronounced as if written obleege, to give a hint of their knowledge of the French language; nay, Pope has rhymed it to this sound:
"Dreading ev'n fools, by flatterers besieg'd, And so obliging, that he near oblig'd."
But it was so far from having generally obtained, that Lord Chesterfield strictly enjoins his son to avoid this pronunciation as affected. In a few years, however, it became so general, that none but the lowest vulgar ever pronounced it in the English manner; but upon the publication of this nobleman's letters, which was about twenty years after he wrote them, his authority has had so much influence with the polite world as to bid fair for restoring the i, in this word, to its original rights; and we not unfrequently hear it now pronounced with the broad English i, in those circles where, a few years ago, it would have been an infallible mark of vulgarity. Mr. Sheridan, W. Johnston, and Mr. Barclay, give both sounds, but place the sound of oblige first. Mr. Scott gives both, but places obleege first. Dr. Kenrick and Buchanan give only oblige; and Mr. Elphinston, Mr. Perry, and Fenning, give only obleege; but though this sound has lost ground so much, yet Mr. Nares, who wrote about eighteen years ago, says, "oblige still, I think, retains the sound of long e, notwithstanding the proscription of that pronunciation by the late Lord Chesterfield."
112. The words that have preserved the foreign sound of i like ee, are the following: Ambergris, verdegris, antique, becafico, bombasin, brasil, capivi, capuchin, colbertine, chioppine, or chopin, caprice, chagrin, chevaux-de-frise, critique, (for criticism) festucine, frize, gabardine, haberdine, sordine, rugine, trephine, quarantine, routine, fascine, fatigue, intrigue, glacis, invalid, machine, magazine, marine, palanquin, pique, police, profile, recitative, mandarine, tabourine, tambourine, tontine, transmarine, ultramarine. In all these words, if for the last i we substitute ee, we shall have the true pronunciation. In signior the first i is thus pronounced. Mr. Sheridan pronounces vertigo and serpigo with the accent on the second syllable, and the i long, as in tie and pie. Dr. Kenrick gives these words the same accent, but sounds the i as e in tea and pea. The latter is, in my opinion, the general pronunciation; though Mr. Sheridan's is supported by a very general rule, which is, that all words adopted whole from the Latin preserve the Latin accent. (503, b) But if the English ear were unbiassed by the long i in Latin, which fixes the accent on the second syllable, and could free itself from the slavish imitation of the French and Italians, there is little doubt but these words would have the accent on the first syllable, and that the i would be pronounced regularly like the short e, as in Indigo and Portico. See Vertigo.
113. There is a remarkable alteration in the sound of this vowel, in certain situations, where it changes to a sound equivalent to initial y. The situation that occasions this change is, when the i precedes another vowel in an unaccented syllable, and is not preceded by any of the dentals: thus we hear iary in mil-iary, bil-iary, etc. pronounced as if written mil-yary, bil-yary, etc. Min-ion, and pin-ion, as if written min-yon and pin-yon. In these words the i is so totally altered to y, that pronouncing the ia and io in separate syllables would be an error the most palpable; but where the other liquids or mutes precede the i in this situation, the coalition is not so necessary: for though the two lat​ter syllables of convivial, participial, etc. are extremely prone to unite into one, they may, however, be separated, provided the separation be not too distant. The same observations hold good of e, as malleable, pronounced mal-ya-ble.
114. But the sound of the i, the most difficult to reduce to rule is when it ends a syllable immediately before the accent. When either the primary or secondary accent is on this letter, it is invariably pronounced either as the long i in title, the short i in tittle, or the French i in magazine; and when it ends a syllable after the accent, it is always sounded like e, as sen-si-ble, ra-ti-fy, etc. But when it ends a syllabic, immediately before the accent, it is sometimes pronounced long, as in vi-ta-li-ty, where the first syllable is exactly like the first of vi-al; and sometimes short, as in di-gest where the i is pronounced as if the word were written de-gest. The sound of the i, in this situation, is so little reducible to rule, that none of our writers on the subject have attempted it; and the only method to give some idea of it, seems to be the very laborious one of classing such words together as have the i pronounced in the same manner, and observing the different combinations of other letters that may possibly be the cause of the different sounds of this.
115. In the first place, where the i is the only letter in the first syllable, and the accent is on the second, beginning with a consonant, the vowel has its long diphthongal sound, as in idea, identity, idolatry, idoneous, irascible, ironical, isosceles, itinerant, itinerary. Imaginary and its compounds seem the only exceptions. But to give the inspector some idea of general usage, I have subjoined examples of these words as they stand in our different pronouncing Dictionaries:
| īdea. | Sheridan, Scott, Buchanan, W. Johnston, Kenrick. |
| ĭdea. | Perry. |
| īdentity. | Sheridan, Scott, Buchanan, W. Johnston, Kenrick. |
| ĭdentity. | Perry. |
| īdolatry. | Sheridan, Scott, Buchanan, W. Johnston, Kenrick. |
| ĭdolatry. | Perry. |
| īdoneous. | Sheridan, Kenrick. |
| īrascible. | Sheridan, Scott, W. Johnston, Kenrick. |
| ĭrascible. | Perry. |
| īsosceles. | Sheridan, Scott, Perry. |
| ītinerary. | Sheridan, Scott, W. Johnston, Kenrick. |
| ĭtinerary. | Perry. |
| ītinerant. | Sheridan, Scott, W. Johnston, Nares. |
| ĭtinerant. | Buchanan, Perry. |
116. When i ends the first syllable, and the accent is on the second, commencing with a vowel, it generally preserves its long open diphthongal sound. Thus in di-ameter, di-urnal, etc. the first syllable is equivalent to the verb to die. A corrupt, foreign manner of pronouncing these words may sometimes mince the i into e, as if the words were written de-ametur, de-urnal, etc. but this is disgusting to every just English ear, and contrary to the whole current of analogy. Besides, the vowel that ends and the vowel that begins a syllable are, by pronouncing the i long, kept more distinct, and not suffered to coalesce, as they are apt to do if i has its slender sound. This proneness of the e, which is exactly the slender sound of i, to coalesce with the succeeding vowel, has produced such monsters in pronunciation as joggraphy and jommetry for geography and geometry, and jorgics for georgics. The latter of these words is fixed in this absurd pronunciation without remedy; but the two former seem recovering their right to four syllables; though Mr. Sheridan has endeavoured to deprive them of it, by spelling them with three. Hence we may observe, that those who wish to pronounce correctly, and according to analogy, ought to pronounce the first syllable of biography, as the verb to buy, and not as if written beography.
117. When i ends an initial syllable without the accent, and the succeeding syllable begins with a consonant, the i is generally slender, as if written e. But the exceptions to this rule are so numerous, that nothing but a catalogue will give a tolerable idea of the state of pronunciation in this point.
118. When the prepositive bi, derived from bis, (twice) ends a syllable immediately before the accent, the i is long and broad, in order to convey more precisely the specific meaning of the syllable. Thus bi-capsular, bi-cipital, bicipitous, bi-cornous, bicorporal, bi-dental, bi-farious, bi-furcated, bi-lingous, bi-nocular, bi-pennated, bi-petalous, bi-quadrate, have the i long. But the first syllable of the words Bitumen, and Bitumenous having no such signification, ought to be pronounced with the i short. This is the sound Buchanan has given it; but Sheridan, Kenrick, and W. Johnston, make the i long, as in Bible.
119. The same may be observed of words beginning with tri, having the accent on the second syllable. Thus tri-bunal, tri-corporal, tri-chotomy, tri-gintals, have the i ending the first syllable long, as in tri-al. To this class ought to be added, di-petalous and di-lemma, though the i in the first syllable of the last word is pronounced like e, and as if written de-lemma, by Mr. Scott and Mr. Perry, but long by Mr. Sheridan, Dr. Kenrick, and Buchanan; and both ways by W. Johnston, but placing the short first. And hence we may conclude, that the verb to bisect, and the noun bi-section, ought to have the i at the end of the first syllable pronounced like buy, as Mr. Scott and Dr. Kenrick have marked it, though otherwise marked by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Perry, and Buchanan.
120. When the first syllable is chi, with the accent on the second, the i is generally long, as chi-ragrical, chi-rurgic, chi-rurgeon, chi-rographist, chi-rographer, chi-rography. Chi-mera and chi-merical have the i most frequently short, as pronounced by Buchanan and Perry; though otherwise marked by Sheridan, Scott. W. Johnston, and Kenrick; and, indeed, the short sound seems now established. ​Chicane and chicanery, from the French, have the i always short; or more properly slender.
121. Ci before the accent has the i generally short, as ci-vilian, ci-vility, and, I think, ci-licious and ci-nerulent, though otherwise marked by Mr. Sheridan. Ci-barious and ci-tation have the i long.
122. Cli before the accent has the i long, as cli-macter; but when the accent is on the third syllable, as in climacteric, the i is shortened by the secondary accent. See 530.
123. Cri before the accent has the i generally long, as cri-nigerous, cri-terion; though we sometimes hear the latter as if written cre-terion, but I think improperly.
124. Di before the accented syllable, beginning with a consonant, has the i almost always short; as digest, digestion, digress, digression, dilute, dilution, diluvian, dimension, dimensive, dimidiation, diminish, diminulive, diploma, direct, direction, diversify, diversification, diversion, diversity, divert, divertisement, divertive, divest, divesture, divide, dividable, dividant, divine, divinity, divisible, divisibility, divorce, divulge. To these, I think, may be added, didacity, didactic, dilacerate, dilaceration, dilaniate, dilapidation, dilate, dilatable, dilatability, dilection, dilucid, dilucidate, dilucidation, dinetical, dinumeration, diverge, divergent, divan; though Mr. Sheridan has marked the first i, in all these words, long; some of them may undoubtedly be pronounced either way; but why he should make the i in diploma long, and W. Johnston should give it both ways, is unaccountable; as Mr. Scott, Buchanan, Dr. Kenrick, Mr. Perry, and the general usage is against them. Diaeresis and dioptsics have the i long, according to the general rule, (116) though the last is absurdly made short by Dr. Kenrick, and the diphthong is made long in the first by Mr. Sheridan, contrary to one of the most prevailing idioms in pronuncication; which is, the shortening power of the antepenultimate accent. (503) Let it not be said that the diphthong must be always long, since Caesarea and Daedalus have the ae always short.
125. The long i, in words of this form, seems confined to the following: Digladiation, dijudication, dinumeration, divaricate, direption, diruption. Both Johnson and Sheridan, in my opinion, place the accent of the word didascalic, improperly upon the second syllable: it should seem more agreeable to analogy to class it with the numerous terminations in ic, and place the accent on the penultimate syllable; (509) and, in this case, the i in the first will be shortened by the secondary accent, and the syllable pronounced like did. (527) The first i in dimissory, marked long by Mr. Sheridan, and with the accent on the second syllable, contrary to Dr. Johnson, are equally erroneous. The accent ought to be on the first syllable, and the i short, as on the adjective dim. See Possessory.
126. Fi, before the accent, ought always to be short: this is the sound we generally give to the i in the first syllable of fi-delity; and why we should give the long sound to the i in fiducial and fiduciary, as marked by Mr. Sheridan, I know not: he is certainly erroneous in marking the first i in frigidity long, and equally so in placing the accent upon the last syllable of finite. Finance has the i short universally.
127. Gigantic has the i in the first syllable always long.
128. Li has the i generally long, as li-bation, li-brarian, li-bration, li-centions, li-pothymy, liquescent, li-thography, li-thotomy. Litigious has the i in the first syllable always short. The same may be observed of libidinous, though otherwise marked by Mr. Sheridan.
129. Mi has the i generally short, as in minority, militia, mimographer, minacious, minacity, miraculous; though the four last are marked with the long i by Mr. Sheridan; and what is still more strange, he marks the i, which has the accent on it, long in minatory; though the same word, in the compound comminatory, where the i is always short, might have shewn him his error. The word mimetic, which, though in very good use, is neither in Johnson nor Sheridan, ought to be pronounced with the first i short, as if written mim-et-ic. The i is generally long in micrometer, micrography, and migration.
130. Ni has the i long in nigrescent. The first i in nigrifcation, though marked long by Mr. Sheridan, is shortened by the secondary accent, (527) and ought to be pronounced as if divided into nig-ri-fi-cation.
131. Phi has the i generally short, as in philanthropy, philippic, philosopher, philosophy, philosophize; to which we may certainly add, philologer, philologist, philogy, philological, notwithstanding Mr. Sheridan has marked the i in these last words long.
132. Pi and pli, have the i generally short, as pilaster, pituitous, pilosity, plication. Piaster and piazza, being Italian words, have the i short before the vowel, contrary to the analogy of words of this form, (116) where the i is long, as in pi-acular, pri-ority, etc. Piratical has the i marked long by Mr. Sheridan, and short by Dr. Kenrick. The former is, in my opinion, more agreeable both to custom and analogy, as the sound of the i before the accent is often determined by the sound of that letter in the primitive word.
133. Pri has the i generally long, as in primeval, primevous, primitial, primero, primordial, privado, privation, privalive, but always short in primitive and primer.
134. Ri has the i short, as in ridiculous. Rigidity is marked with the i long by Mr. Sheridan, and short by Dr. Kenrick: the latter is undoubtedly right. Rivality has the i long in the first syllable, in compliment to rival, as piratical has the i long, because derived from pirate. Rhinoceros has the i long in Sheridan, Scott, Kenrick, W. Johnston, and Buchanan; and short in Perry.
135. Si has the i generally short, as similitude, siriasis, and ought certainly to be short in silicious, (better written ​cilicious) though marked long by Mr. Sheridan. Simultaneous having the secondary accent on the first syllable, does not come under this head, but retains the i long, notwithstanding the shortening power of the accent it is under. (527)
136. Ti has the i short, as in timidity.
137. Tri has the i long, for the same reason as bi, which see (118) (119).
138. Vi has the i so unsettled as to puzzle the correctest speakers. The i is generally long in vicarions, notwithstanding the short i in vicar. It is long in vibration, from its relation to vibrate. Vitality has the i long, like vital. In vivifick, vivificate, and viviparous, the first i is long, to avoid too great a sameness with the second. Vivacious and vivacity have the i almost as often long as short; Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, and Dr. Kenrick, make the i in vivacious long, and Mr. Perry and Buchanan short; Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, and W. Johnston, make the i in the first of vivacity long, and Perry and Buchanan short: but the short sound seems less formal and most agreeable to polite usage. Vicinity, vicinal, vicissitude, vituperate, vimineous, and virago, seem to prefer the short i, though Mr. Sheridan has marked the three last words with the first vowel long. But the diversity will be best seen by giving the authorities for all these words:
| Vīcinity. | Dr. Kenrick. |
| Vĭcinity. | Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, Buchanan, W. Johnston, and Perry. |
| Vĭcinal. | Mr. Sheridan. |
| Vĭcissitude. | Mr. Sheridan, Dr. Kenrick, W. Johnston, Buchanan, and Perry. |
| Vītuperate. | Mr. Sheridan, Dr. Kenrick, W. Johnston. |
| Vĭtuperate. | Mr. Perry. |
| Vīmineous. | Mr. Sheridan. |
| Vīrago. | Mr. Sheridan and W. Johnston. |
| Vĭrago. | Dr. Kenrick, Mr. Scott, Buchanan, and Perry. |
I have classed vicinal here as a word with the accent on the second syllable, as it stands in Sheridan's Dictionary, but think it ought to have the accent on the first. See Medicinal.
139. The same diversity and uncertainty in the sound of this letter, seem to reign in those final unaccented syllables which are terminated with the mute e. Perhaps the best way to give some tolerable idea of the analogy of the language in this point, will be, to show the general rule, and mark the exceptions; though these are sometimes so numerous as to make us doubt of the rule itself: therefore the best way will be to give a catalogue of both.
140. There is one rule of very great extent, in words of this termination, which have the accent on the penultimate syllable, and that is, that the i in the final syllable of these words in short: thus servile, hostile, respite, deposite, adamantine, amethystine, etc. are pronounced as if written servil, hostil, respit, deposit, etc. The only exceptions in this numerous class of words seem to be the following: Exíle, senile, edile, empire, umpire, rampire, finite, feline, ferine, archives; and the substantives, cònfine and sùpine: while the adjectives saline and contrite have sometimes the accent on the first, and sometimes on the last syllable; but in either case the i is long. Quagmire and pismire have the i long also; likewise has the i long, but otherwise has it more frequently, though very improperly, short. Myrrhine, vulpine, and gentile, though marked with the i long by Mr. Sheridan, ought, in my opinion, to conform to the general rule, and be pronounced with the i short. Vulpine, with the i long, is adopted by Mr. Scott; and W. Johnston Mr. Scott, and Buchanan, agree with Mr. Sheridan in the last syllable of gentile; and this seems agreeable to general usage, though not to analogy. See the word.
That the reader may have a distinct view of the subject, I have been at the pains of collecting all our dissyllables of this termination, with the Latin words from which they are derived, by which we may see the correspondence between the English and Latin quantity in these words:
| flabĭle, | flabĭlis |
| debĭle, | debĭlis |
| mobĭle | mobĭlis |
| sorbĭle | sorbĭlis |
| nubĭle | nubĭlis |
| facĭle | facĭlis |
| gracĭle | gracĭlis |
| docĭle | docĭlis |
| agĭle | agĭlis |
| fragĭle | fragĭlis |
| pensĭle | pensĭlis |
| tortĭle | tortĭlis |
| scissĭle | scissĭlis |
| missĭle | missĭlis |
| tactĭle | tactĭlis |
| fictĭle | fictĭlis |
| ductĭle | ductĭlis |
| reptĭle | reptĭlis |
| sculptĭle | sculptĭlis |
| fertĭle | fertĭlis |
| futĭle | futĭlis |
| utĭle | utĭlis |
| textĭle | textĭlis, |
| gentīle | gentīlis |
| aedīle | aedīlis |
| senīle | senīlis |
| febrĭle | febrīlis |
| virīle | virīlis |
| subtĭle | subtīlis |
| coctĭle | coctīlis |
| quintĭle | quintīlis |
| hostĭle | hostīlis |
| servĭle | servīlis |
| sextĭle | sextīlis. |
In this list of Latin adjectives, we find only ten of them with the penultimate i long; and four of them with the i in the last syllable long, in the English words gentīle, aedīle, senīle, and virīle. It is highly probable that this short i, in the Latin adjectives, was the cause of adopting this i in the English words derived from them; and this tendency is a sufficient reason for pronouncing the words projectĭle, tractĭle, and insectĭle with the i short, though we have no classical Latin words to appeal to, from which they are derived.
141. But when the accent is on the last syllable but two, in words of this termination, the length of the vowel is not so easily ascertained.
142. Those ending in ice, have the i short, except sacrifice and cockatrice.
143. Those ending in ide have the i long, notwithstanding we sometimes hear suicide absurdly pronounced, as if written suicid,
144. Those ending in ife, have the i long, except housewife, pronounced huzziff, according to the general rule, notwithstanding the i in wife is always long. Midwife is ​sometimes shortened in the same manner by the vulgar; and se'night for sevennight is gone irrecoverably into the same analogy; though fortnight for fourteenthnight is more frequently pronounced with the i long.
145. Those ending in ile have the i short, except reconcile, chamomile, estipile. Juvenile, mercantile, and puerile, have the i long in Sheridan's Dictionary, and short in Kenrick's. In my opinion the latter is the much more prevalent and polite pronunciation; but infantile, though pronouncable both ways, seems inclinable to lengthen the i in the last syllable. See Juvenile.
146. In the termination ine, pantomime has the i long, rhyming with time; and maritime has the i short, as if written maritim.
147. Words in ine, that have the accent higher than the penultimate, have the quantity of i so uncertain, that the only method to give an idea of it will be to exhibit a catalogue of words where it is pronounced differently.
148. But first it may not be improper to see the different sounds given to this letter in some of the same words by different orthöepists:
| Columbīne. | Sheridan, Nares, W. Johnston. |
| Columbĭne. | Kenrick, Perry. |
| Saccharīne. | Sheridan, Nares. |
| Saccharĭne. | Kenrick, Perry. |
| Saturnīne. | Sheridan, Nares, Buchanan. |
| Saturnĭne. | Kenrick, Perry. |
| Metallīne. | Kenrick. |
| Metallĭne. | Sheridan, W. Johnston, Perry. |
| Crystallīne. | Kenrick. |
| Crystallĭne. | Sheridan, Perry. |
| Uterīne. | Sheridan, Buchanan, W. Johnston. |
| Uterĭne. | Kenrick, Scott, Perry. |
149. In these words I do not hesitate to pronounce, that the general rule inclines evidently to the long i, which, in doubtful cases, ought always to be followed; and for which reason I shall enumerate those words first where I judge the i ought to be pronounced long: Cannabine, carabine, columbine, bizantine, gelatine, legatine, oxyrrhodine, concubine, muscadine, incarnadine, celadine, almandine, secundine, amygdaline, crystalline, vituline, calamine, asinine, saturnine, saccharine, adulterine, viperine, uterine, lamentine, armentine, serpentine, turpentine, vespertine, belluine, porcupine, countermine, leonine, sapphirine, and metalline.
150. The words of this termination, where the i is short, are the following: Jacobine, medicine, discipline, masculine, jessamine, feminine, heroine, nectarine, libertine, genuine, hyaline, palatine. To these, I think, ought to be added, alkaline, aquiline, coralline, brigantine, eglantine: to this pronunciation of the i, the proper names, Valentine and Constantine, seem strongly to incline; and on the stage, Cymbeline has entirely adopted it. Thus we see how little influence the Latin language has on the quantity of the i, in the final syllable of these words. It is a rule in that language, that adjectives ending in ilis or inus, derived from animated beings or proper names, to the exception of very few, have this i pronounced long. It were to be wished this distinction could be adopted in English words from the Latin, as in that case we might be able, in time, to regularize this very irregular part of our tongue; but this alteration would be almost impossible in adjectives ending in ive, as relative, vocative, fugitive, etc. have the i unformly short in English, and long in the Latin relativus, vocativus, fugitivus, etc.
151. The only word ending in ire, with the accent on the antepenultimate syllable, is acrospire, with the i long, the last syllable sounding like the spire of a church.
152. Words ending in ise have the i short, when the accent is on the last syllable but one, as franchise, except the compounds ending in wise, as likewise, lengthwise, etc. as marked by Mr. Scott, Mr. Perry, and Buchanan; but even among these words we sometimes hear otherwise pronounced otherwiz, as marked by Mr. Sheridan and W. Johnston; but, I think, improperly.
153. When the accent is on the last syllable but two in these words, they are invariably pronounced with the i long, as criticise, equalise.
154. In the termination ite, when the accent is on it, the i is always long, as requite. When the accent in on the last syllable but one, it is always short, as respite, (140) pronounced as if written respit, except contrite and crinite; but when the accent is on the last syllable but two, the i is generally long: the exceptions, however, are so many, that a catalogue of both will be the best rule.
155. The i is long in expedite, recondite, incondite, hermaphrodite, Carmelite, theodolite, cosmopolite, chrysolite, eremite, aconite, margarite, marcasite, parasite, appetite, bipartite, tripartite, quadripartite, convertite, anchorite, pituite, satellite. As the word stands in Kenrick's Dictionary sa-téll-it, having the i short, and the accent on the second syllable, it is doubly wrong. The i in the last syllable is shortened also by W. Johnston and Perry, but made long, as it ought to be, by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, and Mr. Nares. See Recondite.
156. The i is short in cucurbite, ingenite, definite, indefinite, infinite, hypocrite, favourite, requisite, pre-requisite, perquisite, exquisite, apposite, and opposite. Heteroclite has the i long in Sheridan, but short in Kenrick. The former is, in my opinion, the best pronunciation, (see the word in the Dictionary) but ite, in what may be called a gentile termination, has the i always long, as in Hivite, Samnite, cosmopolite, bedlamite, etc.
157. The termination ive, when the accent is on it, is always long, as in hive, except in the two verbs, give, live, and their compounds, giving, living, etc. for the adjective live, as a live animal, has the i long, and rhymes with strive; so have the adjective and adverb, lively and livelily: the ​noun livelihood follows the same analogy; but the adjective live-long, as the live-long day, has the i short, as in the verb. When the accent is not on the i in this termination, it is always short, as sportive, plaintive, etc. rhyming with give, (150) except the word be a gentile, as in Argīve.
158. All the other adjectives and substantives of this termination, when the accent is not on it, have the i invariably short, as offensive, defensive, etc. The i in salique is short, as if written sallick, but long in oblique, rhyming with pike, strike, etc. while antique has the i long and slender, and rhymes with speak. Dr. Kenrick, Mr. Elphinston, Mr. Perry, Buchanan, and Barclay, have obleek for oblique; Mr. Scott has it both ways, but gives the slender sound first; and Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Nares, and W. Johnston, oblīke. The latter is, in my opinion, more agreeable to polite usage, but the former more analogical; for as it comes from the French oblique, we cannot write it oblike, as Mr. Nares wishes, any more than antique, antike, for fear of departing too far from the Latin antiquus and obliquus. Opaque, Mr. Nares observes, has become opake; but then it must be remembered, that the Latin is opacus, and not opacuus.
159. All the terminations in ize have the i long, except to endenize; which, having the accent on the second syllable, follows the general rule, and has the i short, pronounced as the verb is. (140) To these observations we may add, that though evil and devil suppress the i, as if written ev'l and dev'l, yet that cavil and pencil preserve its sound distinctly; and that Latin ought never to be pronounced as it is generally at schools, as if written Latt'in. Cousin and cozen, both drop the last vowels, as if spelled cozn, and are only distinguishable to the eye.
Thus we see how little regularity there is in the sound of this letter, when it is not under the accent, and, when custom will permit, how careful we ought to be to preserve the least trace of analogy, that "confusion may not be worse confounded." The sketch that has been just given may, perhaps, afford something like a clew to direct us in this labyrinth, and it is hoped it will enable the judicious speaker to pronounce with more certainty and decision.
160. It was remarked under the vowel A, that when a hard g or c preceded that vowel, a sound like e interposed, the better to unite the letters, and soften the sound of the consonant. The same may be observed of the letter I. When this vowel is preceded by g hard or k, which is but another form for hard c, it is pronounced as if an e were inserted between the consonant and the vowel: thus sky, kind, guide, guise, disguise, catechise, guile, beguile, mankind, are pronounced as if written ske-y, ke-ind, gue-ise, dis-gue-ise, cat-e-chise, gue-ile, begue-ele, manke-ind. At first sight we are surprised that two such different letters as a and i should be affected in the same manner by the hard gutturals, g, c, and k; but when we reflect that i is really composed of a and e, (37) our surprise ceases; and we are pleased to find the ear perfectly uniform in its procedure, and entirely unbiased by the eye. From this view of the analogy we may see how greatly mistaken is a very solid and ingenious writer on this subject, who says, that "ky-ind for kind is a monster of pronuciation, heard only on our stage." Nares's English Orthöepy, pag. 28. Dr. Beattie, in his Theory of Language, takes notice of this union of vowel sounds, page 266. See No. 92.
It may not, perhaps, seem unworthy of notice, that when this letter is unaccented in the numerous terminations ity, ible, etc. it is frequently pronounced like short u, as if the words sensible, visible, etc. were written sensubble, visubble, etc. and charity, chastity, etc. like charutty, chastutty, etc. but it may be observed, that the pure sound of i like e in these words, is as much the mark of an elegant speaker as that of the u in singular, educate, etc. See No. 179.
O.
161. Grammarians have generally allowed this letter but three sounds. Mr. Sheridan instances them in not, note, prove. For a fourth, I have added the o in love, dove, etc. for the fifth, that in or, nor, for; and a sixth, that in woman, wolf, etc.
162. The first and only peculiar sound of this letter is that by which it is named in the alphabet: it requires the mouth to be formed, in some degree, like the letter, in order to pronounce it. This may be called its long open sound, as the o in prove may be called its long slender sound. (65) This sound we find in words ending with silent e, as tone, bone, alone; or when ending a syllable with the accent upon it, as mo-tion, po-tent, etc. likewise in the monosyllables, go, so, no. This sound is found under several combinations of other vowels with this letter, as in moan, groan, bow, (to shoot with) low, (not high) and before st in the words host, ghost, post, most, and before ss in gross.
163. The second sound of this letter is called its short sound, and is found in not, got, lot, etc. though this, as in the other short vowels, is by no means the short sound of the former long one, but corresponds exactly to that of a, in what, with which the words not, got, lot, are perfect rhymes. The long sound, to which the o in not and sot are short ones, is found under the diphthong au in naught, and the ou in sought; corresponding exactly to the a in hall, ball, etc. The short sound of this letter, like the short sound of a in father, (78) (79) is frequently, by inaccurate speakers, and chiefly those among the vulgar, lengthened to a middle sound approaching to its long sound, the o in or. This sound is generally heard, as in the case of a, when it is succeeded by two consonants: thus Mr. Smith pronounces broth, froth, and moth, as if written brawth, frawth, and mawth. Of the propriety or impropriety of this, a well-educated ear is the best judge; but, as was observed under the article A, (79) if this be not the sound heard ​among the best speakers, no middle sound ought to be admitted, as good orators will ever incline to definite and absolute sounds, rather than such as may be called non-descripts in language.
164. The third sound of this letter, as was marked in the first observation, may be called its long slender sound, corresponding to the double o. The words where this sound of o occurs are so few, that it will be easy to give a catalogue of them: Prove, move, behove, and their compounds, lose, do, ado, Rome, poltron, ponton, sponton, who, whom, womb, tomb. Sponton is not in Johnston; and this and the two preceding words ought rather to be written with oo in the last syllable. Gold is pronounced like goold in familiar conversation; but in verse and solemn language, especially that of the Scripture, ought always to rhyme with old, fold, etc. See Encore, Gold, and Wind.
165. The fourth sound of this vowel is that which is found in love, dove, etc. and the long sound, which seems the nearest relation to it, is the first sound of o in note, tone, rove, etc. This sound of o is generally heard when it is shortened by the succeeding liquids n, m, r, and the semi-vowels v, z, th: and as Mr. Nares has given a catalogue of those words, I shall avail myself of his labour. Above, affront, allonge, among, amongst, attorney, bomb, bombard, borage, borough, brother, cochineal, colour, come, comely, comfit, comfort, company, compass, comrade, combat, conduit, coney, conjure, constable, covenant, cover, covert, covet, covey, cozen, discomfit, done, doth, dost, dove, dozen, dromedary, front, glove, govern, honey, hover, love, Monday, money, mongrel, monk, monkey, month, mother, none, nothing, one, onion, other, oven, plover, pomegranate, pommel, pother, romage, shove, shovel, sloven, smother, some, Somerset, son, sovereign, sponge, stomach, thorough, ton, tongue, word, work, wonder, world, worry, worse, worship, wort, worth: to which we may add, rhomb, once, comfrey, and colander.
166. In these words the accent is on the o in every word, except pomegranate; but with very few exceptions, this letter has the same sound in the unaccented terminations, oc, ock, od, ol, om, on, op, or, ot, and some, as mammock, cassock, method, carol, kingdom, union, amazon, gallop, tutor, turbot, troublesome, etc. all which are pronounced as if written mammuck, cassuck, methud, etc. The o in the adjunct monger, as cheesemonger, etc. has always this sound. The exceptions to this rule are technical terms from the Greek or Latin, as Achor, a species of the herpes; and proper names, as Calor, a river in Italy.
167. The fifth sound of o, is the long sound produced by r final, or followed by another consonant, as for, former. This sound is perfectly equivalent to the diphthong au; and for and former might, on account of sound only, be written faur and faurmer. There are many exceptions to this rule, as borne, corps, corse, force, forge, form, (a seat) fort, horde, porch, port, sport, etc. which have the first sound of this letter.
168. O, like A, is lengthened before r, when terminating a monosyllable, or followed by another consonant; and, like a too, is shortened by a duplication of the liquid, as we may hear by comparing the conjunction or with the same letters in torrid, florid, etc. for though the r is not doubled to the eye, in florid, yet as the accent is on it, it is as effectually doubled to the ear as if written florrid; so if a consonant of another kind succeed the r in this situation, we find the o as long as in a monosyllable; thus the o in orchard, is as long as in the conjunction or, and that in formal, as in the word for: but in orifice and forage, where the r is followed by a vowel, the o is as short as if the r were double, and the words written orrifice and forrage. See No. 81.
169. There is a sixth sound of o exactly corresponding to the u in bull, full, pull, etc. which, from its existing only in the following words, may be called its irregular sound. These words are, woman, bosom, worsted, wolf, and the proper names, Wolsey, Worcester, and Wolverhampton.
Irregular and unaccented Sounds.
170. What was observed of the a, when followed by a liquid and a mute, may be observed of the o with equal justness. This letter, like a, has a tendency to lengthen, when followed by a liquid and another consonant, or by s, ss, or s and a mute. But this length of o, in this situation, seems every day growing more and more vulgar: and, as it would be gross, to a degree, to sound the a in castle, mask, and plant, like the a in palm, psalm, etc. so it would be equally exceptionable to pronounce the o in moss, dross, and frost, as if written mauwse, drawse, and frawst. (78) (79) The o in the compounds of solve, as dissolve, absolve, resolve, seem the only words where a somewhat longer sound of the o is agreeable to polite pronunciation: on the contrary, when the o ends a syllable, immediately before or after the accent, as in po-lite, im-po-tent, etc. there is an elegance in giving it the open sound nearly as long as in po-lar, and po-tent, etc. See Domestick, Collect, and Command. It may likewise be observed, that the o, like the e, (102) is suppressed in a final unaccented syllable when preceded by c or k, and followed by n, as bacon, beacon, deacon, beckon, reckon, pronounced, bak'n, beak'n, deak'n, beck'n, reck'n; and when c is preceded by another consonant, as falcon, pronounced fawk'n. The o is likewise mute in the same situation, when preceded by d in pardon, pronounced pard'n, but not in Guerdon: it is mute when preceded by p in weapon, capon, etc. pronounced weap'n, cap'n, etc. and when preceded by s in reason, season, treason, oraison, herrison, denison, unison, foison, poison, prison, damson, crimson, advowson, pronounced reaz'n, treaz'n, etc. and mason, bason, garrison, lesson, caparison, comparison, disinherison, parson, and person, pronounced mas'n, bas'n, etc. Unison, diapason, and cargason, seem, particularly in solemn speaking, to preserve the ​sound of o like u, as if written unisun, diapazun, etc. The same letter is suppressed in a final unaccented syllable beginning with t, as Seton, cotton, button, mutton, glutton, pronounced as if written Set'n, cott'n, etc. When x precedes the t, the o is pronounced distinctly, as in Sexton. When l is the preceding letter, the o is generally suppressed as in the proper names Stilton cheese, Wilton carpets, and Melton, Mowbray, etc. Accurate speakers sometimes struggle to preserve it in the name of our great epic poet Milton; but the former examples sufficiently shew the tendency of the language; and this tendency cannot be easily counteracted. This letter is likewise suppressed in the last syllable of blazon, pronounced blaz'n; but is always to be preserved in the same syllable of horizon. This suppression of the o must not be ranked among those careless abbreviations found only among the vulgar, but must be considered as one of those devious tendencies to brevity, which has worn itself a currency in the language, and has at last become a part of it. To pronounce the o in those cases where it is suppressed, would give a singularity to the speaker bordering nearly on the pedandic; and the attention given to this singularity by the hearer would necessarily diminish his attention to the subject, and consequently deprive the speaker of something much more desirable.
U.
171. The first sound of u, heard in tube, or ending an accented syllable, as in cu-bic, is a diphthongal sound, as if e were prefixed, and these words were spelt tewvbe and kewbic. The letter u is exactly the pronoun you.
172. The second sound of u is the short sound, which tallies exactly with the o in done, son, etc. which every ear perceives might, as well, for the sound's sake, be spelt dun, sun, etc. See all the words where the o has this sound, No. 165.
173. The third sound of this letter, and that in which the English more particularly depart from analogy, is the u in bull, full, pull, etc. The first or diphthongal u in tube, seems almost as peculiar to the English as the long sound of the i in thine, mine, etc. but here, as if they chose to imitate the Latin, Italian, and French u, they leave out the e before the u, which is heard in tube, mule, etc. and do not pronounce the latter part of u quite so long as the oo in pool, nor so short as the u in dull, but with a middle sound between both, which is the true short sound of the oo in coo and woo, as may be heard by comparing woo and wool; the latter of which is a perfect rhyme to bull.
174. This middle sound of u, so unlike the general sound of that letter, exists only in the following words: bull, full, pull; words compounded of full, as wonderful, dreadful, etc. bullock, bully, bullet, bulwark, fuller, fulling-mill, pulley, pullet, push, bush, bushel, pulpit, puss, bullion, butcher, cushion, cookoo, pudding, sugar, hussar, huzza, and put wheu a verb: but few as they are, except full, which is a very copious termination, they are sufficient to puzzle Englishmen who reside at any distance from the capital, and to make the inhabitants of Scotland and Ireland, (who, it is highly probable, received a much more regular pronunciation from our ancestors) not unfrequently the jest of fools.
175. But vague and desultory as this sound of the u may at first seem, on a closer view we find it chiefly confined to words which begin with the mute labials, b, p, f, and end with the liquid labial l, or the dentals s, t, and d, as in bull, full, pull, bush, push, pudding, puss, put, etc. Whatever, therefore, was the cause of this whimsical deviation, we see its primitives are confined to a very narrow compass: put has this sound only when it is a verb; for putty, a paste for glass, has the common sound of u, and rhymes exactly with nutty, (having the qualities of a nut) so put, the game at cards, and the vulgar appellation of country put, follow the same analogy. All Bull's compounds regularly follow their primitive. But though fuller, a whitener of cloth, and Fulham, a proper name, are not compounded of full, they are sounded as if they were; while Putney follows the general rule, and has its first syllable pronounced like the noun put. Pulpit and pullet comply with the peculiarity, on account of their resemblance to pull, though nothing related to it; and butcher and puss adopt this sound of u for no other reason but the nearness of their form to the other words; and when to these we have added cushion, sugar, cuckoo, hussar, and the interjection huzza, we have every word in the whole language where the u is thus pronounced.
176. Some speakers, indeed, have attempted to give bulk and punish, this obtuse sound of u, but luckily have not been followed. The words which have already adopted it are sufficiently numerous; and we cannot be too careful to check the growth of so unmeaning an irregularity. When this vowel is preceded by r in the same syllable, it has a sound somewhat longer than this middle sound, and exactly as if written oo: thus rue, true, etc. are pronounced nearly as if written roo, troo, etc. (339)
177. It must be remarked, that this sound of u, except in the word fuller, never extends to words from the learned languages; for fulminant, fulmination, ebullition, repulsion, sepulchre, etc. sound the u, as in dull, gull, etc. and the u in pus and pustule is exactly like the same letter in thus. So the pure English words, fulsome, buss, bulge, bustle, bustard, buzzard, preserve the u in its second sound, as us, hull, and custard. It may likewise not be unworthy of remark, that the letter u is never subject to the shortening power of either the primary or secondary accent; but when accented, is always long, unless shortened by a double consonant. See the words Drama and Muculent, and No. 503, 534.
Irregular and Unaccented Sounds.
178. But the strangest deviation of this letter from its ​regular sound is in the words busy, business, and bury. We laugh at the Scotch for pronouncing these words, as if written bewsy, bewsiness, bewry; but we ought rather to blush for ourselves in departing so wantonly from the general rule as to pronounce them bizzy, bizness, and berry.
179. There is an incorrect pronunciation of this letter when it ends a syllable not under the accent, which prevails not only among the vulgar, but is sometimes found in better company; and that is, giving the u an obscure sound, which confounds it with vowels of a very different kind: thus we not unfrequently hear singular, regular, and particular, pronounced as if written sing-e-lar, reg-e-lar, and par-tick-e-lar; but nothing tends more to tarnish and vulgarize the pronunciation than this short and obscure sound of the unaccented u. It may, indeed, be observed, that there is scarcely any thing more distinguishes a person of mean and good education than the pronunciation of the unaccented vowels. (547) (558) When vowels are under the accent, the prince, and the lowest of the people in the metropolis, with very few exceptions, pronounce them in the same manner; but the unaccented vowels in the mouth of the former have a distinct, open, and specific sound, while the latter often totally sink them, or change them into some other sound. Those, therefore, who wish to pronounce elegantly, must be particularly attentive to the unaccented vowels; as a neat pronunciation of these forms one of the greatest beauties of speaking.
Y final.
180. Y final, either in a word or syllable, is a pure vowel, and has exactly the same sound as i would have in the same situation. For this reason, printers, who have been the great correctors of our orthography, have substituted the i in its stead, on account of the too great frequency of this letter in the English language. That y final is a vowel, is universally acknowledged; nor need we any other proof of it than its long sound, when followed by e mute, as in thyme, rhyme, etc. or ending a syllable with the accent upon it, as buying, cyder, etc. this may be called its first vowel sound.
181. The second sound of the vowel y is its short sound, heard in system, syntax, etc.
Irregular and Unaccented Sounds.
182. The unaccented sound of this letter at the end of a syllable, like that of i in the same situation, is always like the first sound of e: thus vanity, pleurisy, etc. and if ear alone were consulted, might be written vanitee, pleurisee, etc.
183. The exception to this rule is, when f precedes the y in a final syllable, the y is then pronounced as long and open as if the accent were on it: thus justify, qualify, etc. have the last syllable sounded like that in defy. This long sound continues when the y is changed into i, in justifiable, qualifiable, etc. The same may be observed of multiply and multiplicable, etc. occupy and occupiable, etc. (512)
184. There is an irregular sound of this letter when the accent is on it in panegyric, when it is frequently pronounced like the second sound of e; which would be more correct if its true sound were preserved, and it were to rhyme with Pyrrhic; or as Swift does with Satiric:
"On me when dunces are satiric, I take it for a panegyric."
Thus we see the same irregularity attends this letter before double r, or before single r, followed by a vowel, as we find attends the vowel i in the same situation. So the word Syrinx ought to preserve the y like i pure, and the word Syrtis should sound the y like e short, though the first is often heard improperly like the last.
185. But the most uncertain sound of this letter is, when it ends a syllable immediately preceding the accent. In this case it is subject to the same variety as the letter i in the same situation, and nothing but a catalogue will give us an idea of the analogy of the language in this point.
186. The y is long in chylaceous, but shortened by the secondary accent in chylifaction and chylifactive, (530) though, without the least reason from analogy, Mr. Sheridan has marked them both long.
187. Words composed of hydro, from the Greek ὕδωρ, water, have the y before the accent generally long, as hydrography, hydrographer, hydrometry, hydropic; all which have the y long in Mr. Sheridan but hydrography, which must be a mistake of the press; and this long sound of y continues in hydrostatic, in spite of the shortening power of the secondary accent. (530) The same sound of y prevails in hydraulics and hydatides. Hygrometer and hygrometry seem to follow the same analogy, as well as hyperbola and hyperbole; which are generally heard with the y long; though Kenrick has marked the latter short. Hypostasis and hypotenuse ought to have the y long likewise. In hypothesis the y is more frequently short than long; and in hypothetical it is more frequently long than short; but hypocrisy has the first y always short. Myrabolan and myropolist may have the y either long or short. Mythology has the first y generally short, and mythological, from the shortening power of the secondary accent, (530) almost always. Phytivorous, phytography, phytology, have the first y alway long. In phylactery the first y is generally short, and in physician always. Pylorus has the y long in Mr. Sheridan, but, I think, improperly. In pyramidal he marks the y long, though, in my opinion, it is generally heard short, as in pyramid. In pyrites, with the accent on the second syllable, he marks the y short, much more correctly than Kenrick, who places the accent on the first syllable, and makes the y long. (See the word.) Synodic, synodical, synonima, and synopsis, have the y always short: synechdoche ought likewise to have the same ​letter short, as we find it in Perry's and Kenrick's Dictionaries; though in Sheridan's we find it long. Typography and typographer ought to have the first y long, as we find it in Sheridan, Scott, Buchanan, W. Johnston, Kenrick, and Perry, though frequently heard short; and though tyrannical has the y marked short by Mr. Perry, it ought rather to have the long sound, as we see it marked by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, Buchanan, W. Johnston, and Kenrick.
188. From the view that has been taken of the sound of the i and y immediately before the accent, it may justly be called the most uncertain part of pronunciation. Scarcely any reason can be given why custom prefers one sound to the other in some words; and why, in others, we may use either one or the other indiscriminately. It is strongly to be presumed that the i and y, in this situation, particularly the last, was generally pronounced long by our ancestors, but that custom has gradually inclined to the shorter sound as more readily pronounced, and as more like the sound of these letters when they end a syllable after the accent; and, perhaps, we should contribute to the regularity of the language, if, when we are in doubt, we should rather incline to the short than the long sounds of these letters.
W final.
189. That w final is a vowel, is not disputed; (9) when it is in this situation, it is equivalent to oo; as may be perceived in the sound of vow, tow-el, etc. where it forms a real diphthong, composed of the a in wa-ter, and the oo in woo and coo. It is often joined to o at the end of a syllable, without affecting the sound of that vowel; and in this situation it may be called servile, as in bow, to shoot with; crow, low, (not high) etc.
DIPHTHONGS.
190. A diphthong is a double vowel, or the union or mixture of two vowels pronounced together, so as only to make one syllable; as the Latin a e or ae, o e or oe, the Greek ει, the English ai, au, etc.
191. This is the general definition of a diphthong; but if we examine it closely, we shall find in it a want of precision and accuracy. If a diphthong be two vowel sounds in succession, they must necessarily form two syllables, and therefore, by its very definition, cannot be a diphthong; if it be such a mixture of two vowels as to form but one simple sound, it is very improperly called a diphthong; nor can any such simple mixture exist.
192. The only way to reconcile this seeming contradiction, is to suppose that two vocal sounds in succession were sometimes pronounced so closely together as to form only the time of one syllable in Greek and Latin verse. Some of these diphthongal syllables we have in our own language, which only pass for monosyllables in poetry; thus hire, (wages) is no more than one syllable in verse, though perfectly equivalent to higher, (more high) which generally passes for a dissyllable: the same may be observed of dire or dyer, hour and power, etc. This is not uniting two vocal sounds into one simple sound, which is impossible, but pronouncing two vocal sounds in succession so rapidly and so closely as to go for only one syllable in poetry.
193. Thus the best definition I have found of a diphthong is that given us by Mr. Smith, in his Scheme for a French and English Dictionary. "A diphthong (says this gentleman) I would define to be two simple vocal sounds uttered by one and the same emission of breath, and joined in such a manner that each loses a portion of its natural length; but from the junction produceth a compound sound, equal in the time of pronouncing to either of them taken separately, and so making still but one syllable."
194. "Now if we apply this definition (says Mr. Smith) to the several combinations that may have been laid down and denominated diphthongs by former orthöepists, I believe we shall find only a small number of them meriting this name." As a proof of the truth of this observation, we find, that most of those vocal assemblages that go under the name of diphthongs, emit but a simple sound, and that not compounded of the two vowels, but one of them only, sounded long: thus pain and pane, pail and pale, hear and here, are perfectly the same sounds.
195. These observations naturally lead us to a distinction of diphthongs into proper and improper: the proper are such as have two distinct vocal sounds, and the improper such as have but one.
196. The proper diphthongs are,
| ea | ocean |
| eu | feud |
| ew | jewel |
| ia | poniard |
| ie | spaniel |
| io | question |
| oi | voice |
| ou | pound |
| ow | now |
| oy | boy |
| ua | assuage |
| ue | mansuetude |
| ui | languid |
In this assemblage it is impossible not to see a manifest distinction between those which begin with e or i, and the rest. In those beginning with either of these vowels we find a squeezed sound like the commencing or consonant y interpose, as it were, to articulate the latter vowel, and that the words where these diphthongs are found, might, agreeably to the sound, be spelt oshe-yan, f-yude, j-yewel, pon-yard, span-yel, pash-yon, etc. and as these diphthongs (which, from their commencing with the sound of y consonant, may not improperly be called semi-consonant diphthongs) begin in that part of the mouth where s, c soft, and t, are formed, we find that coalescense ensue which forms the aspirated hiss in the numerous terminations sion, tion, tial, etc. and by direct consequence in those ending in ure, une, as future, fortune, etc, for ​the letter u, when long, is exactly one of these semi-consonant diphthongs; (8) and coming immediately after the accent it coalesces with the preceding s, c, or t, and draws them into the aspirated hiss of sh, or tsh. (459) Those found in the termination ious may be called semi-consonant diphthongs also, as the o and u have but the sound of one vowel. It may be observed too, in passing, that the reason why in mansuetude the s does not go into sh, is, because when u is followed by another vowel in the same syllable, it drops its consonant sound at the beginning, and becomes merely double o.
197. The improper diphthongs are,
| ae | Caesar |
| ai | aim |
| ao | gaol |
| au | taught |
| aw | law |
| ea | clean |
| ee | reed |
| ei | ceiling |
| eo | people |
| ey | they |
| ie | friend |
| oa | coat |
| oe | oeconomy |
| oo | moon |
| ow | crow |
198. The tripthongs having but two sounds are merely ocular, and must therefore be classed with the proper diphthongs:
| aye | (for ever) |
| eau | beauty |
| eou | plenteous |
| ieu | adieu |
| iew | view |
| oeu | manoeuvre |
Of all these combinations of vowels we shall treat in their alphabetical order.
AE.
199. Ae or ae is a diphthong, says Dr. Johnston, of very frequent use in the Latin language, which seems not properly to have any place in the English; since the ae of the Saxons has been long out of use, being changed to e simple; to which, in words frequently occurring, the ae of the Romans is, in the same manner, altered, as in equator, equinoctial, and even in Eneas.
200. But though the diphthong ae is perfectly useless in our language, and the substitution of e in its stead, in Cesar and Eneas, is recommended by Dr. Johnson, we do not find his authority has totally annihilated it, especially in proper names and technical terms derived from the learned languages. Caesar, Aeneas, Aesop, paean, aether, aethiops mineral, amphisbaena, anacephalaeosis, aphaeresis, aegilops, ozaena, etc. seem to preserve the diphthong, as well as certain words which are either plurals or genitives, in Latin words not naturalised, as cornucopiae, exuviae, aqua vitae, minutiae, striae, etc.
201. This diphthong, when not under the accent, in Michaelmas, and when accented in Daedalous, is pronounced like short e: it is, like e, subject to the short sound when under the secondary accent, as in AEnobarbus, where aen, in the first syllable, is pronounced exactly like the letter n. (530)
AI.
202. The sound of this diphthong is exactly like the long slender sound of a; thus pail, a vessel, and pale, a colour, are perfectly the same sound. The exceptions are but few.
203. When said is the third person preterimperfect tense of the verb to say, ai has the sound of short e, and said rhymes with bed; the same sound of ai may be observed in the third person of the present tense saith, and the participle said: but when this word is an adjective, as the said man, it is regular, and rhymes with trade.
204. Plaid, a striped garment, rhymes with mad.
205. Raillery is a perfect rhyme to salary; and raisin, a fruit, is pronounced exactly like reason, the distinctive faculty of man. See both these words in the Dictionary.
206. Again and against sound as if written agen and agenst.
207. The aisle of a church is pronunced exactly like isle, an island; and is sometimes written ile.
208. When this diphthong is in a final unaccented syllable, the a is sunk, and the i pronounced short; thus mountain, fountain, captain, curtain, villain, are all pronounced as if written mountin, fountin, captin, curtin, villin; but when the last word takes an additional syllable, the i is dropped, and the a has its short sound, as villanous, villany. See the words in the Dictionary.
209. The ai in Britain has the short sound approaching to u, so common with all the vowels in final unaccented syllables, and is pronounced exactly like Briton.
210. Plait, a fold of cloth, is regular, and ought to be pronounced like plate, a dish; pronouncing it so as to rhyme with meat is a vulgarism, and ought to be avoided.
211. Plaister belongs no longer to this class of words, being now more properly written plaster, rhyming with caster.
AO.
212. This combination of vowels in a diphthong is only to be met with in the word gaol, now more properly written, as it is pronounced, jail.
AU.
213. The general sound of this diphthong is that of the noun awe, as taught, caught, etc. or of the a in hall, ball, etc.
214. When these letters are followed by n and another consonant, they change to the second sound of a, heard in far, farther, etc. thus aunt, haunt, askaunce, askaunt, flaunt, haunt, gauntlet, jaunt, haunch, launch, craunch,jaundice, laundress, laundry, have the Italian sound of the a in the last syllable of papa and mamma. To these I think ought to be added, daunt, paunch, gaunt, and saunter, as Dr. Kenrick has marked them with the Italian a, and not as if written dawnt, pawnch, etc. as Mr. Sheridan sounds them. Maund, a basket, is always pronounced with the Italian a, and nearly as if written marnd; for which reason Maundy Thursday, which is derived from it, ought, with Mr. Nares, to be pronounced in the same manner, though generally heard with the sound of aw. To maunder, to grumble, though generally heard as if written mawnder, ought certainly to be pronounced as Mr. Nares has classed it, with the Italian a. The same may be observed of taunt, which ought to rhyme with aunt, though sounded tawnt by Mr. Sheridan; and being left out of the above list, supposed to be so pronounced by Mr. Nares.
​215. Laugh and draught, which are very properly classed by Mr. Nares among these words which have the long Italian a in father, are marked by Mr. Sheridan with his first sound of a in hat, lengthened into the sound of a in father, by placing the accent on it. Staunch is spelled without the u by Johnson, and therefore improperly classed by Mr. Nares in the above list.
216. Vaunt and avaunt seem to be the only real exceptions to this sound of a in the whole list; and as these words are chiefly confined to tragedy, they may be allowed to "fret and strut their hour upon the stage" in the old traditionary sound of awe.
217. This diphthong is pronounced like long o, in hautboy, as if written ho-boy; and like o short in cauliflower, laurel, nnd laudanum; as if written colliflower, lorrel, and loddanum. In guage, au has the sound of slender a, and rhymes with page.
218. There is a corrupt pronunciation of this diphthong among the vulgar, which is, giving the au in daughter, sauce, saucer, and saucy, the sound of the Italian a, and nearly as if written darter, sarce, sarcer, and sarcy; but this pronunciation cannot be too carefully avoided. Au in sausage also, is sounded by the vulgar with short a, as if written sassage; but in this, as in the other words, au ought to sound awe. See the words in the Dictionary.
AW
219. Has the long broad sound of a in ball, with which the word bawl is perfectly identical. It is always regular.
AY.
220. This diphthong, like its near relation ai, has the sound of slender a in pay, day, etc. and is pronounced like long e in the word quay, which is now sometimes seen written key; for if we cannot bring the pronunciation to the spelling, it is looked upon as some improvement to bring the spelling to the pronunciation: a most pernicious practice in language. See Bowl.
221. To flay, to strip off the skin, also, is corruptly pronounced flea; but the diphthong in this word seems to be recovering its rights.
222. There is a wanton departure from analogy in orthography, by changing the y in this diphthong to i in the words paid, said, laid, for payed, sayed, and layed. Why these words should be written with i and thus contracted, and played, prayed, and delayed, remain at large, let our wise correctors of orthography determine. Stayed also, a participial adjective, signifying steady, is almost always written staid.
223. When aye comes immediately after the accent in a final syllable, like ai, it drops the former vowel, in the colloquial pronunciation of the days of the week. Thus is we pronounce captain, curtain, etc. as if written captin, curtin, etc. so we hear Sunday, Monday, etc. as if written Sundy, Mundy, etc. A more distinct pronunciation of day, in these words, is a mark of the northern dialect. (208)
224. The familiar assent ay for yes, is a combinations of the long Italian a in the last syllable of papa, and the first sound of e. If we give the a the sound of that letter in ball, the word degenerates into a coarse rustic pronunciation. Though in the House of Commons, where this word is made a noun, we frequently, but not correctly, hear it so pronounced, in the phrase the Ayes have it.
AYE.
225. This triphthong is a combination of the slender sound of a, heard in pa-per, and the e in me-tre. The word which it composes, signifying ever, is almost obsolete.
EA.
226. The regular sound of this diphthong is that of the first sound of e in here; but its irregular sound of short e is so frequent, as to make a catalogue of both necessary; especially for those who are unsettled in the pronunciation of the capital, and wish to practise in order to form a habit.
227. The first sound of ea is like open e, and is heard in the following words: Afeard, affear, anneal, appeal, appear, appease, aread, arrear, beacon, beadle, beadroll, beads, beadsman, beagle, beak, beaker, beam, bean, beard, bearded, beast, beat, beaten, beaver, beleaguer, beneath, bequeath, bereave, besmear, bespeak, bleach, bleak, blear, bleat, bohea, breach, bream, to breathe, cease, cheap, cheat, clean, cleanly, (adverb) clear, clearance, cleave, cochineal, colleague, conceal, congeal, cream, creak, crease, creature, deacon, deal, dean, deanery, dear, decease, defeasance, defeasible, defeat, demean, demeanor, decrease, dream, drear, dreary, each, eager, eagle, eagre, ear, east, easter, easy, to eat, eaten, eaves, entreat, endear, escheat, fear, fearful, feasible, feasibility, feast, feat, feature, flea, fleam, freak, gear, gleam, glean, to grease, grease, greaves, heal, heap, hear, heat, heath, heathen, heave, impeach, increase, inseam, interleave, knead, lea, to lead, leaf, league, leak, lean, lease, leash, leasing, least, leave, leaves, mead, meagre, meal, mean, meat, measles, meathe, neat, neap, near, neat, pea, peace, peak, peal, pease, peat, plea, plead, please, reach, to read, ream, reap, rear, rearward, reason, recheat, redstreak, release, repeal, repeat, retreat, reveal, screak, scream, seal, sea, seam, seamy, sear, searcloth, season, seat, shear, shears, sheath, sheathe, sheaf, sleazy, sneak, sneaker, sneakup, speak, spear, steal, steam, streak, streamer, streamy, surcease, tea, teach, tead, teague, teal, team, tear, tease, teat, treacle, treason, treat, treatise, treatment, treaty, tweag, tweak, tweague, veal, underneath, uneasy, unreave, uprear, weak, weaken, weal, weald, wean, weanling, weariness, wearisome, weary, weasand, weasel, weave, wheal, wheat, wheaten, wreak, wreath, wreathe, wreathy, yea, year, yeanling, yearling, yearly, zeal.
228. In this catalogue we find beard and bearded sometimes pronounced as if written berd and berded: but this corruption of the diphthong, which Mr. Sheridan has adopted, seems confined to the Stage. See the word.
​229. The preterimperfect tense of eat is sometimes written ate, particularly by Lord Bolinbroke, and frequently, and, perhaps, more correctly, pronounced et, especially in Ireland; but eaten always preserves the ea long.
230. Ea in fearful is long when it signifies timorous, and short when it signifies terrible, as if written ferful. See the word.
231. To read, is long in the present tense, and short in the past and participle, which are sometimes written red.
232. Teat, a dug, is marked by Dr. Kenrick, Mr. Elphinston, and Mr. Nares, with short e like tit; but more properly by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, W. Johnston, Mr. Perry, and Mr. Smith, with the long e, rhyming with meat.
233. Beat, the preterimperfect tense, and the participle of to beat, is frequently pronounced in Ireland like bet (a wager) and if utility were the only object of language, this would certainly be the preferable pronunciation, as nothing tends more to obscurity than words which have no different forms for their present and past times; but fashion in this, as in many other cases, triumphs over use and propriety; and bet, for the past time and participle of beat, must be religiously avoided.
234. Ea is pronounced like the short e in the following words: Abreast, ahead, already, bedstead, behead, bespread, besstead, bread, breadth, breakfast, breast, breath, cleanse, cleanly, (adjective) cleanlily, dead, deadly, deaf, deafen, dearth, death, earl, earldom, early, earn, earnest, earth, earthen, earthly, endeavour, feather, head, heady, health, heard, hearse, heaven, heavy, jealous, impearl, instead, lead, leaden, leant, (the past time and participle of to lean) learn, learning, leather, leaven, meadow, meant, measure, pearl, peasant, pheasant, pleasant, pleasantry, pleasure, read, (past time and participle) readily, readiness, ready, realm, rehearsal, rehearse, research, seamstress, scarce, search, spread, stead, steadfast, steady, stealth, stealthy, sweat, sweaty, thread, threaden, threat, threaten, treachery, tread, treadle, treasure, uncleanly, wealth, wealthy, weapon, weather, yearn, zealot, zealous, zealously.
235. I have given the last three words, compounded of zeal, as instances of the short sound of the diphthong, because it is certainly the more usual sound; but some attempts have lately been made in the House of Commons, to pronounce them long, as in the noun. It is a commendable zeal to endeavour to reform the language as well as the constitution; but whether, if these words were altered, it would be a real reformation, may admit of some dispute. See Enclitical Termination, No. 515, and the word Zealot.
236. Heard, the past time and participle of hear, is sometimes corruptly pronounced with the diphthong long, so as to rhyme with rear'd; but this is supposing the verb to be regular; which, from the spelling, is evidently not the case.
237. It is, perhaps, worth observation, than when this diphthong comes before r, it is apt to slide into the short u, which is undoubtedly very near the true sound, but not exactly: thus pronouncing earl, earth, dearth, as if written url, urth, durth, is a slight deviation from the true sound, which is exactly that of i before r, followed by another consonant, in virtue, virgin; and that is the true sound of short e in vermin, vernal, etc. (108)
238. Leant, the past time and participle of to lean, is grown vulgar: the regular form leaned is preferable.
239. The past time and participle of the verb to leap, seems to prefer the irregular form; therefore, though we almost always hear to leap, rhyming with reap, we generally hear leaped written and pronounced leapt, rhyming with wept.
240. Ea is pronounced like long slender a in bare, in the following words: Bear, bearer, break, forbear, forswear, great, pear, steak, swear, to tear, wear.
241. The word great is sometimes pronounced as if written greet, generally by people of education, and almost universally in Ireland; but this is contrary to the fixed and settled practice in England. That this is an affected pronunciation, will be perceived in a moment by pronouncing this word in the phrase, Alexander the Great; for those who pronounce the word greet, in other cases will generally in this rhyme it with fate. It is true the ee is the regular sound of this diphthong; but this slender sound of e has, in all probability, given way to that of a, as deeper and more expressive of the epithet great.
242. The same observations are applicable to the word break; which is much more expressive of the action when pronounced brake than breek, as it is sometimes affectedly pronounced.
243. Ea is pronounced like the long Italian a in father, in the following words: Heart, hearty, hearten, hearth, hearken.
244. Ea, unaccented, has an obscure sound, approaching to short u in vengeance, serjeant, pageant, and pageantry.
EAU.
245. This is a French rather than an English triphthong, being found only in words derived from that language. Its sound is that of long open o, as beau, bureau, flambeau, portmanteau. In beauty, and its compounds, it has the first sound of u, as if written bewty.
EE.
246. This diphthong, in all words except those that end in r, has a squeezed sound of long open e formed by a closer application of the tongue to the roof of the mouth, than in that vowel singly, which is distinguishable to a nice ear, in the different sounds of the verbs to flee and to meet, and the nouns flea and meat. This has always been my opinion: but, upon consulting some good speakers on the occasion, and in particular Mr. Garrick, who could find no difference in the sounds of these words, I am less confident in giving it to the Public. At any rate the difference is but very ​trifling, and I shall therefore consider ee as equivalent to the long open e.
247. This diphthong is irregular only in the word breeches, pronounced as if written britches. Cheesecake, sometimes pronounced chizcake, and breech, britch, I look upon as vulgarisms. Beelzebub, indeed, in prose, has generally the short sound of e in bell: and when these two letters form but one syllable, in the poetical contraction of e'er and ne'er, for ever and never, they are pronounced as if written air and nair.
EI.
248. The general sound of this diphthong seems to be the same as ey, when under the accent, which is like long slender a; but the other sounds are so numerous as to require a catalogue of them all.
249. Ei has the sound of long slender a, in deign, vein, rein, reign, feign, feint, veil, heinous, heir, heiress, inveigh, weigh, neigh, skein, reins, their, theirs, eight, freight, weight, neighbour, and their compounds. When gh comes after this diphthong, though there is not the least remnant of the Saxon guttural sound, yet it has not exactly the simple vowel sound as when followed by other consonants; ei, followed by gh, sounds both vowels like a e; or if we could interpose the y consonant between the a and t in eight, weight, etc. it might perhaps, convey the sound better. The difference, however, is so delicate as to render this distinction of no great importance. The same observations are applicable to the words straight, straighten, etc. See the word Eight.
250. Ei has the sound of long open e, in here, in the following words and their compounds: To ceil, ceiling, conceit, deceipt, receipt, conceive, perceive, deceive, receive, inveigle, seize, seisin, seignior, seigniory, seine, plebeian. Obeisance ought to be in the preceding class. See the word.
251. Leisure is sometimes pronounced as rhyming with pleasure; but, in my opinion, very improperly; for if it be allowed that custom is equally divided, we ought, in this case, to pronounce the diphthong long, as more expressive of the idea annexed to it. (241)
252. Either and neither are so often pronounced eye-ther and nigh-ther, that it is hard to say to which class they belong. Analogy, however, without hesitation, gives the diphthong the sound of long open e, rather than that of i, and rhymes them with breather, one who breathes. This is the pronunciation Mr. Garrick always gave to these words; but the true analogical sound of the diphthong in these words is that of the slender a, as if written ay-ther and nay-ther. This pronunciation is adopted in Ireland, but is not favoured by one of our orthöepists; for Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, Mr. Elphinston, Mr. Perry, Mr. Smith, Steele's Grammar, and Dr. Jones, all pronounce these words with the diphthong like long e. W. Johnston alone adopts the sound of long i exclusively; Dr. Kenrick gives both ēther and īther, but prefers the first, but gives neither the sound of long e exclusively; Mr. Coote says these words are generally pronounced with the ei like the i in mine. Mr. Barclay gives no description of the sound of ei in either, but says neither is sometimes pronounced nīther, and by others nēther; and Mr. Nares says, "either and neither are spoken by some with the sound of long i; I have heard even that of long a given to them; but as the regular way is also in use, I think it is preferable. These differences seem to have arisen from ignorance of the regular sound of ei." If by the regular way and the regular sound of this diphthong Mr. Nares mean the long sound of e, we need only inspect No. 249 and 250 to see that the sound of a is the more general sound, and therefore ought to be called the regular; but where there are so many instances of words where this diphthong has the long sound of e, and custom is so uniform in these words, there can be no doubt which it is the safest to follow.
253. Ei has the sound of long open i, in height and sleight, rhyming with white and right. Height is, indeed, often heard rhyming with eight and weight, and that among very respectable speakers; but custom seems to decide in favour of the other pronunciation, that it may better tally with the adjective high, of which it is the abstract.
254. Ei has the sound of short e, in the two words heifer and nonpareil, pronounced heffer and nonparell.
255. This diphthong, when unaccented, like ai, (208) drops the former vowel, and is pronounced like short i, in foreign, foreigner, forfeit, forfeiture, sovereign, sovereignty, surfeit, counterfeit.
EO.
256. This diphthong is pronounced like e long in people, as if written peeple: and like e short, in leopard and jeopardy, as if written leppard and jeppardy; and in the law terms feoffee, feoffer, and feoffment, as if written feffee, feffer, and feffment.
257. We frequently hear these vowels contracted into short o in geography and geometry, as if written joggraphy and jommetry; but this gross pronunciation seems daily wearing away, and giving place to that which separates the vowels into two distinct syllables, as it is always heard in geographical, geometer, geometrical, and geometrician. Georgic is always heard as if written jorgic, and must be given up as incorrigible. (116)
258. Eo is heard like u in feod, feodal, feodatory, which are sometimes written as they are pronounced, feud, feudal, feudatory.
259. Eo, when unaccented, has the sound of u short in surgeon, sturgeon, dudgeon, gudgeon, bludgeon, curmudgeon, dungeon, luncheon, puncheon, truncheon, burgeon, habergeon; but in scutcheon, escutcheon, pigeon, and widgeon, the eo sounds like short i.
260. Eo sounds like long o in yeoman and yeomanry; the ​first syllable of which words rhyme with go, no, so. See the words.
261. Eo in galleon, a Spanish ship, sounds as if written galloon, rhyming with moon.
EOU.
262. This assemblage of vowels, for they cannot be properly called a triphthong, is often contracted into one syllable in prose, and poets never make it go for two. In cutaneous and vitreous, two syllables are palpable; but in gorgeous and outrageous, the soft g coalescing with e, seems to drop a syllable, though polite pronunciation will always preserve it.
263. This assemblage is never found but in an unaccented syllable, and generally a final one; and when it is immediately preceded by the dentals d or t, it melts them into the sound of j and tch: thus hideous and piteous are pronounced as if written hijeous and pitcheous. The same may be observed of righteous, plenteous, bounteous, courteous, beauteous, and duteous. (293) (294)
EU.
264. This diphthong is always sounded like long u or ew, and is scarcely ever irregular: thus feud, deuce, etc. are pronounced as if written fewd, dewse, etc.
EW.
265. This diphthong is pronounced like long u, and is almost always regular. There is a corrupt pronunciation of it like oo, chiefly in London, where we sometimes hear dew and new pronounced as if written doo and noo; but when r precedes this diphthong, as in brew, crew, drew, etc. pronouncing it like oo, is scarcely improper. See 176, 339.
266. Shew and strew have almost left this class, and, by Johnson's recommendation, are become show and strow, as they are pronounced. The proper name Shrewsbury, however, still retains the e, though always pronounced Shrowsbury. Sew, with a needle, always rhymes with no; and sewer, signifying a drain, is generally pronounced shore: but sewer, an officer, rhymes with fewer. See Sewer.
267. Ew is sometimes pronounced like aw in the verb to chew; but this is gross and vulgar. To chew ought always to rhyme with new, view, etc.
EWE.
268. This triphthong exists only in the word ewe, a female sheep; which is pronounced exactly like yew, a tree, or the plural personal pronoun you. There is a vulgar pronunciation of this word, as if written yoe, rhyming with doe, which must be carefully avoided. See the word.
EY.
269. When the accent is on this diphthong, it is always pronounced like ay, or like its kindred diphthong ei, in vein, reign, etc. thus bey, dey, grey, prey, they, trey, whey, obey, convey, purvey, survey, hey, eyre, and eyrey, are always heard as if written bay, day, etc. Key and ley are the only exceptions, which alway rhyme with sea. (220)
270. Ey, when unaccented, is pronounced like ee: thus galley, valley, alley, barley, etc. are pronounced as if written gallee, vallee, etc. The noun survey, therefore, if we place the accent on the first syllable, is anomalous. See the word.
EYE.
271. This triphthong is only found in the word eye, which is always pronounced like the letter I.
IA.
272. This diphthong, in the terminations ian, ial, iard, and iate, forms but one syllable, though the i, in this situation, having the squeezed sound of ee perfectly similar to y, gives the syllable a double sound, very distinguishable in its nature from a syllable formed without the i: thus Christian, filial, poniard, conciliate, sound as if written Cristyan, fil-yal, pon-yard, concil-yate, and have in the last syllable an evident mixture of the sound of y consonant. (113)
273. In diamond, these vowels are properly no diphthong; and in prose the word ought to have three distinct syllables; but we frequently hear it so pronounced as to drop the a entirely, and as if written dimond. This, however, is a corruption that ought to be avoided.
274. In carriage, marriage, parliament, and miniature, the a is dropped, and the i has its short sound, as if written carridge, marridge, parliment, miniture. (90)
IE.
275. The regular sound of this diphthong is that of ee, as in grieve, thieve, fiend, lief, liege, chief, kerchief, handkerchief, auctioneer, grenadier, etc. as if written greeve, theeve, feend, etc.
276. It has the sound of long i, in die, hie, lie, pie, tie, vie, as if written dy, hy, etc.
277. The short sound of e is heard in friend, tierce, and the long sound of the same letter in tier, frieze.
278. In variegate the best pronunciation is to sound both vowels distinctly like e, as if written vary-e-gate.
279. In the numeral terminations in ieth, as twentieth, thirtieth, etc. the vowels ought always to be kept distinct; the first like open e, as heard in the y in twenty, thirty, etc. and the second like short e, heard in breath, death, etc.
280. In fiery too, the vowels are heard distinctly.
281. In orient and spaniel, where these letters come after a liquid, they are pronounced distinctly; and great care should be taken not to let the last word degenerate into spannel. (113)
282. When these letters meet, in consequence of forming the plurals of nouns, they retain either the long or short ​sound they had in the singular, without increasing the number of syllables: thus a fly makes flies, a lie makes lies, company makes companies, and dignity, dignities. The same may be observed of the third persons and past participles of verbs, as I fly, he flies, I deny, he denies, he denied, I sully, he sullied, etc. which may be pronounced as if written denize, denide, sullid, etc. (104)
283. When ie is in a termination without the accent, it is pronounced like e only, in the same situation: thus brasier, grasier, and glasier, have the last syllable sounded as if written brazhur, grazhur, and glazhur, or rather as brazeyur, graze-yur, etc. (98) (418)
IEU.
284. These vowels occur in adieu, lieu, purlieu, where they have the sound of long u, as if written adeu, leu, purleu.
285. In one word, lieutenant, these letters are pronounced like short e, as if written lev-tenant. See the word.
IEW.
286. These letters occur only in the word view, where they sound like ee, rhyming with few, new.
IO.
287. When the accent is upon the first of these vowels they form two distinct syllables, as violent, violet; the last of which is sometimes corruptly pronounced vi-let.
288. In marchioness, the i is entirely sunk, and the unaccented o pronounced, as it usually is in this situation, like short u, as if written marshuness. (352)
289. In cushion, the o is sunk, and the word pronounced cushin. See the word.
290. In the very numerous termination ion, these vowels are pronounced in one syllable like short u; but when they are preceded by a liquid, as in million, minion, clarion, etc. (113) the two vowels, though they make but one syllable, are heard distinctly: the same may be observed when they are preceded by any of the other consonants, except s and t, as champion, scorpion, etc. where the vowels are heard separately: but the terminations tion and sion are pronounced in one syllable, like the verb shun.
291. The only exception to this rule is, when the t is preceded by s: in this case the t goes into tch, and the i is in a small degree audible like short e. This may be heard in question, mixtion, digestion, combustion, and what is an instance of the same kind in Christian, as if written ques-tchun, mix-tchun, etc. or quest-yun, mixt-yun, etc. (461) (462)
IOU.
292. This triphthong, when preceded by a liquid, or any mute but a dental, is heard distinctly in two syllables, as in bilious, various, glorious, abstemious, ingenious, copious: but when preceded by the dentals t, soft c and s, these vowels coalesce into one syllable, pronounced like shus: thus precious, factious, noxious, anxious, are sounded as if written presh-us, fac-shus, nock-shus, ang-shus. (459)
293. The same tendency of these vowels to coalesce after a dental, and draw it to aspiration, makes us hear tedious, odious, and insidious, pronounced as if written te-je-ous, o-jee-ous, and in-sid-je-us; for as d is but flat t, it is no wonder it should be subject to the same aspiration, when the same vowels follow: nay, it may be affirmed, that so agreeable is this sound of the d to the analogy of English pronunciation, that, unless we are upon our guard, the organs naturally slide into it. It is not, however, pretended that this is the politest pronunciation; for the sake of analogy it were to be wished it were: but an ignorance of the real powers of the letters, joined with a laudable desire of keeping as near as possible to the orthography, is apt to prevent the d from going into j, and to make us hear o-de-us, te-de-ous, etc. On the other hand, the vulgar, who, in this case, are right by instinct, not only indulge the aspiration of the d, which the language is so prone to, but are apt to unite the succeeding syllables too closely, and to say o-jus and te-jus, instead of o-je-us and te-je-us, or rather ode-yus and tede-yus.
294. If the y be distinctly pronounced, it sufficiently expresses the aspiration of the d, and is, in my opinion, the preferable mode of delineating the sound, as it keeps the two last syllables from uniting too closely. Where analogy, therefore, is so clear, and custom so dubious, we ought not to hesitate a moment at pronouncing odious, tedious, perfidious, fastidious, insidious, invidious, compendious, melodious, commodious, preludious, and studious, as if written o-je-ous, te-je-ous, etc. or rather, ode-yus, tede-yus, etc. nor should we forget that Indian comes under the same analogy, and ought, though contrary to respectable usage, to be pronounced as if written Indyan, and nearly as In-je-an. (376)
OA.
295. This diphthong is regularly pronounced as the long open sound of o, as in boat, coat, oat, coal, loaf, etc. The only exceptions are, broad, abroad, groat, which sound as if written, brawd, abrawd, grawt. Oatmeal is sometimes pronounced ot-meal, but seems to be recovering the long sound of o, as in oat.
OE.
296. Whether it be proper to retain the o in this diphthong, or to banish it from our orthography, as Dr. Johnson advises, certain it is, that in words from the learned languages it is always pronounced like single e, and comes entirely under the same laws as that vowel: thus, when it ends a syllable, with the accent upon it, it is long, as in An-toe-ci, Peri-oe-ci: when under the secondary accent, in oec-umenical, oec-onomics, it is like e short: it is long e in ​foe-tus, and short e in foet-id and assafoet-ida: in doe, foe, sloe, toe, throe, boe, (to dig) and bilboes, it is sounded exactly like long open o: in canoe and shoe, like oo, as if written canoo and shoo; and in the verb does, like short u, as if written duz.
OEI.
297. There is but one word where this triphthong occurs, and that is in Shakespeare's King Lear, in the word oeiliads, (glances) and, in my opinion, it ought to be sounded as if written e-il-yads.
OEU.
298. This diphthong is from the French, in the word manoeuvre; a word, within these few years, of very general use in our language. It is not in Johnson, and the oeu is generally pronounced, by those who can pronounce French, in the French manner; but this is such a sound of the u as does not exist in English, and therefore it cannot be described. The nearest sound is oo; with which, if this word is pronounced by and English speaker, as if written manoovre, it may, except with very nice French ears, escape criticism.
OI.
299. The general and almost universal sound of this, diphthong, is that of a in water, and the first e in me-tre. This double sound is very distinguishable in boil, toil, spoil, joint, point, anoint, etc. which sound ought to be carefully preserved, as there is a very prevalent practice among the vulgar of dropping the o, and pronouncing these words as if written bile, tile, spile, etc.
300. The only instance which admits of a doubt in the sound of this diphthong, when under the accent, is in the word choir; but this word is now so much more frequently written quire, that uniformity strongly inclines us to pronounce the oi in choir, like long i, and which, by the common orthography, seems fixed beyond recovery. But it may be observed, that either the spelling or the pronunciation of Chorister, commonly pronounced Quirister, ought to be altered. See the words.
301. When this diphthong is not under the accent, it is variously pronounced. Dr. Kenrick places the accent on the first syllable of turcois, and, for I know not what reason, pronounces it as if written turkiz; and turkois, with the oi broad, as in boys. Mr. Sheridan places the accent on the second syllable, and gives the diphthong the French sound as if the word was written turkaze. In my opinion the best orthography is turquoise, and the best pronunciation with the accent on the last syllable, and the oi sounded like long e, as if written turkees; as we pronounce tortoise, with the accent on the first syllable, and the oi like short i, as if written tortiz.
302. In avoirdupoise, the first diphthong is pronounced like short e, as if written averdupoise.
303. In connoisseur, the same sound of e is substituted, as if written connesseur.
304. In shamois, or chamois, a species of leather, the oi is pronounced like long e, as if written shammee.
305. Adroit and devoir, two scarcely naturalized French words, have the oi regular, though the latter word, in polite pronunciation, retains its French sound, as if written devwor.
OO.
306. The sound of this diphthong is regular, except in a few words: it is pronounced long in moon, soon, fool, rood, food, mood, etc. This is its regular sound.
307. It has a shorter sound corresponding to the u in bull, in the words wool, wood, good, hood, foot, stood, understood, withstood; and these are the only words where this diphthong has this middle sound.
308. It has the sound of short u, in the two words blood and flood, rhyming with mud.
309. Soot is vulgarly pronounced so as to rhyme with but, hut, etc. but ought to have its long, regular sound, rhyming with boot, as we always hear it in the compound sooty. See the word.
310. Door and floor are universally pronounced by the English as if written dore and flore; but in Ireland they preserve the regular sound of oo. See the word Door.
311. Moor, a black man, is regular in polite pronunciation, and like more in vulgar. Moor, a marsh, is sometimes heard rhyming with store; but more correct speakers pronounce it regularly, rhyming with poor.
OU.
312. This is the most irregular assemblage of vowels in our language: its most common sound is that heard in bound, found, ground, etc. and this may be called its proper sound; but its deviations are so many and so various, that the best idea of it will be conveyed by giving the simples of all its different sounds.
313. The first or proper sound of this diphthong is composed of the a in ball, and the oo, in woo, or rather the u in bull, and is equivalent to the ow in down, frown, etc. This sound is heard in abound, about, account, acoustics, aground, aloud, amount, around, arouse, astound, avouch, bough, bounce, bound, bounty, bounteous, bout, carouse, chouse, cloud, clough, clout, clouterly, compound, couch, couchant, crouch, grouse, deflour, devour, devout, doubt, doubtful, drought, doughty, douse, encounter, espouse, expound, flout, foul, flounder, found, foundling, fountain, frousy, glout, gout, (a disease) ground, grout, hound, hour, house, impound, loud, lounge, louse, lout, mound, mountain, mountebank, mouse, mouth, noun, ounce, our, oust, out, outer, ​outermost, paramount, plough, pouch, pounce, pound, pout, profound, pronoun, pronounce, propound, proud, rebound, recount, redoubt, redoubted, redound, rencounter, round, roundelay, rouse, rout, scoundrel, scour, scout, shout, shroud, slouch, spouse, spout, sprout, stout, surround, south, thou, thousand, touse, trounce, trousers, trout, wuound, (did wind) slough, (a miry place) vouch, vouchsafe, without, scaramouch.
314. The second sound is that of short u in bud, and is heard in the following words and their compounds: Adjourn, journey, journal, bourgeon, country, cousin, couple, accouple, double, trouble, courteous, courtesy, courage, encourage, joust, gournet, housewife, flourish, mounch, nourish, enough, chough, rough, tough, slough, (a cast skin) scourge, southerly, southern, southernwood, southward, touch, touchy, young, younker, and youngster; but southern, southerly, and southward, are sometimes pronounced regularly like south: this, however, is far from the prevailing pronunciation. This is the sound this diphthong always has when the accent is not on it, unless in very few instances, where the compound retains the sound of the simple, as in pronoun; but in sojourn and sojourner, with the accent on the first syllable, and in every unaccented termination in our and ous, this diphthong has exactly the sound of short u: thus favour, honour, odour, and famous, are pronounced as if written favur, honur, odur, and famus.
315. The third sound given to these vowels is that of oo in coo and woo, (39) and is found in the following words: Bouge, croup, group, aggroup, amour, paramour, bouse, bousy, boutefeu, capouch, cartouch, fourbe, gout, (taste) and ragout, pronounced goo and ragoo) rendezvous, rouge, soup, sous, (pronounced soo) surtout, through, throughly, toupee or toupet, you, your, youth, tour, contour, tourney, tournay, tournament, pour, and route, (a road) accoutre, billet-doux, agouti, uncouth, wound, (a hurt) and routine (a beaten road). See Tourney.
316. The verb to pour is sometimes pronounced to pore, and sometimes to poor; in each case it interferes with a word of a different signification, and the best pronunciation, which is that similar to power, is as little liable to that exception as either of the others. See the word.
317. To wound is sometimes pronounced so as to rhyme with found; but this is directly contrary to the best usage; but route, (a road, as to take a different route) is often pronounced so as to rhyme with doubt, by respectable speakers.
318. The fourth sound of this diphthong is that of long open o, and is heard in the following words: Though, although, coulter, court, accourt, gourd, courtier, course, discourse, source, recourse, resource, bourn, dough, doughy, four, mould, mouldy, moult, mourn, shoulder, smoulder, soul, poultice, poult, poulterer, poultry, troul, (to roll smoothly, marked by Mr. Sheridan as rhyming with doll, but more properly by Dr. Kenrick with roll) and borough, thorough, furlough, fourteen, concourse, and intercourse, preserve the diphthong in the sound of long o, though not under the accent.
319. The fifth sound of ou is like the noun awe, and is heard only in ought, bought, brought, sought, besought, fought, nought, thought, methought, wrought.
320. The sixth sound is that of short oo, or the u in bull, and is heard only in the auxiliary verbs would, could, should, rhyming with good, hood, stood, etc.
321. The seventh sound is that of short o, and heard only in cough and trough, rhyming with off and scoff; and in lough and shough, pronounced lock and shock.
OW.
322. The elementary sound of this diphthong is the same as the first sound of ou, and is heard in how, now, etc. but the sound of long o obtains in so many instances, that it will be necessary to give a catalogue of both.
323. The general sound, as the elementary sound may be called, is heard in now, how, bow, (a mark of respect) mow, (a heap of barley, etc.) cow, brow, brown, browse, plow, sow, vow, avow, allow, disallow, endow, down, clown, frown, town, crown, drown, gown, renown, dowager, dowdy, dower, dowre, dowry, dowery, dowlas, drowse, drowsy, flower, bower, lower, (to look gloomy) power, powder, prowess, prow, prowl, vowel, towel, bower, rowel, cowl, scowl, crowd, shower, tower, sow, (a swine) sowins, sowl, thowl, low, (to bellow as a cow). This word is generally pronounced as low, not high; but if custom, in this case, has not absolutely decided, it ought, in my opinion, to have the first sound of this diphthong, rhyming with how, as much more expressive of the noise it signifies; which, where sounds are the ideas to be expressed, ought to have great weight in pronunciation. (241) (251) See the word.
324. The second sound of this diphthong is heard in blow, slow, crow, flow, glow, bow, (to shoot with) know, low, (not high) mow, (to cut grass) row, show, sow, (to scatter grain) strow, snow, trow, below, bestow, owe, own, owner, flown, grown, growth, know, known, sown, lower, (to bring low) throw, thrown; in all these words the ow sounds like long o in go, no, so, etc.
325. The noun prow, signifying the forepart of a ship, rhymes with go in Mr. Sheridan, and with now in Dr. Kenrick. The latter is, in my opinion, the preferable sound; while the verb to prowl (to seek for prey) rhymes with owl, according to Mr. Sheridan, and with soul, according to Dr. Kenrick: the latter has the old spelling prole to plead, but the former has, in my opinion, both analogy and the best usage on its side. Both these writers unite in giving the first sound of this diphthong to prowess; which is unquestionably the true pronunciation. See to Prowl.
326. The proper names How, Howel, and Howard, and Powel, generally are heard with the first sound of this diphthong, as in how, now, etc. but Howes and Stow (the historian) commonly rhyme with knows and know. Howard, among people of rank, is generally pronounced with the ​second sound, rhyming with froward; and Grosvenor, as if written Gravenor. Snowdon is frequently pronounced with the first sound of ow; but the second sound seems preferable; as it is not improbable that these mountains had their name, like the Alps, from the snow on their tops.
327. When this diphthong is in a final unaccented syllable, it has always the second sound, like long o, in borrow, sorrow, fellow, willow, etc. The vulgar shorten this sound, and pronounce the o obscurely, and sometimes as if followed by r, as winder and feller, for window and fellow; but this is almost too despicable for notice. Good speakers preserve the diphthong in this situation, and give it the full sound of open o, rhyming with no, so, etc. though it should seem in Ben Jonson's time, the o in this situation was almost suppressed. See his Grammar, page 149.
328. This diphthong, in the word knowledge, has of late years undergone a considerable revolution. Some speakers, who had the regularity of their language at heart, were grieved to see the compound depart so far from the sound of the simple, and with heroic fortitude have opposed the multitude by pronouncing the first syllable of this word as it is heard in the verb to know. The Pulpit and the Bar have for some years given a sanction to this pronunciation; but the Senate and the Stage hold out inflexibly against it; and the Nation at large seem insensible of the improvement. They still continue to pronounce, as in the old ludicrous rhymes——
"Among the mighty men of knowledge, That are professors at Gresham College."
But if ever this word should have the good fortune to be restored to its rights, it would be but charity to endeavour the restoration of a great number of words in a similar situation, such as breakfast, vineyard, bewilder, meadow, hearken, pleasure, whitster, shepherd, windward, and a long catalogue of fellow sufferers. (515) But, before we endeavour this restoration, we should consider, that contracting the sound of the simple, when it acquires an additional syllable, is an idiom of pronunciation to which our language is extremely prone; nor is it certain that crossing this tendency would produce any real advantage; at least, not sufficient to counterbalance the diversity of pronunciation which must for a long time prevail, and which must necessarily call off our attention from things to words. See Enclitical Termination. (No. 514)
OY.
329. This diphthong is but another form for oi, and is pronounced exactly like it. When alloy is written with this diphthong, it ought never to be pronounced allay. Custom seems to have appropriated the former word to the noun, and the latter to the verb; for the sake of consistency, it were to be wished it were always written allay; but it is not to be expected that poets will give up so good a rhyme to joy, cloy, and destroy.
330. The only word in which this diphthong is not under the accent, is the proper name Savoy; for savoy, a plant, has the accent on the second syllable; but the diphthong in both is pronounced in the same manner.
UA.
331. When the a in this diphthong is pronounced, the u has the power of w, which unites both into one syllable: thus antiquate, antiquary, assuage, persuade, equal, language, etc. are pronounced antikwate, antikwary, asswage, etc.
332. The u in this diphthong is silent, in guard, guardian, guarantee, and piquant; pronounced gard, gardian, garantee, and pickant. (92)
333. In Mantua, the town of Italy, both vowels are heard distinctly. The same may be observed of the habit so called: but in mantuamaker, vulgarity has sunk the a, and made it mantumaker. The same vulgarity at first, but now sanctioned by universal custom, has sunk both letters in victuals, and its compounds victualling and victualler, pronounced vittles, vittling, and vittler. See Mantua.
UE.
334. This diphthong, like ua, when it forms only one syllable, and both letters are pronounced, has the a sounded like w; as consuetude, desuetude, and mansuetude, which are pronounced conswetude, deswetude, and manswetude. Thus conquest is pronounced according to the general rule, as if written conkwest; but the verb to conquer has unaccountably deviated into conker, particularly upon the stage. This error, however, seems not to be so rooted in the general ear as to be above correction; and analogy undoubtedly demands conkwer.
335. This diphthong, when in a final syllable, sinks the e, as clue, cue, due, blue, glue, hue, flue, rue, sue, true, mue, accrue, ensue, endue, imbue, imbrue, pursue, subdue, perdue, argue, residue, avenue, revenue, continue, retinue, construe, statue, tissue, issue, virtue, value, ague; in all these words, whether the accent be on the diphthong ue or not, it is pronounced like long open u, except in words where the r comes before u; in this case it is sounded like oo. When the accent is not on this diphthong as in the latter portion of these words from argue, it is apt to be feebly and indistinctly pronounced, and therefore care ought to be taken to sound it as if these words were written argew, residew, etc. In Tuesday, ue, the diphthong, is pronounced in the same manner.
336. In some words the u is silent, and the e pronounced short, as in guess, guest, guerkin, guerdon, where the u acts as a servile to preserve the g hard.
337. In some words both the vowels are sunk, as in antique, oblique, league, feague, teague, colleague, plague, vague, intrigue, fatigue, harangue, tongue, disembogue, collogue, rogue, prorogue, brogue, fugue; in all which the ue ​is silent, and the g, pronounced hard. The q in antique and oblique, is pronounced like k, as if the words were written anteek and oblike. (158)
338. The terminations in ogue, from the Greek, are pronounced in the same manner. Thus pedagogue, demadogue, ptysmagogue, menagogue, emmenagogue, synagogue, mystagogue, decalogue, dialogue, trialogue, catalogue, theologue, eclogue, monologue, prologue, and epilogue, are all pronounced as if written pedagog, demagog, etc. with the o short.
339. This diphthong, after r, becomes oo: thus true is pronounced troo. (176)
UI.
340. The u in this diphthong, as in ua and ue, when both vowels are pronounced without forming two syllables, is pronounced like w: thus languid, anguish, languish, extinguish, distinguish, relinquish, vanquish, linguist, penguin, pursuivant, guiacum, are pronounced as if written langwid, angwish, etc. and cuiss and cuisses, as if written kwiss and kwisses, and cuirass, as if written kwirass.
341. The u is silent, and the i pronounced long, in guide, disguise, guile, and beguile; but the u is silent, and the i short, in guild, build, guilt, guinea, guitar. Guild, in Guildhall, is, by the lower people of London, pronounced so as to rhyme with child; but this is directly opposite to the best usage, and contrary to its etymology, as it is a compound of guild (a corporation, always pronounced like the verb to gild) and hall. Dr. Jones, who wrote in Queen Anne's time, tells us it was then pronounced as if written Gildhall. In circuit and biscuit the u is merely servile; in both the c is hard, and the i short, as if written surkit, and bisket. Conduit is pronounced cundit.
342. In juice, sluice, suit, and pursuit, the i is silent, and the u has its diphthongal sound, as if preceded by e, and the words were written slewse, jewse, sewt, pursewt.
343. When this diphthong is preceded by r, it is pronounced like oo; thus bruise, cruise, fruit, bruit, recruit, are pronounced as if written broose, croose, broot. (339)
UO.
344. The u in this diphthong is pronounced like w, in quote, quota, quotation, quotient, quotidian, quorum, quondam, siliquose, quoth, as if written kwote, kwota, kwotation, etc. Coif, and coit, commonly pronounced kwoif and kwoit, do not come under this class. See the words.
UY.
345. This diphthong, with the accent on it, sinks the u, and pronounces the y like long i: thus buy, the only word where uy has the accent, rhymes with fly, dry, etc. when the accent is not on this diphthong it is sounded like long e, as plaguy, roguy, gluy, pronounced pla-gee, ro-gee, (with the g hard, as in get) glu-ee. The same may be observed of obloquy, ambiloquy, pauciloquy, soliloquy, ventriloquy, alloquy, colloquy, pronounced oblo-quee, ambilo-quee, etc.
UOY.
346. This diphthong is found only in the word buoy, pronounced as if written bwoy, but too often exactly like boy. But this ought to be avoided by correct speakers.
OF THE CONSONANTS.
B.
347. When b follows m in the same syllable, it is generally silent, as in lamb, kemb, limb, comb, dumb, etc. except accumb and succumb: it is silent also before t in the same syllable, as in debt, doubt, redoubt, redoubted, and their compounds: it is silent before t, when not in the same syllable, in the word subtle, (cunning) often inaccurately used for subtile, (fine) where the b is always pronounced. In the mathematical term rhomb, the b is always heard, and the word pronounced as if written rhumb. Ambs-ace is pronounced Aims-ace. See Rhomb.
C.
348. C is always hard like k before a, o, and u; as card, cord, curd; and soft, like s, before e, i, and y; as cement, city, cynic.
349. When c ends a word, or syllable, it is always hard, as in music, flaccid, siccity, pronounced musick, flac-sid, sick-sity. See Exaggerate.
350. In the word sceptic, where the first c, according to analogy, ought to be pronounced like s, Dr. Johnson has not only given his approbation to the sound of k, but has, contrary to general practice, spelt the word skeptic. It may be observed, perhaps, in this, as on other occasions, of that truly great man, that he is but seldom wrong; but when he is so, that he is generally wrong to absurdity. What a monster does this word skeptic appear to an eye the least classical or correct! And if this alteration be right, why should we hesitate to write and pronounce scene, sceptre, and Lacedaemon, skene, skeptre, and Lakedaemon, as there is the same reason for k in all? It is not, however, my intention to cross the general current of polite and classical pronunciation, which I know is that of sounding the c like k; my objection is only to writing it with the k: and in this I think I am supported by the best authorities since the publication of Johnson's Dictionary.
351. C is mute in Czar, Czarina, victuals, indict, arbuscle, corpuscle, and muscle; it sounds like tch in the Italian words vermicelli and violoncello; and like z in suffice, sacrifice, sice, (the number six at dice) and discern.
352. This letter, when connected with h, has two ​sounds; the one like tch, in child, chair, rich, which, etc. pronounced as if written tchild, tchair, ritch, whitch, etc. the other like sh, after l or n, as in belch, bench, filch, etc. pronounced belsh, bensh, filsh, etc. This latter sound is generally given to words from the French, as chaise, chagrin, chamade, champagne, champignon, chandelier, chaperon, charlatan, chevalier, chevron, chicane, capuchin, cartouch, machine, machinist, chancre, marchioness.
353. Ch in words from the learned languages, are generally pronounced like k, as chalcography, chalybeate, chamaeleon, chamomile, chaos, character, chart, chasm, chely, chemist, (if derived from the Arabic, and chymist, if from the Greek) chersonese, chimera, chirography, chiromancy, chlorosis, choler, chorus, chord, chorography, chyle and its compounds; anchor, anchoret, cachexy, catechism, catechise, catechetical, catechumen, echo, echinus, epoch, epocha, ichor, machination, machinal, mechanic, mechanical, orchestra, orchestre, technical, anarch, anarchy, conch, cochleary, distich, hemistich, monostich, eunuch, monarch, monarchical, hierarch, heresiarch, pentateuch, stomach, stomachic, scheme, school, scholar, schesis, mastich, seneschal, and in all words where it is followed by r, as Christ, Christian, chronology, chronicle, etc. To these may be added the Celtic word loch (a lake). The exceptions are, charity, archer, and archery.
354. When arch, signifying chief, begins a word from the Greek language, and is followed by a vowel, it is always pronounced ark, as in archangel, archipelago, architect, archives, archetype, archaism, archiepiscopal, archidiaconal, architrave, archaiology. But when we prefix arch to a word of our own, and this word begins with a consonant, we pronounce it so as to rhyme with march, as archduke, archdeacon, archbishop; and sometimes, when the following word begins with a vowel, if it is a composition of our own, and the word does not come to us compounded from the the Greek or Latin, as arch-enemy.
355. The word ache, (a pain) pronounced ake, comes from the Greek, and was by Shakespeare extended to two syllables, aches with ch, as in watches; but this is obsolete. It is now almost universally written ake and akes, except where it is compounded with another word, as head-ach, heart-ach, etc. and by thus absurdly retaining the ch in the compound, we are puzzled how to form the plural, without pronouncing aches in two syllables.
356. In choir and chorister, the ch is almost universally pronounced like qu: (300) in ostrich, like dge, as if spelled ostridge. It is silent in schedule, schism, and yacht; pronounced seddule, sizm, and yot. It is sunk in drachm, but heard in drachma; pronounced dram and drackma.
357. When c comes after the accent, either primary or secondary, and is followed by ea, ia, io, or eous, it takes the sound of sh: thus ocean, social, Phocion, saponaceous, are pronounced as if written oshean, soshial, Phoshian, saponasheous, fasciation, negociation, etc. (196) Financier has the accent after the c, which on that account does not go into sh.
D.
358. In order to have a just idea of the alterations of sound this letter undergoes, it will be necessary to consider its near relation to T. (41) These consonants, like p, and b, f, and v, k, and hard g, and s, and z, are letters of the same organ; they differ by the nicest shades of sound, and are easily convertible into each other; t, p, f, k, and s, may, for the sake of distinction, be called sharp, and d, b, v, g, and z, may be called flat. For this reason, when a singular ends in a sharp consonant, the s, which forms the plural, preserves its sharp sound, as in cuffs, packs, lips, hats, deaths; and when the singular ends with a flat consonant, the plural s, has the sound of z, as drabs, bags, beads, lives, etc. are pronounced drabz, bagz, etc.
359. In the same manner, when a verb ends with a sharp consonant, the d, in the termination ed, assumed by the preterit and participle, becomes sharp, and is sounded like t; thus stuffed, tripped, cracked, passed, vouched, faced, (where the e is suppressed, as it always ought to be, except when we are pronouncing the language of Scripture) (104) change the d into t, as if written stuft, tript, crackt, past, voucht, faste. So when the verb ends in a flat consonant, the d preserves its true flat sound, as drubbed, pegged, lived, buzzed, where the e is suppressed, and the words pronounced in one syllable, as if written drubb'd, pegg'd, liv'd, buzz'd. It may be observed too, that when the verb ends in a liquid, or a liquid and mute e, the participle d always preserves its pure sound; as blamed, joined, filled, barred, pronounced blam'd, join'd, fill'd, barr'd. This contraction of the participial ed, and the verbal en, (103) is so fixed an idiom of our pronunciation, that to alter it, would be to alter the sound of the whole language. It must, however, be regretted, that it subjects our tongue to some of the most hissing, snapping, clashing, grinding sounds, that ever grated the ears of a Vandal: thus rasped, scratched, wrenched, bridled, fangled, birchen, hardened, strengthened, quickened, etc. almost frighten us when written as they are actually pronounced, as raspt, scracht, wrencht, bridl'd, fangl'd, birch'n, strength'n'd, quick'n'd, etc. they become still more formidable when used contractedly in the solemn style, which never ought to be the case; for here, instead of thou strength'n'st or strength'n'd'st, thou quick'n'st or quick'n'd'st, we ought to pronounce, thou strength'nest or strength'nedst, thou quick'nest or quick'nedst, which are sufficiently harsh of all conscience. (See No. 405) But to compensate for these Gothic sounds, which, however, are not without their use, our language is full of the smoothest and most sonorous terminations of the Greeks and Romans.
360. By the foregoing rule of contraction, arising from the very nature of the letters, we see the absurdity of sub​stituting the t for ed, when the verb ends in a sharp consonant; for, when the pronunciation cannot be mistaken, it is folly to alter the orthography: thus the Distressed Mother, the title of a tragedy, needs not to be written Distrest Mother, as we generally find it, because, though we write it in the former manner, it must necessarily be pronounced in the latter.
361. By this rule, too, we may see the impropriety of writing blest for blessed, when a participle.
"Blest in thy genius, in thy love too blest."—Pope.
But when the word blessed is an adjective, it ought always to be pronounced, even in the most familiar conversation, in two syllables, as this is a blessed day, the blessed thistle, etc.
362. This word, with learned, cursed, and winged, are the only participial adjectives which are constantly pronounced in in two syllables, where the participles are pronounced in one: thus a learned man, a cursed thing, a winged horse, preserve the ed in a distinct syllable; while the same words, when verbs, as he learned to write, he cursed the day, they winged their flight, are heard in one syllable, as if written learnd, curst, and wingd; the d in cursed changing to t, from its following the sharp consonant s. (358)
363. Poetry, however, (which has been one great cause of improper orthography) assumes the privilege of using these words, when adjectives, either as monosyllables or dissyllables; but correct prose rigidly exacts the pronunciation of ed in these words, when adjectives, as a distinct syllable. The ed in aged and winged, always make a distinct syllable, as an aged man; the winged courser: but when this word is compounded with another, the ed does not form a syllable, as a full-ag'd horse, a sheath-wing'd fowl.
364. It is, perhaps, worthy of notice, that when adjectives are changed into adverbs by the addition of the termination ly, we often find the participial termination ed, preserved long and distinct, even in those very words where it was contracted when used adjectively: thns though we always hear confess'd, profess'd, design'd, etc. we as constantly hear con-fess-ed-ly, pro_fess-ed-ly, de-sign-ed-ly, etc. The same may be observed of the following list of words, which, by the assistance of the Rhyming Dictionary, I am enabled to give, as, perhaps, the only words in the language in which the ed is pronounced as a distinct syllable in the adverb, where it is contracted in the participial adjective: Forcedly, enforcedly, unveiledly, deformedly , feignedly, unfeignedly, discernedly, resignedly, refinedly, restrainedly, concernedly, unconcernedly, discernedly, undiscernedly, preparedly, assuredly, advisedly, dispersedly, diffusedly, confusedly, unperceivedly, resolvedly, deservedly, undeservedly, reservedly, unreservedly, avowedly, perplexedly, fixedly, amazedly.
365. To this catalogue may be added several abstract substantive formed from participles in ed: which ed makes a distinct syllable in the former, though not in the latter: thus numbedness, blearedness, preparedness, assuredness, diseasedness, advisedness, reposedness, composedness, indisposedness, diffusedness, confusedness, distressedness, resolvedness, reservedness, perplexedness, fixedness, amazedness, have ed pronounced distinctly.
366. The adjectives naked, wicked, picked, (pointed) hooked, crooked, forked, tusked, tressed, and wretched, are not derived from verbs, and are therefore pronounced in two syllables. The same may be observed of scabbed, crabbed, chubbed, stubbed, shagged, snagged, ragged, scrubbed, dogged, rugged, scragged, hawked, jagged; to which we may add, the solemn pronunciation of stiffnecked; and these, when formed into nouns by the addition of ness, preserve the ed in a distinct syllable, as wickedness, scabbedness, raggedness, etc.
367. Passed, in the sense of beyond, becomes a preposition, and may allowably be written past, as past twelve o'clock; but when an adjective, though it is pronounced in one syllable, it ought to be written with two, as passed pleasures are present pain: this I know is contrary to usage; but usage is, in this case, contrary to good sense, and the settled analogy of the language.
368. It needs scarcely be observed, that when the verb ends in t or d, the ed in the past time and participle has the d pronounced with its own sound, and always forms an additional syllable, as landed, matted, etc, otherwise the final d could not be pronounced at all.
369. And here, perhaps, it may not be useless to take notice of the very imperfect and confused idea that is given in Lowth's grammar, of what are called contracted verbs, such as snatcht, checkt, snapt, mixt, dwelt, and past, for snatched, checked, snapped, mixed, dwelled, and passed. To these are added, those that end in l, m, and n, or p, after a diphthong; which either shorten the diphthong, or change it into a single vowel; and instead of ed, take t only for the preterit, as dealt, dreamt, meant, felt, slept, crept; and these are said to be considered not as irregular, but contracted only. Now nothing can be clearer than that verbs of a very different kind are here huddled together as of the same. Snatched, checked, snapped, mixed, and passed, are not irregular at all ; if they are ever written snatcht, checkt, snapt, mixt, and past, it is from pure ignorance of analogy, and not considering that if they were written with ed, unless we were to pronounce it as a distinct syllable, contrary to the most settled usage of the language, the pronunciation, from the very nature of the letters, must be same. It is very different with dwelled; here, as a liquid, and not a sharp mute, ends the verb, d might be pronounced without going into t, just as well as in fell'd, the participle of to fell (to cut down trees). Here then, we find custom has determined an irregularity, which cannot be altered, without violence to the language; dwell ​may be truly called an irregular verb, and dwelt the preterit and participle.
370. The same may be observed of deal, dream, mean, feel, weep, sleep, and creep. It is certain we can pronounce d after the four first of these words, as well as in sealed, screamed, cleaned, and reeled; but custom has not only annexed t to the preterit of these verbs, but has changed the long diphthongal sound into a short one; they are therefore doubly irregular. Weep, sleep, and creep, would not have required t to form their preterits, any more than peeped and steeped; but custom, which has shortened the diphthong in the former words, very naturally annexed t as the simplest method of conveying the sound.
371. The only two words which occasion some doubt about classing them are, to learn, and to spell. The vulgar (who are no contemptible guides on this occasion) pronounce them in the preterit learnt and spelt: but as n and l will readily admit of d after them, it seems more correct to favour a tendency to regularity, both in writing and speaking, which the literary world has given into, by spelling them learned and spelled, and pronouncing them learn'd and spell'd: thus earned, the preterit of to earn, has been recovered from the vulgar earnt, and made a perfect rhyme to discerned.
372. To these observations may be added, that, in such irregular verbs as have the present, the preterit and participle the same, as cast, cost, cut, etc. the second person singular of the preterit of these verbs takes ed before the est, as I cast, or did cast; Thou castedst, or didst cast, etc. for if this were not the case, the second person of the preterit might be mistaken for the second person of the present tense.
373. I have been led insensibly to these observations by their connexion with pronunciation; and if the reader should think them too remote from the subject, I must beg his pardon, and resume my remarks on the sound of the letter d.
374. The vulgar drop this letter in ordinary, and extraordinary, and make them or'nary and extr'or'nary; but this is a gross abbreviation; the best pronunciation is sufficiently short, which is ord'nary and extrord'nary; the first in three, and the last in four syllables: but solemn speaking preserves the i, and makes the latter word consist of five syllables, as if written extr'ordinary.
375. Our ancestors, feeling the necessity of showing the quantity of a vowel followed by ge, when it was to be short, inserted d, as wedge, ridge, badge, etc. The same reason induced them to write colledge and alledge, with the d; but modern reformers, to the great injury of the language, have expelled the d, and left the vowel to shift for itself; because there is no d in the Latin words from which these are derived.
376. D like t, to which it is so nearly related, when it comes after the accent, either primary or secondary, (522) and is followed by the diphthong ie, io, ia, or eou, slides into gzh, or the consonant j; thus soldier is universally and justly pronounced as if written sol-jer; grandeur, gran-jeur; and verdure, (where it must be remembered that u is a diphthong) ver-jure; and, for the same reason, education is elegantly pronounced ed-jucation. But duke and reduce, pronounced juke and rejuce, where the accent is after the d, cannot be too much reprobated.
F.
377. F has its pure sound in often, off, etc. but in the preposition of, slides into its near relation v, as if written ov. But when this preposition is in composition at the end of a word, the f becomes pure; thus, though we sound of, singly, ov, we pronounce it as if the f were double in whereof.
378. There is a strong tendency to change the f into v, in some words, which confounds the plural number and the genitive case: thus we often hear of a wive's jointure, a calve's head, and houze rent, for wife's jointure, a calf's head, and house rent.
G.
379. G, like C, has two sounds, a hard and a soft one: it is hard before a, o, u, l, and r, as game, gone, gull, glory, grandeur. Gaol is the only exception; now more commonly written jail. (212)
380. G, before e and i, is sometimes hard and sometimes soft: it is generally soft before words of Greek, Latin, or French original, and hard before words from the Saxon. These latter, forming by far the smaller number, may be considered as exceptions.
381. G is hard before e, in gear, geck, geese, geld, gelt, gelding, get, gewgaw, shagged, snagged, ragged, cragged, scragged, dogged, rugged, dagger, swagger, stagger, trigger, dogger, pettyfagger, tiger, auger, eager, meager, anger, finger, linger, conger, longer, stronger, younger, longest, strongest, youngest. The last six of these words are generally pronounced in Ireland, so as to let the g remain in its nasal sound, without articulating the succeeding vowel, thus longer, (more long) is so pronounced as to sound exactly like the noun a long-er; (one who longs or wishes for a thing) the same may be observed of the rest. That the pronunciation of Ireland is analogical, appears from the same pronunciation of g in string-y, spring-y, full of strings and springs; and wronger and wrongest, for more and most wrong. But though resting the g in the nasal sound, without articulating the succeeding vowel, is absolutely necessary in verbal nouns derived from verbs ending in ing, as singer, bringer, slinger, etc. pronounced sing-er, bring-er, sling-er, etc. and not sing-ger, bring-ger, sling-ger, etc. yet in longer, stronger, and younger; longest, strongest, and youngest, the g ought always to articulate the e: thus ​younger ought always to rhyme with the termination monger, which has always the g hard, and articulating the vowel; and this pronunciation is approved by Mr. Nares. Forget, target, and together, fall into this class. See No. 409.
382. G is hard before i, in gibbe, gibcat, gibber, gibberish, gibbous, giddy, gift, gig, giggle, giglet, (properly gigglet) gild, gill, (of a fish) gimlet, gimp, gird, girdle, girl, girth, gizzard, begin, give, forgive, biggin, piggin, noggin: also derivatives from nouns or verbs ending in hard g, as druggist, waggish, riggish, hoggish, doggish, sluggish, rigging, digging, etc.
383. G before y is generally soft, as in elegy, apology, etc. and almost in all words from the learned languages; but hard in words from the Saxon, which are formed from nouns or verbs ending in g hard, as shaggy, jaggy, knaggy, snaggy, craggy, scraggy, quaggy, swaggy, dreggy, spriggy, twiggy, boggy, foggy, cloggy, buggy, muggy. Gyve, from its Celtic original, ought to have the g hard, but has decidedly adopted the soft g.
GN in the same Syllable at the beginning of a Word.
384. The g in this situation is always silent, as gnaw, gnash, gnat, gnarl, gnomon, gnomonics; pronounced naw, nash, nat, narl, nomon, nomonics.
GN in the same Syllable at the end of a Word.
385. No combination of letters has more puzzled the critics than this. Two actresses of distinguished merit, in Portia, in the Merchant of Venice, pronounced the word impugn differently, and each found her advocate in the newspapers. One critic affirmed, that Miss Young, by preserving the sound of g, pronounced the word properly; and the other contended, that Mrs. Yates was more judicious in leaving it out. The former was charged with harshness; the latter, with mutilating the word, and weakening its sound; but if analogy may decide, it is clearly in favour of the latter; for there is no axiom in our pronunciation more indisputable than that which makes g silent before n in the same syllable. This is constantly the case in sign, and all its compounds, as resign, design, consign, assign ; and in indign, condign, malign, benign; all pronounced as if written sine, rezine, etc. In which words we find the vowel i long and open, to compensate, as it were, for the suppression of g, as every other word ending in gn, when the accent is on the syllable, has a diphthong pronounced like a long open vowel, as arraign, campaign, feign, reign, deign; and consequently, unless the vowel u can produce some special privilege which the other vowels have not, we must, if we pronounce according to analogy, make the u in this situation long, and sound impugn as if written impune.
386. The same analogy will oblige us to pronounce impregn, oppugn, expugn, propugn, as if written imprene, oppune, expune, propune, not ouly when these verbs are in the infinitive mood, but in the preterits, participles, and verbal nouns formed from them, as impugned, impugning, and impugner, must be pronounced impuned, impuning, and impuner. The same may be observed of the rest. Perhaps it will gratify a curious observer of pronunciation to see the diversity and uncertainty of our orthöepists in their notation of the words before us:
| impūne. | Sheridan, Scott, Nares, Murray. Barclay says the g in this word and its derivatives is mute, but takes no notice of the quantity of the u. |
| impŭn. | Buchanan, Kenrick, Perry. |
| impŭng. | W. Johnston. |
| oppūne. | Sheridan, Scott, Nares, Murray. |
| oppŭn. | Kenrick, Perry, Barclay. |
| oppŭng. | W. Johnston. |
| propūne. | Sheridan, Scott, Perry, Nares. |
| propŭng. | Barclay. |
| imprēne. | Nares, Murray. |
| imprĕn. | Sheridan, Kenrick, Perry. Barclay says the g is mute, but says nothing of the quantity of the e. |
| expūne. | Sheridan, Scott, Nares. |
| expŭn. | Perry, Barclay. |
| impūner. | Sheridan. |
| impūned. | Murray. |
| impŭnner. | Perry, Barclay. |
| oppŭgner. | Sheridan. |
| propŭgner. | Sheridan. |
| propūner. | Scott. |
| propŭnner. | Perry. |
Nothing is clearer than that all these words ought to follow the same fortune, and should be pronounced alike. How then shall be reconciled Mr. Sheridan's pronouncing impugn, oppugn, expugn, and propugn, with the u long, and impregn with the e short? Kenrick, who has not the word propugn, is consistent in pronouncing the rest with the vowel short. The same may be observed of Scott, who adopts the long sound, but has not the word impregn. Mr. Perry gives the short sound to all but propugn, where he makes the u long, but absurdly makes the verbal noun propunner; and W. Johnston, who has only impugn and oppugn, pronounces the vowel short, and spells them impung and oppung. Barclay, under the word impung, says the g in this word and its derivatives is mute, without noticing the quantity of the vowels, but spells oppugn, oppun; and of impregn, only says the g is mute; but writes propugn, propung, in the manner that W. Johnston does impugn and oppugn: but Mr. Nares observes, that analogy seems to require a similar pronunciation in all these words, and that the vowel should be long. The same inconsistency is observable in Mr. Sheridan's pronunciation of the verbal nouns; for he expunges the g in impugner, and writes it impuner, but preserves it in oppugner and propugner. Mr. ​Scott has only the word propugner, which he very properly as well as consistently, spells propuner. Mr. Perry has propunner and impunner, and Barclay impunner only.—The inconsistency here remarked arises from not attending to the analogy of pronunciation, which requires every verbal noun to be pronounced exactly like the verb, with the mere addition of the termination: thus singer is only adding er to the verb sing, without suffering the g to articulate the e as it does in finger and linger, etc. The same may be observed of a signer, one who signs: and as a corroboration of this doctrine, we may take notice that the additional er and est, in the comparatives and superlatives of adjectives, make no alteration in the sound of the radical word; this is obvious in the words benigner, benignest, etc. except younger, longer, and stronger. See No. 381.
387. But in every other compound where these letters occur, the n articulates the latter syllable, and g is heard distinctly in the former, as sig-nify, malig-nity, assig-nation, etc. Some affected speakers, either ignorant of the rules for pronouncing English, or over-complaisant to the French, pronounce physiognomy, cognizance, and recognizance, without the g; but this is a gross violation of the first principles of spelling. The only words to keep these speakers in countenance are, poignant and champignon, not long ago imported from France, and pronounced poiniant, champinion. The first of these words will probably be hereafter written without the g; while the latter, confined to the kitchen, may be looked upon as technical, and allowed an exclusive privilege. See Cognizance.
388. Bagnio, seignior, seraglio, intaglio, and oglio, pronounced ban-yo, seen-yar, seral-yo, intal-yo, and ole-yo, may be considered as foreign coxcombs, and treated with civility, by omitting the g, while they do not pervert the pronunciation of our native English words.
GM in the same Syllable.
389. What has been said of gn is applicable to gm. We have but one word in the language where these letters end a word with the accent on it, and that is phlegm; in this the g is always mute, and the e, according to analogy, ought to be pronounced long, as if the word were written fleme; but a short pronunciation of the e has generally obtained, and we commonly hear it flem: it is highly probable Pope pronounced it properly, where he says,
"Our Critics take a contrary extreme; They judge with fury, but they write with phlegm."
Essay on Criticism.
Perhaps it would not be difficult to reduce this word to analogy, as some speakers still pronounce the e long: but in the compounds of this word, as in those where gn occur, the vowel is shortened, and the g pronounced as in phleg-mon, phleg-monous, phleg-matic, and phleg-magogues; though Mr. Sheridan, for no reason I can conceive, sinks the g in the last word. When these letters end a syllable not under the accent, the g is silent, but the preceding vowel is shortened: thus paradigm, parapegm, diaphragm, apophthegm, are pronounced paradim, parapem, diaphram, apothem.
GH.
390. This combination, at the beginning of a word, drops the h, as in ghost, ghastly, aghast, gherkin, pronounced gost, rhyming with most; ghastly, agast, guerkin: but when these letters come at the end of a word, they form some of the greatest anomalies in our language; gh, at the end of words, is generally silent, and consequently the preceding vowel or diphthong is long, as high, nigh, thigh, neigh, weigh, inveigh, eugh, (the obsolete way of spelling yew, a tree) bough, dough, though, although, clough, (a cliff) plough, furlough, slough, (a miry place) through, throughout, thorough, borough, usquebaugh, pugh!
391. Gh is frequently pronounced like f, as laugh, laughter, cough, chough, clough, (an allowance in weight) slough, (the cast skin of a snake or sore) enough, rough, tough, trough.
392. Gh is sometimes changed into ck, as hough, shough, lough, pronounced hock, shock, lock; sometimes we hear only the g sounded, as in burgh, burgher, and burghership.
GHT.
393. Gh, in this termination, is always silent, as fight, night, bought, fought, etc. The only exception is draught; which, in poetry, is most frequently rhymed with caught, taught, etc. but, in prose, is so universally pronounced as if written draft, that the poetical sound of it grows uncouth, and is becoming obsolete. Draughts, the game, is also pronounced drafts. Drought (dryness) is vulgarly pronounced drowth: it is even written so by Milton; but in this he is not to be imitated, having mistaken the analogy of this word, as well as that of height, which he spells heighth, and which is frequently so pronounced by the vulgar. See the words Height and Drought.
H.
394. This letter is no more than breathing forcibly before the succeeding vowel is pronounced. At the beginning of words, it is always sounded, except in heir, heiress, honest, honesty, honour, honourable, herb, herbage, hospital, hostler, hour, humble, humour, humourous, humoursome. Ben Jonson leaves out the h in host, and classes it in this respect with honest.
395. H is always silent after r, as rhetoric, rhapsody, rheum, rheumatism, rhinoceros, rhomb, rhubarb, myrrh, catarrh, and their compounds.
396. H final, preceded by a vowel, is always silent, as ah! hah! oh! foh! sirrah, hallelujah, Messiah.
397. This letter is often sunk after w, particularly in ​the Capital, where we do not find the least distinction of sound between while and wile, whet and wet, where and wear. Trifling as this difference may appear at first sight, it tends greatly to weaken and impoverish the pronunciation, as well as sometimes to confound words of a very different meaning. The Saxons, as Dr. Lowth observes, placed the h before the w, as hwat; and this is certainly its true place: for, in the pronunciation of all words beginning with wh, we ought to breathe forcibly before we pronounce the w, as if the words were written hoo-at, hoo-ile, etc. and then we shall avoid that feeble, cockney pronunciation, which is so disagreeable to a correct ear.
J.
398. J is pronounced exactly like soft g, and is perfectly uniform in its sound, except in the word hallelujah, where it is pronounced like y.
K.
399. K has exactly the sound of hard c: it is always silent before n in the same syllable, as knee, kneel, knack, knight, know, knuckle, knab, knag, knap, knare, knave, knit, knock, knot, knoll.
400. It has been a custom within these twenty years to omit the k at the end of words when preceded by c. This has introduced a novelty into the language, which is that of ending a word with an unusual letter, and is not only a blemish in the face of it, but may possibly produce some irregularity in future formatives; for mimicking must be written with the k, though to mimic is without it. If we use colic as a verb, which is not uncommon, we must write colicking and colicked; and though physicking and physicked are not the most elegant words, they are not quite out of the line of formation. This omission of k is, however, too general to be counteracted, even by the authority of Johnson: but it is to be hoped it will be confined to words from the learned languages: and indeed, as there is not the same vanity of appearing learned in the Saxon, as in the Latin and Greek, there is no great fear that thick and slick will lose their k, though they never had it in the original.
L.
401. Ben Jonson says L melteth in the sounding, and is therefore called a liquid. This, however, cannot be the reason that r is called a liquid; for no two letters can, in this respect, be more opposite. See No. 21.
L is mute in almond, calf, half, calve, halve, chaldron, falcon, folk, yolk, (better written yelk with the l sounded) fusil, halser, malmsey, salmon, salve, talbot (a species of dog). See Salve.
402. L is mute also between a and k in the same syllable, as balk, chalk, talk, stalk, walk.
403. L is silent likewise between a and m in the same syllable, as alms, balm, calm, palm, psalm, qualm, shalm; but when the m is detached from the l by commencing mother syllable, the l becomes audible. Thus, though the l is mute in psalm, it is always heard in psal-mist, psal-mody, and pal-mistry; but in balmy and palmy, where the y is an adjective termination of our own, no alteration is made in the sound of the substantive which sinks the l. (386) Calmer and calmest ought to have the l mute, as they are only degrees of comparison; and palmer and palmerworm (except in the language of scripture, where the l in palmerworm ought to be heard) are only a sort of verbal nouns, which never alter the sound of the original word, and therefore ought to have the l mute. But though l is sometimes mute in the noun salve, and in the verb to salve, it is always heard in salver (a kind of plate). See Salve.
404. L ought always to be suppressed in the auxiliary verbs would, could, should: it is sometimes suppressed in fault; but this suppression is become vulgar, (see the word). In soldier, likewise, the l is sometimes suppressed, and the word pronounced so-jer; but this is far from being the most correct pronunciation: l ought always to be heard in this word, and its compounds soldierly, soldiership, etc.
405. L, preceded by a mute, and followed by e, in a final syllable, has an imperfect sound, which does not do much honour to our language. The l, in this situation, is neither sounded like el nor le, but the e final is suppressed, and the preceding mute articulates the l, without either a preceding or a succeeding vowel; so that this sound may be called a monster in Grammar—a syllable without a vowel! This will easily be perceived in the words able, table, circle, etc. which are pronounced as if written abl, tabl, circl, etc. and in those still more Gothick and uncouth abbreviated participial terminations, peopled, bridled, saddled, trifles, gaffles, etc. pronounced pee-pl'd, bri-dl'd, sad-dl'd, tri-flz, gaf-flz, etc. (359) (472)
406. This letter has not only, like f and s, the privilege of doubling itself at the end of a word, but it has an exclusive privilege of being double where they remain single; though by what right cannot well be conceived. Thus, according to the general rule, when a verb ends in a single consonant, preceded by a single vowel, and the accent is on the last syllable, the consonant is doubled when a participial termination is added, as abet, abetting, beg, begging, begin, beginning, etc. but when the accent is not on the last syllable of the verb, the consonant remains single, as suffered, suffering, benefiting, etc. but the l is doubled, whether the accent be on the last syllable or not, as duelling, levelling, victualling, travelling, traveller, etc. This gross irregularity, however, would not have been taken notice of in this place, if it had not suggested an absurdity in pronunciation, occasioned by the omission of l. Though the latter l is useless in traveller, victualler, etc. it is not so in ​controller: for as ll is a mark of the deep broad sound of a in ball, tall, all, etc. (84) so the same letters are the sign of the long open sound of o in boll, (a round stalk of a plant) to joll, noll, (the head) knoll, (a little hill) poll, clodpoll, roll, scroll, droll, troll, stroll, toll: for which reason, leaving out one l in bethral, catcal, miscal, overfal, forestal, reinstal, downfal, withal, control, and unrol, as we find them in Johnson's Dictionary, is an omission of the utmost importance to the sound of the words; for as the prounciation sometimes alters the spelling, so the spelling sometimes alters the pronunciation. Accordingly we find some speakers, chiefly the natives of Ireland, inclined to give the a its middle sound, to words commencing with al, followed by another consonant, because they do not see the ll in the all with which these words are compounded: thus we sometimes hear Almighty, albeit, so pronounced as to make their first syllable rhyme with the first of al-ley, val-ley; and extol is pronounced by the Scotch so as to rhyme with coal; and with just as much reason as we pronounce control in the same manner. For though compounds may, in some cases, be allowed to drop such letters of their simples, as either are not necessary to the sound, as in Christmas; or might possibly lead to a wrong one, as in Reconcileable; (which see) yet where, by omitting a letter, the sound may be altered, the omission is pernicious and absurd. (84) The same observations might be extended to the numerous termination full, where, in compounds, one l is omitted, though nothing can be more certain, than that ful, with a single l, has not the same sound as when this letter is doubled; for who could suppose, without being used to the absurdity, that fulfil should stand for fulfill: but this abbreviation is too inveterate and extensive to afford any hope, that the great arbiters of orthography, the printers, will ever submit to the additional trouble of putting another l.
M.
407. M preserves its sound in every word, except comptroller; compt and accompt are now universally written as they are pronounced, count and account; and though m and p are preserved to the eye in the officer called a comptroller, the word is pronounced exactly like the noun controller, one who controls.
N.
408. N has two sounds; the one simple and pure, as in man, net, etc. the other compounded and mixed, as in hang, thank, etc. The latter sound is heard when it is followed by the sharp or flat guttural mutes, g hard, or k; or its representatives, c hard, qu or x: but it may be observed, that so prone is our language to the flat mutes, that when n is followed by k, or its representatives, the flat mute g seems interposed between them: thus thank, banquet, anxious, are pronounced as if written, not than-k, ban-quet, an-xious, but thangk, bangkquet, angkshus. But this coalition of the sound of n and g, or hard c, is only when the accent is on them; for when the g or hard c articulates the accented syllable, the n becomes pure: thus, though congress and congregate, are pronounced as if written cong-gress and cong-gregate, yet the first syllable of congratulate and congressive, ought to be pronounced without the ringing sound of n, and exactly like the same syllable in contrary. The same difference may be observed in the words concourse and concur; the first word, which has the accent on the first syllable, is pronounced as if written cong-course; and the last, which lias the accent on the second syllable, with n pure. It must, however, be carefully observed, that the secondary accent has the same power of melting the n into the succeeding hard g or c, as the primary: (522) thus congregation and concremation have the first syllable pronounced as if written cong.
409. It may, perhaps, be worthy of notice, that when n is followed by k, the k has a finished or complete sound, as in link, think, etc. but when n is followed by hard g, the g has an unfinished or imperfect sound, as in hang, bang, etc. where we may observe the tongue to rest upon the palate in the sound of g; but when this letter is carried off to articulate another syllable, its sound is completed, as in anger and Bangor, (the name of a town) where the sound of g may be perceived to be very different from the noun hanger, (a sword) and banger (one who beats or bangs.) This perfect sound of g is heard in all simples, as anger, angle, finger, linger, conger, anguish, languish, distinguish, extinguish, unguent: but in words derived from verbs or adjectives, ending in ng, the g continues imperfect, as it was in the theme. Thus a singer, (one who sings) does not finish the g like finger, but is merely er added to sing: the same may be observed of sing-ing, bring-ing, and hang-ing. So adjectives, formed by the addition of y, have the imperfect sound of g, as in the original word: thus springy, stringy, dungy, and wingy, are only the sound of e added to spring, string, dung, and wing; but the comparative and superlative adjectives, longer, stronger, and younger; longest, strongest, and youngest, have the g hard and perfectly sounded, as if written long-ger, strong-ger, young-ger, etc, where the g is hard, as in finger, linger, etc. And it may be looked upon as a general rule, that nouns, adjectives, or verbs, do not alter their original sound upon taking an additional syllable. In these three words, therefore, the Irish pronounce more agreeably to analogy than the English; for, if I mistake not, they do not articulate the g. (381)
​410. Hitherto we have considered these letters as they are heard under the accent; but when they are unaccented in the participial termination ing, they are frequently a cause of embarrassment to speakers who desire to pronounce correctly. We are told, even by teachers of English, that ing, in the words singing, bringing, and swinging, must be pronounced with the ringing sound, which is heard when the accent is on these letters, in king, sing, and wing, and not as if written without the g, as singin, bringin, swingin. No one can be a greater advocate than I am for the strictest adherence to orthography, as long as the public pronunciation pays the least attention to it; but when I find letters given up by the Public, with respect to sound, I then consider them as cyphers; and, if my observation does not greatly fail me, I can assert, that our best speakers do not invariably pronounce the participial ing, so as to rhyme with sing, king, and ring. Indeed, a very obvious exception seems to offer itself in those verbs that end in these letters, as a repetition of the ringing sound in successive syllables would produce a Tautophony, (see the word) and have a very bad effect on the ear; and therefore, instead of singing, bringing, and flinging, our best speakers are heard to pronounce sing-in, bring-in, and fling-in; and for the very same reason that we exclude the ringing sound in these words, we ought to admit it when the verb ends with in; for if, instead of sinning, pinning, and beginning, we should pronounce sin-nin, pin-nin, and begin-nin, we should fall into the same disgusting repetition as in the former case. The participial ing, therefore, ought always to have its ringing sound, except in those words formed from verbs in this termination; for writing, reading, and speaking, are certainly preferable to writin, readin, and speakin, wherever the pronunciation has the least degree of precision or solemnity.
411. N is mute when it ends a syllable, and is preceded by l or m, as kiln, hymn, limn, solemn, column, autumn, condemn, contemn. In hym-ning, and lim-ning, the n is generally pronounced, and sometimes, in very solemn speaking, in condem-ning and contem-ning; but, in both cases, contrary to analogy, which forbids any sound in the participle that was not in the verb. (381)
P.
412. This letter is mute before s and t at the beginning of words, psalm, psalmist, psalmody, psalmography, psalter, psaltry; the prefix pseudo, signifying false, as pseudography, pseudology, and the interjection pshaw! To these we may add ptisan, ptyalism, ptysmagogue. It is mute in the middle of words between m and t, in empty, sempstress, peremptory, sumptuous, presumptuous, redemption, exemption, and raspberry. In cupboard it coalesces with and falls into its flat sound b, as if written cubboard. It is mute in a final syllable between the same letters, as tempt, attempt, contempt, exempt, prompt, accompt. In receipt it is mute between i and t, and in the military corps (a body of troops) both p and s are mute, as custom has acquiesced in the French pronunciation of most military terms.
PH.
413. Ph is generally pronounced like f, as in philosophy, phantom, etc. In nephew and Stephen it has the sound of v. In diphthong and triphthong the sound of p only is heard; and the h is mute likewise in naphtha, ophtbalmick, etc. In apophthegm both letters are dropped. The same may be observed of phthisis, phthisic, and phthisical. In sapphire the first p slides into ph, by an accentual coalition of similar letters, very agreeable to analogy. See Exaggerate.
Q.
414. Q has always the sound of k: it is constantly followed by u, pronounced like w: and its general sound is heard in quack, quill, queen, etc. pronounced kwack, kwill, kween, etc. That the u subjoined to this letter has really the power of w, may be observed in the generality of words where a succeeds; for we find the vowel go into the broad sound in quart, quarrel, quantity, etc. as much as in war, warrant, want, etc. (85) But it must be carefully noted, that this broad sound is only heard under the accent; when the a preceded by qu, is not accented, it has the sound of every other accented a in the language. (92) Thus the a in quarter, quarrel, quadrant, etc. because it has the accent, is broad: the same may be observed when the accent is secondary only, (522) (527) as in quadragesimal, quadrisyllable, etc. but when the accent is on the succeeding syllable, as in qua-dratick, qua-drangular, etc. the a goes into the obscure sound approaching to the Italian a. (92)
415. As a great number of words, derived from the French, have these letters in them, according to our usual complaisance for that language, we adopt the French pronunciation: thus in coquet, doquet, etiquette, masquerade, harlequin, oblique, antique, opaque, pique, piquant, piquet, burlesque, grotesque, casque, mosque, quadrille, quatercousin, the qu is pronounced like k. Quoif and quoit ought to be written and pronounced coif, coit. Paquet, laquey, chequer, and risque, have been very properly spelled by Johnson as they are pronounced packet, lackey, checker, and risk. Quoth ought to be pronounced with the u, as if written kwuth, and therefore is not irregular. Liquor and harlequin always lose the u, and conquer, conquerable, and conqueror, sometimes, particularly on the Stage. This deviation, however, seems not to have gone beyond recovery; and conquest is still regularly pronounced conkwest. Quote and quotation are perfectly regular, and ought never to be pronounced as some do, cote and cotation. Cirque, contracted from circus, and cinque, cinquefoil, cinque-ports, cinque-spotted, are pronounced sirk and sink; and critique, when we mean a ​criticism, to distinguish it from critick, is pronounced criteek, rhyming with speak. See Quoit and Quotation.
R.
416. This letter is never silent, but its sound is sometimes transposed. In a final unaccented syllable, terminating with re the r is pronounced after the e, as acre, lucre, sabre, fibre, ochre, eagre, maugre, sepulchre, theatre, spectre, metre, petre, mitre, nitre, antre, lustre, accoutre, massacre; to which we may add, centre and sceptre; sometimes written center and scepter; but, in my opinion, very improperly, as this peculiarity is fixed, and easily understood; while reducing meagre to meager disturbs the rule, and adds another anomaly to our pronunciation, by making the g hard before e. (98)
417. The same transposition of r is always perceived in the pronunciation of apron and iron; and often in that of citron and saffron, as if written apurn, iurn, citurn, saffurn: nor do I think the two firsts can be pronounced otherwise without a disagreeable stiffness; but the two last may preserve the r before the vowel with great propriety. Children and hundred have slid into this analogy, when used colloquially, but preserve the r before the e in solemn speaking.
418. As this letter is but a jar of the tongue, sometimes against the roof of the mouth, and sometimes at the orifice of the throat, it is the most imperfect of all the consonants; and, as its formation is so indefinite, no wonder, when it is not under the accent, that the vowels which precede it, should be so indefinite in their sounds, as we may perceive in the words friar, lier, elixir, nadir, mayor, martyr, which, with respect to sound, might be written friur, liur, elixur, nadur, mayur, martyr. (98) 'These inaccuracies in pronunciation,' says an ingenious writer, 'we seem to have derived from our Saxon ancestors. Dr. Hicks observes in the first chapter of his Saxon Grammar, that "Comparativa apud eos (Anglo-saxonas) indifferenter exeunt in ar, aer, er, ir, or, ur, yr; et Superlativa in ast, aest, est, ist, ost, ust, yst; participia praesentis temporis in and, aend, end, ind, ond, und, ynd: praeteriti vero in ad, aed, id, od, ud, yd; pro vario scilicet vel aevi vel loci dialecto." Upon various other occasions also they used two or more vowels and diphthongs indifferently; and this not always from difference of age or place, because these variations are frequently found in the same page. This will account for the difference between the spelling and pronunciation of such anomalous words as busy and bury, now pronounced as if written bisy and bery, (the i and e having their common short sound) and formerly spelt indifferently with e, u, or y.' Essay on the Harmony of Language. Robson, 1774.
419. There is a distinction in the sound of this letter, scarcely ever noticed by any of our writers on the subject, which is, in my opinion, of no small importance; and that is, the rough and smooth r. Ben Jonson, in his Grammar, says it is sounded firm in the beginning of words, and more liquid in the middle and ends, as in rarer, riper; and so in the Latin. The rough r is formed by jarring the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth near the fore teeth: the smooth r is a vibration of the lower part of the tongue, near the root, against the inward region of the palate, near the entrance of the throat. This latter r is that which marks the pronunciation of England, and the former that of Ireland. In England, and particularly in London, the r in lard, bard, card, regard, etc. is pronounced so much in the throat as to be little more than the middle or Italian a, lengthened into laad, baad, caad, regaad; while in Ireland the r, in these words, is pronounced with so strong a jar of the tongue against the fore-part of the palate, and accompanied with such an aspiration, or strong breathing, at the beginning of the letter, as to produce that harshness we call the Irish accent. But if this letter is too forcibly pronounced in Ireland, it is often too feebly sounded in England, and particularly in London, where it is sometimes entirely sunk; and it may, perhaps, be worthy of observation, that, provided we avoid a too forcible pronunciation of the r, when it ends a word, or is followed by a consonant in the same syllable, we may give as much force as we please to this letter, at the beginning of a word, without producing any harshness to the ear: thus Rome, river, rage, may have the r as forcible as in Ireland; but bar, bard, card, hard, etc. must have it nearly as in London.
S.
420. As the former letter was a jar, this is a hiss; but a hiss which forms a much more definite and complete consonant than the other. This consonant, like the other mutes, has a sharp and a flat sound; the sharp sound is heard in the name of the letter, and in the words same, sin, this; the flat sound is that of z, heard in is, his, was: and these two sounds, accompanied by the aspirate, or h, form all the varieties found under this letter. (41)
421. S has always its sharp hissing sound at the beginning of words, as soon, sin, etc. and when it immediately follows any of the sharp mutes, f, k, p, t, as scoffs, blocks, hips, pits, or when it is added to the mute e after any of these letters, as strifes, flakes, pipes, mites.
422. S is sharp and hissing at the end of the monosyllables yes, this, us, thus, gas; and at the end of words of two or more syllables, if it be preceded by any of the vowels but e, and forms a distinct syllable: thus es in pipes and mites do not form a distinct syllable; and as they are preceded by a sharp mute, the s is sharp likewise: but in prices these letters form a syllable, and the s is pronounced like z, according to the general rule.
​423. The only exceptions to this rule are, the words as, whereas, has, his, was; for bias, dowlas, Atlas, metropolis, basis, chaos, tripos, pus, chorus, cyprus, etc. have the final s pronounced sharp and hissing.
424. Agreeably to this rule, the numerous terminations in ous, as pious, superfluous, etc. have the s sharp, and are pronounced exactly like the pronoun us; and every double s in the language is pronounced in the same manner, except in the words dissolve, possess, and their compounds; scissors, hussy, and hussar.
425. S in the inseparable preposition dis, when either the primary or secondary accent is on it, (522,) is always pronounced sharp and hissing: the word dismal, which seems to be an exception, is not so in reality; for, in this word dis is not a preposition: thus dissolute, dissonant, etc. with the primary accent on dis; and disability, disagree, etc. with die secondary accent on the same letters, have the s sharp and hissing; but when the accent is on the second syllable, the s is either sharp or flat, as it is followed either by a vowel, or a sharp or flat consonant: thus disable, disaster, disease, disinterested, dishonest, disorder, disuse, have all of them the s in dis flat lik z, because the accent is not on it, and a vowel begins the next syllable; but discredit, disfavour, diskindness, dispense, distate, have the s sharp and hissing, because a sharp consonant begins the succeeding accented syllable; and disband, disdain, disgrace, disjoin, disvalue, have the s flat like z, because they are succeeded by a flat consonant in the same situation. (435)
426. S, in the inseparable preposition mis, is always sharp and hissing, whether the accent be on it or not; or whether it be followed either by a vowel, or a sharp or flat consonant, as miscreant, misaim, misapply, misorder, misuse, misbegot, misdeem, misgovern, etc. See the prefix Miss.
427. S, followed by e in the final syllable of adjectives, is always sharp and hissing, as base, obese, precise, concise, globose, verbose, morbose, pulicose, tenebricose, corticose, jocose, oleose, rugose, desidiose, close, siliculose, calculose, tumulose, animose, venenose, arenose, siliginose, crinose, loose, operose, morose, edematose, comatose, acetose, aquose, siliquose, actuose, diffuse, profuse, occluse, recluse, abstruse, obtuse; except wise and otherguise, and the pronominal adjectives these and those.
428. S, in the adjective termination sive, is always sharp and hiising, as suasive, persuasive, assuasive, dissuasive, adhesive, cohesive, decisive, precisive, incisive, derisive, cicatrisive, visive, plausive, abusive, diffusive, infusive, inclusive, conclusive, exclusive, elusive, delusive, prelusive, allusive, illusive, collusive, amusive, obtrusive, etc.
429. S, in the adjectives ending in sory, is always sharp and hissing, as suasory, persuasory, decisory, derisory, delusory, etc.
430. The same may be observed of s in the adjectives ending in some, as troublesome, etc. and substantives in osity, generosity, etc.
431. Se, preceded by the liquids l, n, or r, has the s sharp and hissing, as pulse, appulse, dense, tense, intense, sense, verse, adverse, etc. except cleanse.
S pronounced like Z.
432. S has always its flat buzzing sound, as it may be called, when it immediately follows any of the flat mutes b, d, g hard, or v, as ribs, heads, rags, sieves. (24)
433. S is pronounced like z, when it forms an additional syllable with e before it, in the plurals of nouns, and the third person singular of verbs; even though the singulars and first persons end in sharp hissing sounds, as asses, riches, cages, boxes, etc. thus prices and prizes have both the final s flat, though the preceding mute in the first word is sharp. (422)
434. As s is hissing, when preceded by a liquid, and followed by e mute, as transe, tense, etc. so when it follows any of the liquids without the e, it is pronounced like z, as morals, means, seems, hers. In the same analogy, when s comes before any of the liquids, it has the sound of z, as cosmetic, dismal, pismire, chasm, prism, theism, schism, and all polysyllables ending in asm, ism, osm, or ysm, as enthusiasm, judaism, microcosm, paroxysm, etc.
435. S, in the preposition dis, is either sharp or flat, as it is accented or unaccented, as explained above; but it ought always to be pronounced like z, when it is not under the accent, and is followed by a flat mute, a liquid, or a vowel, as disable, disease, disorder, disuse, disband, disdain, disgrace, disvalue, disjoin, dislike, dislodge, dismay, dismember, dismount, dismiss, disnatured, disrank, disrelish, disrobe. (425) Mr. Sheridan, and those orthöepists who have copied him, seem to have totally overlooked this tendency in the liquids to convert the s to z when this letter ends the first syllable without the accent, and the liquids begin the second syllable with it.
436. S is pronounced like z, in the monosyllables as, is, his, was, these, those, and in all plurals whose singulars end in a vowel, or a vowel followed by e mute, as commas, operas, shoes, aloes, dues, and consequently when it follows the w or y, in the plurals of nouns, or the third person singular of verbs, as ways, betrays, news, views, etc.
437. Some verbs ending in se have the s like z, to distinguish them from nouns or adjectives of the same form.
| Nouns. | Verbs. |
| grease | to grease |
| close | to close |
| house | to house |
| mouse | to mouse |
| louse | to louse |
| abuse | to abuse |
| excuse | to excuse |
| refuse | to refuse |
| diffuse | to diffuse |
| use | to use |
| rise | to rise |
| premise | to premise. |
​438. Sy and sey, at the end of words, have the s pronounced like z, if it has a vowel before it, with the accent on it, as easy, greasy, queasy, cheesy, daisy, misy, rosy, causy, noisy; but if the accent is on the antepenultimate syllable, the s is sharp, as heresy, poesy, etc. if a sharp mute precede, the s is sharp, as triksy, tipsy; if a liquid precede, and the accent is on the penultimate syllable, the s is flat, as palsy, flimsy, clumsy, pansy, tansy, phrensy, quinsy, tolsey, whimsey, malmsey, jersey, kersey. Pursey has the s sharp and hissing from its relation to purse, and minstrelsey and controversy have the antepenultimate and preantepenultimate accent: thus we see why busy, bousy, lousy, and drowsy, have the s like z, and jealousy, the sharp hissing s.
439. S, in the termination sible, when preceded by a vowel, is pronounced like z, as persuasible, risible, visible, divisible, infusible, conclusible; but if a liquid consonant precede the s, the s then becomes sharp and hissing, as sensible, responsible, tensible, reversible, etc.
440. S, in the terminations sary and sory, is sharp and hissing, as dispensary, adversary, suasory, persuasory, decisory, incisory, derisory, depulsory, compulsory, incensory, compensory, suspensory, sensory, responsory, cursory, discursory, lusory, elusory, delusory, illusory, collusory. Rosary and misery, which have the s like z, are the only exceptions.
441. S, in the termination ise, is pronouced like z, except in the adjectives before mentioned, and a few substantive, such as paradise, anise, rise, grise, verdigrise, mortise, travise.
442. S, in the termination sal and sel, when preceded by a vowel, is pronounced like z, as nasal, ousal, housal, nousal, reprisal, proposal, refusal, and sharp and hissing when preceded by a consonant, as mensal, universal, etc.
443. S, in the termination son, sen, and sin, is pronounced like z, as reason, season, treason, cargason, diapason, orison, benison, venison, denison, foison, poison, prison, damson, crimson, chosen, resin, rosin, raisin, cousin. But the s in mason, bason, garrison, caparison, comparison, parson, and person is sharp and hissing. (170)
444. S, after the inseparable prepositions pre and pro, is sharp, as in presage, preside, presidial, preseance, presension, prosecute, prosecution, prosody, prosopopeia, but flat like z in presence, president, presidency, presume, presumptive, presumption, but where the pre is prefixed to a word which is significant when alone, the s is always sharp, as pre-suppose, pre-surmise, etc.
445. S, after the inseparable preposition re, is almost always pronounced like z, as resemble, resent, resentment, reserve, reservation, reservoir, residue, resident, residentiary, reside, resign, resignment, resignation, resilience, resiliency, resilition, resin, resist, resistance, resolve, resolution, resolute, result, resume, resumption, resurrection.
446. S is sharp after re in resuscitation, resupination, etc. and when the word added to it is significant by itself, as research, resiege, reseat, resurvey. Thus to resign, with the s like z, signifies to yield up; but to re-sign, to sign again, has the s sharp, as in sign: so to resound, to reverberate, has the s like z; but to re-sound, to sound again, has the s sharp and hissing.
447. Thus we see, after pursuing this letter through all its combinations, how difficult it often is to decide by analogy, when we are to pronounce it sharp and hissing, and when flat like z. In many cases it is of no great importance: in others, it is the distinctive mark of a vulgar or a polite pronunciation. Thus design is never heard with the s like z, but among the lowest order of the people; and yet there is not the least reason from analogy why we should not pronounce it in this manner, as well as in resign: the same may be observed of preside and desist, which have the s sharp and hissing; and reside and resist, where the same letter is pronounced like z. It may, however, be remarked, that re has the s like z after it more regularly than any other of the prefixes.
448. It may, perhaps, be worthy of observation, that though s becomes sharp or flat, as it is followed by a sharp or flat consonant, or a liquid, as cosmetic, dismal, disband, disturb, etc. yet if it follows a liquid or a flat consonant, except in the same syllable, it is generally sharp. Thus the s in tubs, suds, etc. is like z; but in subserve, subside, subsist, it is sharp and hissing: and though it is flat in absolve, it is sharp in absolute and absolution; but if a sharp consonant precede, the s is always sharp and hissing, as tipsy, tricksy: thus in the pronunciation of the word Glasgow, as the s is always sharp and hissing, we find the g invariably slide into its sharp sound k; and this word is always heard as if written Glaskow. We see, therefore, that a preceding sharp consonant makes the succeeding s sharp, but not inversely.
449. S is always sharp and hissing when followed by c, except in the word discern.
S aspirated, or sounding like sh or zh.
450. S, like its fellow dental t, becomes aspirated, and goes either into the sharp sound sh, or the flat sound zh, when the accent is on the preceding vowel, and it is followed by a semi-consonant diphthong, as nauseate, or a diphthongal vowel, as pleasure, pronounced nausheate and plezhure. (195)
451. S, in the termination sion, preceded by a vowel, goes into the flat aspiration zh, as evasion, cohesion, decision, confusion, pronounced evazhion, etc. but when it is preceded by a liquid or another s, it has the sharp aspiration sh, as expulsion, dimension, reversion, pronounced expulshion, etc.
452. The same may be observed of s before u; when a vowel precedes the s, with the accent on it, the s goes into the flat aspiration, as pleasure, measure, treasure, rasure, ​pronounced plezhure, etc. but when preceded by a liquid, or another s, it is sounded sh, as sensual, censure, tonsure, pressure, pronounced senshual, censhure, etc.
453. From the clearness of this analogy, we may perceive the impropriety of pronouncing Asia with the sharp aspiration, as if written Ashia; when, by the foregoing rule, it ought, undoubtedly to be pronounced Azhia, rhyming with Arpasia, euthanasia, etc. with the flat aspiration of z. This is the Scotch pronunciation of this word, and, unquestionably, the true one: but if I mistake not, Persia is pronounced in Scotland with the same aspiration of s, and as if written Perzhia; which is as contrary to analogy as the other is agreeable to it.
454. The tendency of the s to aspiration before a diphthongal sound, has produced several anomalies in the language, which can only be detected by recurring to first principles: for which purpose it may be necessary to observe, that the accent or stress naturally preserves the letters in their true sound; and as feebleness naturally succeeds force, so the letters, immediately after the stress, have a tendency to slide into different sounds, which require less exertion of the organs. Hence the omission of one of the vowels in the pronunciation of the last syllable of fountain, mountain, captain, etc. (208) hence the short sound of i in respite, servile, etc. hence the s pronounced like z in disable, where the accent is on the second syllable; and like s sharp and hissing in disability, where there is a secondary stress on the first syllable; and hence the difference between the x in exercise, and that in exert; the former having the accent on it, being pronounced eks, as if the word were written ecksercise: and the latter without the accent, pronounced gz, as if the word were written egzert. This analogy leads us immediately to discover the irregularity of sure, sugar, and their compounds, which are pronounced shure and shugar, though the accent is on the first syllable, and ought to preserve the s without aspiration; and a want of attending to this analogy has betrayed Mr. Sheridan into a series of mistakes in the sound of s in the words suicide, presume, resume, etc. as if written shoo-icide, pre-zhoom, re-zhoom, etc. but if this is the true pronunciation of these words, it may be asked, why is not suit, suitable, pursue, etc. to be pronounced shoot, shoot-able, pur-shoo? etc. If it be answered, Custom; I own this decides the question at once. Let us only be assured, that the best speakers pronounce a like o, and that is the true pronunciation: but those who see analogy so openly violated, ought to be assured of the certainty of the custom before they break through all the laws of language to conform to it. (69) (71) See Superable.
455. We have seen, in a great variety of instances, the versatility of s, how frequently it slides into the sound of z: but my observation greatly fails me if it ever takes the aspiration, unless it immediately follows the accent, except in the words sure, sugar, and their compounds; and these irregularities are sufficient, without adding to the numerous catalogue we have already seen under this letter.
456. The analogy we have just been observing, directs us in the pronunciation of usury, usurer, and usurious. The first two have the accent on the first syllable, which permits the s to go into aspiration, as if the words were written uzbury and uzhurer: but the accent being on the second u in the last word, the s is prevented from going into aspiration, and is pronounced uzurious. (479) (480)
457. Though the ss in passion, mission, etc. belong to separate syllables, as if spelt pas-sion, mis-sion, etc. yet the accent presses the first into the same aspiration as the last, and they are both pronounced with the sharp aspirated hiss, as if they were but one s. See Exaggerate.
458. S is silent in isle, island, aisle, demesne, puisne, viscount, and at the end of some words from the French, as pas, sous, vis-à-vis; and in corps the two last letters are silent, and the word pronounced core. (412)
T.
459. T is the sharp sound of D; (41) but though the latter is often changed into the former, the former never goes into the latter. The sound to which this letter is extremely prone, is that of s. This sound of t has greatly multiplied the hissing in our own language, and has not a little promoted it in most modern tongues. That p and b, t and d, k and g hard, s and z, should slide into each other, is not surprising, as they are distinguished only by a nice shade of sound; but that t should alter to s, seems a most violent transition, till we consider the organic formation of these letters, and of those vowels which always occasion it. If we attend to the formation of t, we shall find that it is a stoppage of the breath by the application of the upper part of the tongue, near the end, to the correspondent part of the palate; and that if we just detach the tongue from the palate, sufficiently to let the breath pass, a hiss is produced which forms the letter s. Now the vowel that occasions this transition of t to s, is the squeezed sound of e, as heard in y consonant: (8) which squeezed sound is a species of hiss; and this hiss, from the absence of accent, easily slides into the s, and s as easily into sh: thus mechanically is generated that hissing termination tion, which forms but one syllable, as if written shun. (195)
460. But it must be carefully remarked, that this hisssing sound, contracted by the t before certain diphthongs, is never heard but after the accent: when the accent falls on the vowel immediately after the t, this letter, like s or c in the same situation, preserves its simple sound: thus the c in social, goes into sh, because the accent is on the preceding vowel; but it preserves the simple sound of s in society, because the accent is on the succeeding vowel. ​The same analogy is obvious in satiate and satiety; and is perfectly agreeable to that difference made by accent in the sound of other letters. (71) See Satiety.
461. As the diphthongs ia, ie, io, or iu, when coming after the accent, have the power of drawing the t into sh, so the diphthongal vowel u, in the same situation, has a similar power. If we analyse the u, we shall find it commence with the squeezed sound of e, equivalent to the consonant y. (39) This letter produces the small hiss before taken notice of, (459) and which may be observed in the pronunciation of nature, and borders so closely on natshur, that it is no wonder Mr. Sheridan adopted this latter mode of spelling the word to express its sound. The only fault of Mr. Sheridan in depicting the sound of this word, seems to be that of making the u short, as in bur, cur, etc. as every correct ear must perceive an elegance in lengthening the sound of the u, and a vulgarity in shortening it. The true pronunciation seems to lie between both.
462. But Mr. Sheridan's greatest fault seems to lie in not attending to the nature and influence of the accent: and because nature, creature, feature, fortune, misfortune, etc. have the t pronounced like ch, or tsh, as if written crea-chure, fea-tshure, etc. he has extended this change of t into tch, or tsh, to the word tune, and its compounds, tutor, tutoress, tutorage, tutelage, tutelar, tutelary, etc. tumult, tumour, etc. which he spells tshoon, tshoon-eble, etc. tshoo-tur, tshoo-triss, tshoo-tur-idzh, tshoo-tel-idzh, tshoo-tel-er, tshoo-tel-er-y, etc. tshoo-mult, tshoo-mur, etc. Though it is evident, from the foregoing observations, that as the u is under the accent, the preceding t is preserved pure, and that the words ought to be pronounced as if written tewtor, tewmult, tewmour, etc. and neither tshootur, tshoomult, tshoomour, as Mr. Sheridan writes them, nor tootor, toomult, toomour, as they are often pronounced by vulgar speakers. See Superable.
463. Here, then, the line is drawn by analogy. Whenever t comes before these vowels, and the accent immediately follows it, the t preserves its simple sound, as in Miltiades, elephantiasis, satiety, etc. but when the accent precedes the t, it then goes into sh, tch, or tsh, as natshure or natchure, na-shion, vir-tshue or virtchue, patient, etc. or nashion, pashent, etc. (464) In similar circumstances, the same may be observed of d, as arduous, hideous, etc. (293) (294) (376) Nor is this tendency of t before long u found only when the accent immediately precedes; for we hear the same aspiration of this letter in spiritual, spirituous, signature, ligature, forfeiture, as if written spiritshual, spiritshuous, signatshure, ligatshure, forfeitshure, etc. where the accent is two syllables before these letters; and the only termination which seems to refuse this tendency of the t to aspiration, is that in tude, as latitude, longitude, multitude, etc.
464. This pronunciation of t extends to every word where the diphthong or diphthongal sound commences with i or e, except in the terminations of verbs and adjectives, which preserve the simple in the augment, without suffering the t to go into the hissing sound, as I pity, thou pitiest, he pities, or pitied; mightier, worthier, twentieth, thirtieth, etc. This is agreeable to the general rule, which forbids the adjectives or verbal terminations to alter the sound of the primitive verb or noun. See No. 381. But in the words bestial, celestial, frontier, admixtion, etc. where the s, x, or n precedes the t, this letter is pronounced like tch or tsh, instead of sh, (291) as bes-tchial, celes-tchiat, fron-tcheer, admix-tchion, etc. as also when the t is followed by eou, whatever letter precede, as righteous, piteous, plenteous, etc. pronounced righ-tcheous, pit-cheous, plen-tcheous, etc. The same may be observed of t when succeeded by, uou, as unctuous, presumptuous, etc. pronounced ung-tchuous, presump-tchuous, etc. See the words.
TH.
465. This lisping sound, as it may be called, is almost peculiar to the English. (41} (50) (469) The Greek Θ was certainly not the sound we give it: like its principal letter, it has a sharp and a flat sound; but these are so little subject to rule, that a catalogue will, perhaps, be the best guide.
466. Th, at the beginning of words, is sharp, as in thank, think, etc. except in the following words: This, that, than, the, thee, their, them, then, thence, there, these, they, thine, thither, those, thou, though, thus, thy, and their compounds.
467. Th, at the end of words, is sharp, as death, breath, etc. except in beneath, booth, with; and the verbs to wreath, to loath, to uncloath, to seeth, to smooth, to sooth, to mouth: all which ought to be written with the e final; not only to distinguish some of them from the nouns, but to show that th is soft; for though th, when final, is sometimes pronounced soft, as in to loath, to mouth, etc. yet the at the end of words is never pronounced hard. There is as obvious an analogy for this sound of the th in these verbs, as for the z sound of s in verbs ending in se; (437) and why we should write some verbs with e, and others without it, is inconceivable. The best way to shew the absurdity of our orthography in this particular, will be to draw out the nouns and verbs as they stand in Johnson's Dictionary.
| Adjectives and Nouns. | Verbs. |
| breath, | to breathe. |
| wreath, | to wreath, to inwreathe. |
| loath, | to loathe. |
| cloth, | to cloathe, to uncloath. |
| bath, | to bathe. |
| smooth, | to smooth. |
| mouth, | to mouth. ​ |
| swatch, | to swathe. |
| sheath, | to sheath. |
| sheath, | to sheathe. |
| sooth, | to sooth. |
Surely nothing can be more evident than the analogy of the language in this case. Is it not absurd to hesitate a moment at writing all the verbs with the e final ? This is a departure from our great lexicographer, which he himself would approve, as nothing but inadvertency could have led him into this unmeaning irregularity.—It may not be improper to observe here, that those substantives which in the singular end with th sharp, adopt the th flat in the plural, as path, paTHs; bath, baTHs, etc. Such a propensity is there to slide into the flat sound of s, that we frequently hear this sound in the genitive case, as My wive's portion, for my wife's portion. In the same manner we hear of paying so much for houze rent and taxes, instead of house rent and taxes; and shopkeepers tell us they have goods of all prizes, instead of all prices. Nay, some go so far as to pronounce the plural of truth, truTHs; but this must be carefully avoided.
468. Th is hard in the middle of words, either when it precedes or follows a consonant, as panther, nepenthe, orthodox, orthography, orthöepy, thwart, athwart, ethnic, misanthrope, philanthropy, etc. except brethren, farthing, farther, northern, worthy, burthen, murther, where the th is flat; but the two last words are better written burden and murder.
469. Th, between two vowels, is generally soft in words purely English, as father, feather, heathen, hither, thither, whither, whether, either, neither, weather, wether, wither, gather, together, pother, mother.
470. Th, between two vowels, particularly in words from the learned languages, is generally hard, is apathy, sympathy, antipathy, Athens, atheist, authentic, author, authority, athirst, cathartic, cathedral, catholic, catheter, ether, ethics, lethargy, Lethe, leviathan, litharge, lithotomy, mathesis, mathematics, method, pathetic, plethora, polymathy, prothonotary, anathema, amethyst, theatre, amphitheatre, apothecary, apotheosis.
471. Th is sometimes pronounced like simple t, as Thomas, thyme, Thames, asthma, phthisis, phthisic, phthisical, and is silent in twelfthtide, pronounced twelftide.
T silent.
472. T is silent when preceded by s, and followed by the abbreviated terminations en and le, as hasten, chasten, fasten, listen, glisten, christen, moisten, which are pronounced as if written hace'n, chace'n, etc. in bursten the t is heard: so castle, nestle, trestle, wrestle, thistle, whistle, epistle, bristle, gristle, jostle, apostle, throstle, bustle, justle, rustle, are pronounced as if written cassle, nessle, etc. in pestle the t is pronounced; in often, fasten, and soften, the t is silent, and at the end of several words from the French, as trait, gout, (taste) eclat. In the first of these words the t begins to be pronounced; in the last, it has been sometimes heard; but in the second, never. Toupet is more frequently written toupee, and is therefore not irregular. In billet-doux the t is silent, as well as in hautboy. The same silence of t may be observed in the English words, Christmas, chestnut, mortgage ostler, bankruptcy, and in the second syllable of mistletoe. In currant and currants, the t is always mute. See No. 102, 103, 405.
V.
473. V is flat f, and bears the same relation to it as b does to p, d to t, hard g to k, and z to s. (41) It is never irregular; and if ever silent, it is in the word twelvemonth, where both that letter and the e are, in colloquial pronunciation, generally dropped, as if written twel'month.
W initial.
474. That w at the beginning of a word is a consonant, has been proved already. (9) (59) It is always silent before r, as in wrack, wrangle, wrap, wrath, wreak, wreath, wreck, wren, wrench, wrest, wrestle, wretch, wriggle, wright, wring, wrinkle, wrist, write, writhe, wrong, wrought, wry, awry, bewray; and before h, and the vowel o, when long, as whole, who, etc. pronounced hole, hoo, etc.
475. W, before h, is pronounced as if it were after the h, as hoo-y, why, hoo-en, when, etc. but in whole, whoop, etc. the single and double o coalescing with the same sound in w, this last letter is scarcely perceptible. In swoon, however, this letter is always heard; and pronouncing it soon, is vulgar. In sword and answer it is always silent. In two it mingles with its kindred sound, and the number two is pronounced like the adverb too. In the prepositions toward and towards, the w is dropped, as if written toard and toards, rhyming with hoard and hoards; but in the adjectives and adverbs toward and towardly, froward and frowardly the w is heard distinctly. It is sometimes dropped in the last syllable of awkward, as if written awkard; but this pronunciation is vulgar.
X.
476. X is a letter composed of those which have been already considered, and therefore will need but little discussion. (48) (51) It is flat or sharp like its component letters, and is subject to the same laws.
477. X has a sharp sound like ks, when it ends a syllable with the accent upon it, as exercise, excellence, etc. or when the accent is on the next syllable, if it begin with a consonant, as excuse, expense, etc. (71)
478. X has its flat sound like gz, when the accent is not on it, and the following syllable having the accent begins with a vowel, as exert, example, exist, etc. pronounced egzert, egzample, egzist, etc. The same sound may be observed if h follow, as in exhibit, exhale, etc. pronounced ​egzhibit, egzhale; but if the secondary accent be on the x, in the polysyllable exhibition, exhalation, etc. this letter is then sharp, as in exercise; (71) but in compound words, where the primitive ends in x, this letter retains its primitive sound, as fixation, taxation, vexation, vexatious, relaxation, etc. to which we may add the simples in our language, doxology and proximity; so that this propensity of x to become egz, seems confined to the inseparable preposition.
479. X, like s, is aspirated, or takes the sound of h after it, only when the accent is before it: hence the difference been luxury and luxurious; anxious and anxiety: in the true pronunciation of which words, nothing will direct us but recurring to first principles. It was observed that s is never aspirated, or pronounced like sh, but when the accent is on the preceding syllable; (450) and that when the accent is on the succeeding vowel, though the s frequently is pronounced like z, it is never sounded zh: from which premises we may conclude, that luxury and luxurious ought to be pronounced luckshury and lugzurious, and not lug-zho-ryus, as Mr. Sheridan spells it. The same error runs through his pronunciation of all the compounds, luxuriance, luxuriant, luxuriate, etc. which unquestionably ought to be pronounced lug-zu-ri-ance, lug-zu-ri-ant, lug-zu-ri-ate, etc. in four syllables, and not in three only, as they are divided in his Dictionary.
480. The same principles will lead us to decide in the words anxious and anxiety: as the accent is before the x in the first word, it is naturally divisible into ank-shious, and as naturally pronounced ank-shus; but as the accent is after the x in the second word, and the hissing sound cannot be aspirated, (456) it must necessarily be pronounced ang-ziety. But Mr. Sheridan, without any regard to the component letters of these words, or the different position of the accent, has not only spelled them without aspiration, but without letting the s, in the composition of the last word, go into z; for thus they stand in his Dictionary: ank-syus, ank-si-e-ty. (456)
481. The letter x, at the beginning of words, goes into z, as Xerxes, Xenophon, etc. pronounced Zerxses, Zenophon, etc. it is silent at the end of the French billet-doux, and pronounced like s in beaux; often and better written beaus.
Y initial.
482. Y, as a consonant, has always the same sound; and this has been sufficiently described in ascertaining its real character; (40) when it is a vowel at the end of a word or syllable with the accent upon it, it is sounded exactly like the first sound of i, as cy-der, ty-rant, re-ply, etc. but at the end of a word or syllable, without the accent, it is pronounced like the first sound of e, liberty, fury, tenderly, etc.
Z.
483. Z is the flat s, and bears the same relation to it as b does to p, d to t, hard g to k, and v to f. Its common name is izzard, which Dr. Johnson explains into s hard; if, however, this be the meaning, it is a gross misnomer: for the z is not the hard, but the soft s: but as it has a less sharp, and therefore not so audible a sound, it is not impossible but it may mean s surd. Zed, borrowed from the French, is the more fashionable name of this letter; but, in my opinion, not to be admitted, because the names of the letters ought to have no diversity.
484. Z, like s, goes into aspiration before a diphthong, or a diphthongal vowel after the accent, as is heard in vizier, glazier, grazier, etc. pronounced vizh-i-er, glazh-i-er, grazh-i-er, etc. The same may be observed of azure, razure, etc.
485. Z is silent in the French word rendezvous; and is pronounced in the Italian manner, as if t were before it, in mezzotinto, as if written metzotinto.
Thus having endeavoured to exhibit a just idea of the principles of pronunciation, both with respect to single letters, and their various combinations into syllables and words. The attentive reader must have observed how much the sounds of the letters vary, as they are differently associated, and how much the pronunciation of these associations depends upon the position of the accent. This is a point of the utmost importance, and a want of attending to it has betrayed several ingenious men into the grossest absurdities. This will more fully appear in the observations on accent, which is the next point to be considered.
OF THE NATURE OF ACCENT.
486. The accent of the ancients is the opprobrium of modern criticism. Nothing can show more evidently the fallibility of the human faculties than the total ignorance we are in at present of the nature of the Latin and Greek accent. This would be still more surprising if a phenomenon of a similar kind did not daily present itself to our view. The accent of the English language, which is constantly sounding in our ears, and every moment open to investigation, seems as much a mystery as that accent which ​is removed almost two thousand years from our view. Obscurity, perplexity, and confusion, run through every treatise on the subject, and nothing could be so hopeless as an attempt to explain it, did not a circumstance present itself, which at once accounts for the confusion, and affords a clew to lead us out of it.
487. Not one writer on accent has given us such, a definition of the voice as acquaints us with its essential properties: they speak of high and low, loud and soft, quick and slow; but they never once mention that striking property which distinguishes speaking from singing sounds, and which, from its sliding from high to low, and from low to high, may not improperly be called the inflection of the voice. No wonder, when writers left this out of the account, that they should blunder about the nature of accent: it was impossible they should do otherwise; so partial an idea of the speaking voice must necessarily lead them into error. But let us once divide the voice into its rising and falling inflections, the obscurity vanishes, and accent becomes as intelligible as any other part of language.
488. Keeping this distinction in view, let us compare the accented syllables with others, and we shall find this general conclusion may be drawn: "The accented syllable is always louder than the rest; but when it has the rising inflection, it is higher than the preceding, and lower than the succeeding syllable: and when it has the falling inflection, it is pronounced higher as well as louder than the other syllables, either preceding or succeeding." The only exception to this rule is, "when the accent is on the last syllable of a word which has no emphasis, and which is the concluding word of a discourse." Those who wish to see this clearly demonstrated may consult Elements of Elocution, second edition, page 181. On the present occasion it will be sufficient to observe, that the stress we call accent is as well understood as is necessary for the pronunciation of single words, which is the object of this treatise; and therefore, considering accent merely as stress, we shall proceed to make some remarks on its proper position in a word, and endeavour to detect some errors in the use and application of it.
The different Positions of the English Accent.
489. Accent, in its very nature, implies a comparison with other syllables less forcible; hence we may conclude that monosyllables, properly speaking, have no accent: when they are combined with other monosyllables and form a phrase, the stress which is laid upon one, in preference to others, is called emphasis. As emphasis evidently points out the most significant word in a sentence, so, where other reasons do not forbid, the accent always dwells with greatest force on that part of the word which, from its importance, the hearer has always the greatest occasion to observe; and this is necessarily the root, or body of the word. But as harmony of termination frequently attracts the accent from the root to the branches of words, so the first and most natural law of accentuation seems to operate less in fixing the stress than any of the other. Our own Saxon terminations, indeed, with perfect uniformity, leave the principal part of the word in quiet possession of what seems its lawful property; (501) but Latin and Greek terminations, of which our language is full, assume a right of preserving their original accent, and subjecting many of the words they bestow upon us, to their own classical laws.
490. Accent, therefore, seems to be regulated, in a great measure, by etymology. In words from the Saxon, the accent is generally on the root; in words from the learned languages, is is generally on the termination; and if to these we add the different accent we lay on some words, to distinguish them from others, we seem to have the three great principles of accentuation; namely, the radical, the terminational, and the distinctive.
Accent on Dissyllables.
491. Every word of two syllables has necessarily one of them accented, and but one. It is true, for the sake of emphasis, we sometimes lay an equal stress upon two successive syllables, as di-rect, some-times; but when these words are pronounced alone, they have never more than one accent. For want of attending to this distinction, some writers have roundly asserted, that many dissyllables have two accents, such as convoy, concourse, discord, shipwreck: in which, and similar instances, they confound the distinctness, with which the latter syllables are necessarily pronounced, with accentual force; though nothing can be more different. Let us pronounce the last syllable of the noun torment as distinctly as we please, it will still be very different with respect to force, from the same syllable in the verb to torment, where the accent is on it; and if we do but carefully watch our pronunciation, the same difference will appear in every word of two syllables throughout the language. The word Amen is the only word which is pronounced with two consecutive accents when alone.
492. There is a peculiarity of accentuation in certain words of two syllables, which are both nouns and verbs, that is not unworthy of notice; the nouns having the accent on the first syllable, and the verbs on the last. This seems an instinctive effort in the language (if the expression will be allowed me) to compensate in some measure for the want of different terminations for these different parts of speech.
​The words which admit of this diversity of accent are the following:
| Nouns. | Verbs. |
| ábject | to abjéct |
| ábsent | to absént |
| ábstract | to abstráct |
| áccent | to accént |
| áffix | to affíx |
| ássign | to assígn |
| áugment | to augmént |
| bómbard | to bombárd |
| cément | to cemént |
| cólleague | to colléague |
| cóllect | to colléct |
| cómpact | to compáct |
| cómpound | to compóund |
| cómpress | to compréss |
| cóncert | to concért |
| cóncrete | to concréte |
| cónduct | to condúct |
| cónfine | to confíne |
| cónflict | to conflíct |
| cónserve | to consérve |
| cónsort | to consórt |
| cóntest | to contést |
| cóntract | to contráct |
| cóntrast | to contrást |
| cónvent | to convént |
| cónverse | to convérse |
| cónvert | to convért |
| cónvict | to convíct |
| cónvoy | to convóy |
| désert | to desért |
| díscount | to discoúnt |
| déscant | to descánt |
| dígest | to digést |
| éssay | to essáy |
| éxport | to expórt |
| éxtract | to extráct |
| éxile | to exíle |
| férment | to fermént |
| fréquent | to frequént |
| ímport | to impórt |
| íncense | to incénse |
| ínsult | to insúlt |
| óbject | to objéct |
| pérfume | to perfúme |
| pérmit | to permít |
| préfix | to prefíx |
| prémise | to premíse |
| présage | to preságe |
| présent | to presént |
| próduce | to prodúce |
| próject | to projéct |
| prótest | to protést |
| rébel | to rebél |
| récord | to recórd |
| réfuse | to refúse |
| súbject | to subjéct |
| súrvey | to survéy |
| tórment | to tormént |
| tráject | to trajéct |
| tránsfer | to transfér |
| tránsport | to transpórt |
| áttribute | to attríbute |
493. To this analogy, some speakers are endeavouring to reduce the word contents; which, when it signifies the matter contained in a book, is often heard with the accent on the first syllable; but though this pronunciation serves to distinguish words which are different in signification, and to give, in some measure, a difference of form to the noun and verb, in which our tongue is remarkably deficient, still it is doubtful whether this distinction be of any real advantage to the language. See Bowl. This diversity of accentuation seems to have place in some compound verbs. See Counterbalance and the subsequent words.
494. Sometimes words have a different accent, as they are adjectives or substantives.
| Substantives. | Adjectives. |
| áugust, the month | augúst, noble |
| cómpact | compáct |
| champáign, wine | chámpaign, open |
| éxile, banishment | exíle, small |
| gallánt, a lover | gállant, bold |
| ínstinct | instínct |
| invalíd | inválid |
| Levánt, a place | lévant, eastern |
| mínute of time | mináte, small |
| súpine, in grammar | supíne, indolent. |
495. Sometimes the same parts of speech have a different accent to mark a difference of signification.
| to cónjure, to practise magic; | to conjúre, to intreat |
| désert, a wilderness | desért, merit |
| búffet, a blow | buffét, a cupboard |
| sínister, insidious | siníster, the left side. |
496. In this analogy some speakers pronounce the word Concordance with the accent on the first syllable, when it signifies a dictionary of the Bible; and with the accent on the second, when it signifies agreement: but besides that, there is not the same reason for distinguishing nouns from each other, as there is nouns from verbs; the accent on the first syllable of the word Concordance gives a harshness and poverty to its sound, which ought to be avoided.
497. But though the different accentuation of nouns and verbs of the same form does not extend so far as might be expected, it is certain, that in words of two syllables, where the noun and verb are of different forms, there is an evident tendency in the language to place the accent upon the first syllable of the noun, and on the last of the verb. Hence the nouns outrage, upstart, and uproar, have the accent on the first syllable; and the verbs to uplift, to uphold, and to outstrip, on the last.
498. This analogy will appear still more evident if we attend to the accent of those nouns and verbs which are compounded of two words. Every dissyllable compounded of words which, taken separately, have a meaning, may be deemed a qualified substantive; and that word which qualifies or describes the other, is that which most distinguishes it, and consequently is that which ought to have the accent: accordingly we find that inkhorn, outrage, chairman, freehold, sand-box, book-case, pen-knife, have the accent on the first syllable, which is the specifying part of the word; while gainsay, foresee, overlook, undersell, have the accent on the last syllable, which is the least distinguishing part of the word. This rule, however, is either by the caprice of custom, or the love of harmony, frequently violated, but is sufficiently extensive to mark the general tendency of the language. Akenside brings the verb to comment under this analogy:
"—————————The sober zeal Of age, commenting on prodigious things."
Pleasures of the Imagination.
​And Milton, in the same manner, the verb to commerce:
"And looks commercing with the skies, Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes.
Il Penseroso.
499. Something very analogous to this we find in the nouns we verbalize, by changing the s sharp of the noun into the s flat, or z of the verb, (437) as a use, and to use; where we may remark, that when the word in both parts of speech is a monosyllable, and so not under the laws of accent, the verb, however, claims the privilege of lengthening the sound of the consonant, when it can, as well as when it cannot, prolong the accentuation: thus we not only find grass altered to graze, brass to braze, glass to glaze, price to prize, breath to breathe, etc. but the c or s sharp altered to the s flat in advice to advise, excuse to excuse, device to devise, etc. The noun adopting the sharp hissing sound, and the verb the soft buzzing one, without transferring the accent from one syllable to another. The vulgar extend this analogy to the noun practice and the verb to practise, pronouncing the first with the i short, and the c like sharp s, as if written practiss, and the last with the i long, and the s like z, as if written practize; but correct speakers pronounce the verb like the noun; that is, as if written practiss. The noun prophesy, and the verb to prophesy, follow this analogy, only by writing the noun with the c, and the verb with the s, and without any difference of sound, except pronouncing the y in the first like e, and in the last like i long; where we may still discover a trace of the tendency to the barytone pronunciation in the noun, and the oxytone in the verb. (467) See the words.
500. This seems to be the favourite tendency of English verbs; and where we find it crossed, it is generally in those formed from nouns, rather than the contrary: agreeably to this, Dr. Johnson has observed, that though nouns have often the accent on the latter, yet verbs have it seldom on the former syllable; those nouns which, in the common order of language, must have preceded the verbs, often transmit this accent to the verbs they form, and inversely: thus the noun water must have preceded the verb to water, as the verb to correspond must have preceded the noun correspondent; and to pursue must claim priority to pursuit. So that we may conclude, whenever verbs deviate from this rule, it is seldom by chance, and generally in those words only where a superior law of accent takes place.
Accent on Trisyllables.
501. As words increase in syllables, the more easily is their accent known. Nouns sometimes acquire a syllable by becoming plural; adjectives increase a syllable by being compared; and verbs by altering their tense, or becoming participles: adjectives becomes adverbs, by adding ly to them; and preposititions precede nouns or verbs without altering the accent of the word to which they are prefixed: so that when once the accent of dissyllables is known, those polysyllables, whose terminations are perfectly English, have likewise their accent invariably settled. Thus lion becomes lioness; poet, poetess; polite becomes politer, or politely, or even politelier; mischief, mischievous; happy, happiness; nay, lioness becomes lionesses; mischief, mischievousness; and service, serviceable, serviceableness, serviceably, and unserviceably, without disturbing the accent, either on account of the prepositive un, or the subjunctives able, ably, and ableness.
502. Hence we may perceive the glaring absurdity which prevails even in the first circles; that of pronounaing the plural of princess, and even the singular, with the accent on the second syllable, like success and successes; for we might just as well say, dutchéss, and dutchésses, as princéss and princésses; nor would a correct ear be less hurt with the latter than the former.
503. So few verbs of three syllables follow the analogy observable in those of two, that of protracting the accent to the last syllable, that this economy seems peculiar to dissyllables: many verbs, indeed, of three syllables, are compounded of a preposition of two syllables: and then, according to the primary law of formation, and not the secondary of distinction, we may esteem them radical, and not distinctive: such are contradict, intercede, supercede, contraband, circumscribe, superscribe, etc. while the generality of words ending in the verbal terminations ise and ize, retain the accent of the simple, as criticise, tyrannise, modernise etc. and the whole tribe of trisyllable verbs in ate, very few excepted, refuse the accent on the last syllable: but words of three syllables often take their accent from the learned languages from which they are derived; and this makes it necessary to inquire how far English accent is regulated by that of the Greek and Latin.
On the Influence of the Greet and Latin Accent, on the Accent of English Polysyllables.
(a) As our language borrows so largely from the learned languages, it is not wonderful that its pronunciation should be in some measure influenced by them. The rule for placing the Greek accent was, indeed, essentially different from that of the Latin; but words from the Greek, coming to us through the Latin, are often so much latinized as to lose their original accent, and to fall into that of the Latin; and it is the Latin accent which we must chiefly regard, as that which influences our own.
(b) The first general rule that may be laid down is, that when words come to us whole from the Greek or Latin, the same accent ought to be preserved as in the original: thus horizon, sonorous, decorum, dictator, gladiator, mediator, delator, spectator, adulator, etc. preserve the penultimate ​accent of the original; and yet the antepenultimate tendency of our language has placed the accent on the first syllable of orator, senator, auditor, minister, cicatrix, plethora, etc. in opposition to the Latin pronunciation of these words, and would have infallibly done the same by abdomen, bitumen, and acumen, if the learned had not stepped in to rescue these classical words from the invasion of the Gothic accent, and to preserve the stress inviolably on the second syllable: nor has even the interposition of two consonants been always able to keep the accent from mounting up to the antepenultimate syllable, as we may see in minister, sinister, character, magistrate, etc. and this may be said to be the favourite accent of our language. See Miscellany.
(c) But notwithstanding this prevalence of the antepenultimate accent, the general rule still holds good; and more particularly in words a little removed from common usage, such as terms in the arts and sciences: these are generally of Greek original; but coming to us through the Latin, most commonly contract the Latin accent when adopted into our language. This will appear plainly by the following lists: and first, let us select some where the Greek and Latin accents coincide:
| plethōra, | πληθόρα, |
| metabǎsis, | μετάβασις, |
| emphǎsis, | ἔμφασις, |
| antispǎsis, | αντίσπασις, |
| antithĕsis, | αντίθεσις, |
| antiphrǎsis, | αντίφρασις, |
| protăsis, | πρότασις, |
| metathĕsis, | μετάθεσις, |
| epenthĕsis, | επένθεσις, |
| aphaerĕsis, | αφαίρεσις. |
(d) Another list will show us where the accents of these languages differ:
| antanaclāsis, | αντανάκλασις, |
| catachrēsis, | κατάχρησις, |
| paracentēsis, | παρακέντησις, |
| aposiopēsis, | αποσιώπησις, |
| antiptōsis, | αντίπτωσις, |
| anadiplōsis, | αναδίπλωσις, |
| auxēsis, | ἄυξησις, |
| mathēsis, | μάθησις, |
| exegēsis, | εξήγησις, |
| hydrophōbia, | ὑδροφοβία, |
| cyclopaedia, | κυκλοπαιδεία, |
| aporĭa, | απορία, |
| prosopopoeia, | προσωποποία, |
| epiphonēma, | επιφώνημα, |
| diaphorēsis, | διαφόρησις, |
| diplōma, | δίπλωμα, |
| parogōge, | παραγωγή, |
| apostrŏphe, | αποστροφὴ. |
In this list we perceive the peculiar tendency of the Latin language to accent the long penultimate vowel, and that of the Greek, to pay no regard to it if the last vowel is short, but to place the accent on the antepenultimate. It will, however, be easily perceived, that in this case we follow the Latin analogy: this analogy will appear more evident by a list of words ending in osis, where, though the o in the penultimate syllable is the omega, the Greek accent is on the antepenultimate:
| ὑπερσάρκωσις, | ακαμόρφωσις, | αναστόμωσις, | αμαύρωσις, |
| αποθέωσις, | μεταμόρφωσις, | συνάρθρωσις, | συνοικείωσις, |
| γόμφωσις, | παραφίμωσις, | διόρθρωσις, | απονεύρωσις. |
This analogy has led us to accent certain words, formed from the Greek, where the omega was not in the penultimate of the original, in the same manner as those words where this long vowel was found: such as Exostosis, formed from ἐκ and ὄστεον, Synneurosis from σύν and νεῦρον, etc. This tendency therefore has sufficiently formed an analogy; and since rules, however absurdly formed at first, are better than no rules at all, it would, in my opinion, be advisable to consider every word of this form as subject to the penultimate accent, and to look upon apotheosis and metamorphosis, as exceptions.
(e) The next rule we may venture to lay down as a pretty general one, is, that if the words derived from the learned languages, though anglicised by altering the termination, contain the same number of syllables as in the original languages, they are generally to be pronounced with the same accent: that is, with the same accent as the first person present of the indicative mood active voice, or as the present participle of the same verb. The reality of this rule will best appear by a selection of such classes of words as have an equal number of syllables in both languages.
(f) Words which have a in the penultimate syllable:
| prévalent, | praevălens, |
| equívalent, | aequivǎlens, |
| adjácent, | adjăcens, |
| lígament, | ligāmen, |
| ínfamous, | infāmis, |
| própagate, | propāgo, |
| índagate, | indǎgo, |
| súffragan, | suffrāgans. |
In this small class of words we find all but the first two have a different accent in English from that of the Latin. The rule for placing the accent in that language being the simplest in the world: if the penultimate syllable is long, the accent is on it; if short, the accent is on the antepenultimate.
(g) Words which have e in the penultimate syllable:
| pénetrate, | penĕtro, |
| díscrepant, | discrĕpans, |
| precédent, | praecedēns, |
| élegant, | elĕgans, |
| exúperant, | exupĕrans, |
| exúberant, | exubĕrans, |
| éminent, | emĭnens, |
| éxcellent, | excēllens, |
| álienate, | alīeno, |
| délegate, | delēgo. |
In this class we find the penultimate e accented in English as in Latin, except in the three last words. The word alienate departs from the Latin accentuation, by placing the stress on the first syllable, as if derived from the English noun alien. The e in penetro is either long or short in Latin, and in this case we generally prefer the short sound to the long one.
(h) Words which have i in the penultimate syllable:
| acclívous, | acclīvus, |
| declívous, | declīvus, |
| proclívous, | proclīvus, |
| lítigant, | litĭgans, |
| mítigant, | mitĭgans, |
| síbilant, | sibĭlans, |
| vígilant, | vigĭlans, |
| fúlminant, | fulmĭnans, |
| discríminate, | discrimĭno, |
| perspícience, | perspicĭens, |
| cónscience, | conscĭens, |
| obédience, | obedĭens, |
| péstilence, | pestĭlens, |
| súpplicate, | supplĭcans, |
| éxplicate, | explĭcans, |
| ábdicate, | abdĭcans, |
| próvidence, | provĭdens, |
| féstinate, | festīno, ​ |
| hábitant, | habǐtans, |
| benéficent, | benefĭcus, |
| áccident, | accĭdens, |
| évident, | evĭdens, |
| índigent, | indǐgens, |
| díligent, | dilǐgens, |
| négligent, | neglǐgens, |
| éxigence, | exǐgens, |
| intélligence, | intellǐgens, |
| defícience, | deficǐens, |
| méndicant, | mendīcans, |
| résident, | resīdens, |
| díffidence, | diffīdens, |
| cónfidence, | confīdens, |
| invéstigate, | investīgo, |
| cástigate, | castīgo, |
| éxtricate, | extrīco, |
| írritate, | irrīto, |
| prófligate, | proflīgo, |
| ínstigate, | instīgo. |
In the foregoing list of words we find a very general coincidence of the English and Latin accent, except in the last eleven words, where we depart from the Latin accent on the penultimate, and place it on our own favourite syllable the antepenultimate. These last words must therefore be ranked as exceptions.
(i) Words which have o in the penultimate syllable:
| intérrogate, | interroŏgo, |
| árrogant, | arrŏgans, |
| díssonant, | dissŏnans, |
| rédolent, | redŏlens, |
| ínsolent, | insŏlens, |
| benévolent, | benevŏlus, |
| condólence, | condŏlens, |
| índolence, | indŏlens, |
| armípotent, | armipŏtens, |
| omnípotent, | omnipŏtens, |
| ínnocent, | innŏcens, |
| rénovate, | renŏvo, |
| désolate, | desōlo, |
| eláborate, | elabōro, |
| décorate, | decōro, |
| láborant, | labōrans, |
| ígnorant, | ignōrans, |
| súffocate, | suffōco. |
In this list the difference of the English and Latin accent is considerable. The last six words desert the Latin penultimate for the English antepenultimate accent, and condolonce falls into an accentuation diametrically opposite.
(k) Words which have u in the penultimate syllable:
| fábulate, | fabŭlor, |
| máculate, | macŭlo, |
| ádjuvate, | adjŭvo, |
| córrugate, | corrŭgo, |
| pétulant, | petŭlans, |
| dísputant, | dispŭtans, |
| ímpudent, | impŭdens, |
| spéculate, | specŭlor, |
| púllulate, | pullŭlo, |
| pópulate, | popŭlo, |
| súbjugate, | subjŭgo, |
| abdúcent, | abdūcens, |
| relúcent, | relūcens, |
| imprúdent, | imprūdens, |
| ádjutant, | adjūtans, |
| péculate, | pecūlor, |
| índurate, | indūro, |
| óbdurate, | obdūro. |
Here we find the general rule obtain, with, perhaps, fewer exceptions than in any other class. Adjuvate, peculate, and indurate, are the only absolute deviations; for obdurate has the accent frequently on the second syllable. See the word.
(l) To these lists, perhaps, might be added the English words ending in tion, sion, and ity: for though tion and sion are really pronounced in one syllable, they are by almost all our orthöepists generally divided into two; and consequently nation, pronunciation, occasion, evasion, etc. contain the same number of syllables as natio, pronunciatio, occasio, evasio, etc. and have the accent, in both English and Latin, on the antepenultimate syllable. The same may be observed of words ending in ity, as diversity, variety, etc. from diversitas, varietas, etc.
(m) By this selection (which, though not an exact enumeration of every particular, is yet a sufficient specimen of the correspondence of Latin and English accent) we may perceive that there is a general rule running through both languages, respecting the accent of polysyllables, which is, that when a single vowel in the penultimate is followed by a single consonant, the accent is on the antepenultimate. This is so agreeable to English analogy, that in words derived from the Latin, where the penultimate vowel, followed by a single consonant, is long, and consequently has the accent, we almost always neglect this exception, as it may be called, in the Latin language, and fall into our own general rule of accenting the antepenultimate. Nor is it unworthy of being remarked, that when we neglect the accent of the original, it is almost always to place it at least a syllable higher; as adjacent and condolence are the only words in the whole selection, where the accent of the English word is placed lower than in the Latin.
(n) There is, indeed, a remarkable coincidence of accent between Latin verbs of three syllables, commencing with a preposition, and the English words of two syllables, derived from them, by dropping a syllable, as excēllo, rebēllo, inquīro, confīno, confūto, consūmo, desīro, explōro, procēdo, proclāmo, have the accent in Latin on the second syllable; and the English verbs excel, rebel, inquire, confine, confute, consume, desire, explore, proceed, proclaim, have the accent on the same syllable. This propensity of following the Latin accent in these words, perhaps, in this, as well as in other cases, formed a general rule, which at last neglected the Latin accent, in words of this kind; as we find prefer, confer, defer, desert, compare, compleat, congeal, divide, dispute, prepare, have the accent on the second syllable, though praefĕro, defĕro, confĕro, desĕro, compăro, complĕo, congĕlo, divĭdo, dispŭto, praepăro, have the accent on the first: and this propensity, perhaps, laid the foundation of that distinction of accent which is so remarkable between dissyllable nouns and verbs of the same form. (492)
(o) But when English polysyllables are derived from the Latin by dropping a syllable, scarcely any analogy is more apparent than the coincidence of the principal accent of the English word, and the secondary accent, (522) we give to the Latin word, in the English pronunciation of it. Thus parsimony, ceremony, matrimony, melancholy, etc. have ​the accent on the first syllable, because, in pronouncing the Latin words, parsimonia, caeremonia, matrimonia, melancholia, etc. we are permitted, and prone, in our English pronunciation of these words, to place a secondary accent on that syllable. See Academy, Irreparable, etc.
(p) With respect to the quantity of the antepenultimate syllable in polysyllables, it may be observed, that, regardless of the quantity of the original, we almost, without exception, follow the analogy of our own language. This analogy uniformly shortens the vowel, unless it be u, followed by a single consonant, or any other vowel followed by a single consonant, succeeded by a semi-consonant diphthong: thus the first u in dūbious is pronounced long, though short in the Latin word dŭbĭus: the same may be observed of the e and o in mědium and empŏrium: and the first i in delĭrium, and the first e in dĕlicate, are pronounced short in English, according to our own analogy, (507) though these letters are long in the Latin delīrium, and delīcatus. For the quantity of English dissyllables derived from the Greek and Latin, see Syllabication, No. 543, 544, etc.
Terminational Accent.
504. We have seen that the Saxon terminations, regardless of harmony, always leave the accent where they found it, let the adventitious syllables be ever so numerous. The Saxons, attentive chiefly to sense, preserved the same simplicity in the accentuation, as in the composition of their words; and, if sense were the only object of language, it must be confessed, that our ancestors were, in this respect, superior to the Greeks and Romans. What method could so rigidly preserve, and so strongly convey, the sense of words, as that which always left the accent on the root, where the principal meaning of the word undoubtedly lies? But the necessities of human nature require that our thoughts should not only be conveyed with force, but with ease; to give language its due effect, it must be agreeable as well as forceful; and the ear must be addressed while we are informing the mind. Here, then, terminational accent, the music of language, interposes; corrects the discordant, and strengthens the feeble sounds; removes the difficulty of pronunciation which arises from placing the accent on initial syllables, and brings the force gently down to the latter part of the word, where a cadence is formed, on the principles of harmony and proportion.
505. To form an idea of the influence of termination upon accent, it will be sufficient to observe, that words which have ei, ia, ie, io, eu, eon, in their termination, always have the accent on the preceding syllable: thus atheist, alien, regalia, ambrosia, caduceus, etc. the numerous terminations in ion, ian, etc. as gradation, promotion, confusion, logician, physician, etc. those in ious, as harmonious, abstemious, etc. those in eous, as outrageous, advantageous, etc. These vowels may not improperly be styled semi-consonant diphthongs. (196)
506. The only exceptions to this rule are one word in iac, as elegiac, which has the accent on the i, and the following words in iacal, as prosodiacal, cardiacal, heliacal, genethliacal, maniacal, demoniacal, ammoniacal, theriacal, paradisiacal, aphrodisiacal, and hypochondriacal; all which have the accent on the antepenultimate i, and that long and open, as in idle, title, etc.
507. Nothing can be more uniform than the position of the accent in words of these terminations; and, with very few exceptions, the quantity of the accented vowel is as regular as the accent; for when these terminations are preceded by a single consonant, every accented vowel is long, except i; which, in this situation, is as uniformly short: thus occasion, adhesion, erosion, and confusion, have the a, e, o, and u, long; while vision and decision have the i short. The same may be observed of probation, concretion, devotion, ablution, and exhibition. The exceptions are, impetuous, especial, perpetual, discretion, and battalion, which last ought to be spelt with double l, as in the French, from which it is derived, and then it would follow the general rule. National and rational form two more exceptions; and these are almost the only irregularities to which these numerous classes of words are subject.
508. Nearly the same uniformity, both of accent and quantity, we find in words ending in ic. The accent immediately precedes this termination, and every vowel under this accent, but u, is short: thus Satanic, pathetic, eliptic, harmonic, etc. have the accent on the penultimate, and the vowel short: while tunic, runic, and cubic, have the accented vowel long.
509. The same may be observed of words ending in ical, as fanatical, poetical, levitical, canonical, etc. which have the accent on the antepenultimate syllable, and the vowels e, i, and o, short; but cubical and musical, with the accent on the same syllable, have the u long.
510. The only exceptions to this rule are, arsenic, choleric, ephemeric, turmeric, empiric, rhetoric, bishopric, (better written bishoprick, see No. 400) lunatic, arithmetic, splenetic, heretic, politic, and, perhaps, phlegmatic; which, though more frequently heard with the accent on the antepenultimate syllable, ought, if possible, to be reduced to regularity. Words ending in scence have uniformly the accent on the penultimate syllable, as quiescence, reminiscence, etc. concupiscence, which has the accent on the antepenultimate, is the only exception.
511. In the same manner, if we take a view of the words ending in ity, we find the accent invariably placed on the preceding syllable, as in diversity, congruity, etc. On a closer inspection we find every vowel in this antepenultimate syllable, when no consonant intervenes, pronounced long, as deity, piety, etc. A nearer inspection shows us, that, if a consonant precede this termination, the preceding accented vowel is short, except it be u, as severity, curiosity, ​impunity, etc. we find too, that even u contracts itself before two consonants, as in curvity, taciturnity, etc. and that scarcity and rarity (signifying uncommonness; for rarity, thinness, has the a short) are the only exceptions to this rule throughout the language. The same observations are applicable to words ending in ify, as justify, clarify, etc. The only words where the antepenultimate accent, in words of this termination, does not shorten the vowel, are glorify and notify. The y in these words is always long, like the first sound of i; and both accent and quantity are the same when these words take the additional syllable able, as justifiable, rarefiable, etc. (183)
512. To these may be added the numerous class of words ending in arous, erous, and orous, as barbarous, vociferous, and humorous; all which have the accent on the antepenultimate syllable, except canorous and sonorous; which some unlucky scholar happening to pronounce with the accent on the penultimate syllable, in order to show their derivation from the Latin adjectives, canorus and sonorus, they stand like strangers amidst a crowd of similar words, and are sure to betray a mere English scholar into a wrong pronunciation.
To polysyllables in these terminations might be added those in ative, atory, ctive, etc. Words ending in ative can never have the accent on the penultimate syllable, if there is a higher syllable to place on it, except in the word creative; and when this is the case, as it is seldom otherwise, the accent seems to rest on the root of the word; or on that syllable which has the accent on the noun, adjective, or verb, with which the word in ative corresponds: thus copulative, estimative, alterative, etc. follow the verbs to copulate, to estimate, to alter, etc. When derivation does not operate to fix the accent, a double consonant will attract it to the antepenultimate syllable, as appellative; and two consonants have sometimes this power, in opposition to derivation, as adversative and argumentative, from adverse and argument. Indicative and interrogative are likewise exceptions, as they do not follow the verbs to indicate and interrogate: but as they are grammatical terms, they seem to have taken their accent from the secondary accent we sometimes give to the Latin words indicativus and interrogativè, (see the word Academy.) Words ending in ary, ery, or ory, have generally the accent on the root of the word; which, if it consists of three syllables, must necessarily be accented on the first, as contrary, treachery, factory, etc. if of four or five, the accent is generally on that syllable which has the accent in the related or kindred words; thus expostulatory has the accent on the same radical syllables as expostulate: and congratulatory, as congratulate: interrogatory and derogatory are exceptions here, as in the termination ative; and if pacificatory, sacrificatory, significatory, vesicatory, etc. have not the accent on the first syllable, it seems to arise from the aversion we seem to have at placing even the secondary accent on the antepenultimate a, (which we should be very apt to do if the principal accent were on the first syllable) and the difficulty there would be in pronouncing such long words with so many unaccented syllables at the end, if we were to lay the accent on the first. Words ending in ctive have the accent regularly on the penultimate syllable, except adjective, which, like indicative, being a grammatical word, seems to have taken its accent from the secondary stress of the Latin adjectivus, (see Academy) and every word ending in tive, preceded by a consonant, has the accent on the penultimate syllable likewise, except substantive; and perhaps, for the reason just given. After all, it must be owned, that words ending in ative and atory are the most irregular and desultory of any in the language; as they are generally accented very far from the end, they are the most difficult to pronounce; and therefore, whenever usage will permit, we should incline the stress as much as possible to the latter syllables: thus refractory ought never to have the accent on the first syllable; but refectory, with the accent on the first, is a school term, and, like substantive, adjective, indicative, and interrogative, must be left in quiet possession of their Latin secondary accent.
Enclitical Accent.
513. I have ventured to give the name of enclitical to the accent of certain words, whose terminations are formed of such words as seem to lose their own accent, and throw it back on the last syllable of the word with which they coalesce, such as theology, orthography, etc. The readiness with which these words take the antepenultimate accent, the agreeable flow of sound to the ear, and the unity it preserves in the sense, are sufficient proofs of the propriety of placing the accent on this syllable, if custom were ambiguous. I do not remember to have heard the accent disputed in any word ending in ology; but orthography is not unfrequently pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, like orthodoxy. The temptation we are under to discover our knowledge of the component parts of words, is very apt to draw us into this pronunciation; but as those words which are derived from the Greek, and are compounded of λόγος, have universally given into this enclitical accentuation, no good reason appears for preventing a similar pronunciation in those compounded of γραφω, as by placing the accent on the antepenultimate syllable, the word is much more fluent and agreeable to the ear. It is ​certain, however, that at first sight the most plausible reasoning in the world seems to lie against this accentuation. When we place the accent on the first syllable, say our opponents, we give a kind of subordinate stress to the third syllable graph: by which means the word is divided into its primitives ορθὸς and γράφω, and those distinct ideas it contains, are preserved, which must necessarily be confounded by the contrary mode; and that pronunciation of compounds, say they, must certainly be the best which best preserves the import of the simples.
514. Nothing can be more specious than this reasoning, till we look a little higher than language, and consider its object; we shall then discover, that in uniting two words under one accent, so as to form one compound term, we do but imitate the superior operations of the mind, which, in order to collect and convey knowledge, unite several simple ideas into one complex one. "The end of language, says Mr. Locke, "is by short sounds to signify, with ease and dispatch, general conceptions, wherein not only abundance of particulars are contained, but also a great variety of independent ideas are collected into one complex one, and that which holds these different parts together in the unity of one complex idea, is the word we annex to it." "For," as Mr. Locke continues, "men, in framing ideas, seek more the convenience of language and quick dispatch by short and comprehensive signs, than the true and precise nature of things; and therefore, he who has made a complex idea of a body with life, sense, and motion, with a faculty of reason joined to it, need but use the short monosyllable, man, to express all particulars that correspond to that complex idea." So it may be subjoined, that, in framing words for the purpose of immediate communication, the end of this communication is best answered by such a pronunciation as unites simples into one compound, and at the same time renders the compound as much a simple as possible: but it is evident that this is done by no mode of accentuation, so well as that which places the accent on the antepenultimate syllable of the words theólogy, orthógraphy; and therefore that this accentuation, without insisting on its superior harmony, must best answer the great end of language. (328)
515. This tendency in our language to simplify compounds, is sufficiently evident in that numerous catalogue of words, where we find the long vowel of the simple changed into a short one in the compound, and by this means losing much of its original import to the ear: thus breakfast, shepherd, vineyard, meadow, shadow, zealous, hearken, valley, cleanse, cleanly, (neat) forehead, wilderness, bewilder, kindred, hinder, knowledge, darling, fearful, pleasant, pleasure, whitster; whitleather, seamstress, stealth, wealth, health, wisdom, wizard, parentage, lineage, children, pasty, gosling, collier, holiday, Christmas, Michaelmas, windlass, cripple, hinder, stripling, starling,housewife, husband, primer, peascod, fieldfare, birth from bear, dearth from dear, weary from wear, and many others, entirely lose the sound of the simple in their compound or derivative.
516. The long i in white, when a simple, is almost universally changed into a short one in proper names, as Whitchurch, Whitefield, Whitbread, Whitlock, Whitaker, etc. for compendiousness and dispatch being next in importance to perspicuity, when there is no danger of mistake, it is no wonder that the organs should fall into the shortest and easiest sounds.
517. It must, however, be observed, that this tendency to unite simples into a compound, by placing an accent exactly where the two words coalesce, is still subservient to the laws of harmony. The Greek word δοκέω, which signifies to opine, and from which the last syllables, of orthodoxy are derived, was never a general subjunctive word like λογος and γραφω; and even if it had been so, the assemblage of consonants in the letter x would have prevented the ear from admitting an accent on the syllable immediately preceding, as the x would, by this means, become difficult to pronounce. Placing the accent, therefore, on the first syllable of orthodoxy, gives the organs an opportunity of laying a secondary stress upon the third, which enables them to pronounce the whole with distinctness and fluency: thus Galaxy and Cachexy, having the accent on the first syllable, are very difficult to pronounce; but this difficulty is removed by placing the accent a syllable higher in the words apoplexy, ataraxy, and anorexy.
518. But the numerous classes of words that so readily adopt this enclitical accent, sufficiently prove it to be agreeable to the genius of our pronunciation. This will more evidently appear by adducing examples. Words in the following terminations have always the accent on that syllable where the two parts unite, that is, on the antepenultimate syllable:
* In logy, as apology, ambilogy, genealogy, etc
* In graphy, as geography, orthography, historiography, etc.
* In phagus, as sarcophagus, ichthyophagus, androphagus, etc.
* In loquy, as obloquy, soliloquy, ventriloquy, etc.
* In strophe, as catastrophe, apostrophe, anastrophe, etc.
* In meter, as geometer, barometer, thermometer, etc.
* In gonal, as diagonal, octagonal, polygonal, etc.
* In vorous, as carnivorous, granivorous, piscivorous, etc.
* In ferous, as bacciferous, cocciferous, somniferous, etc.
* In fluous, as superfluous, mellifluous, fellifluous, etc.
* In fluent, as mellifluent, circumfluent, interfluent, etc.
* In vomous, as ignivomous, flammivomous, etc.
* In parous, as viviparous, oviparous, deiparous, etc.
* In cracy, as theocracy, aristocracy, democracy, etc.
* In gony, as theogony, cosmogony, hexagony, etc.
* In phony, as symphony, cacophony, colophony, etc.
* In machy, as theomachy, logomachy, sciomachy, etc. ​
* In nomy, as oeconomy, astronomy, Deuteronomy, etc.
* In tomy, as anatomy, lithotomy, arteriotomy, etc.
* In scopy, as metoposcopy, deuteroscopy, aeroscopy, etc.
* In pathy, as apathy, antipathy, idiopathy, etc.
* In mathy, as opsimathy, polymathy, etc. etc. etc.
519. Some of these Greek compounds seem to refuse the antepenultimate accent, for the same reason as orthodoxy; such as necromancy, chiromancy, hydromancy; and those terminating in archy, as hierarchy, oligarchy, patriarchy: all of which have the accent on the first syllable, which gives the organs time to recover their force upon the third, and to pronounce the two consonants with much more ease than if the accent immediately preceded them, but periphrasis and antiphrasis, besides their claim to the accent of their originals, readily admit of the accent on the second syllable, because the consonants in the two last syllables do not come together, and are therefore easily pronounced after the accent. Words of more than two syllables, ending in ogue, as pedagogue, dialogue, etc. have the accent on the antepenultimate. Orthöepy having no consonant in the antepenultimate syllable, naturally throws its accent on the first. See Monomachy.
520. By this view of the enclitical terminations we may easily perceive how readily our language falls into the antepenultimate accent in these compounded polysyllables; and that those terminations which seem to refuse this accent, do it rather from a regard to etymology than analogy: thus words ending in asis, as periphrasis, apophasis, hypostasis, antiperistasis, etc. have the antepenultimate accent of their originals. -The same may be observed of those ending in esis, as hypothesis, antithesis, parenthesis; etc. but exegesis, mathesis, auxesis, catachresis, paracentesis, aposiopesis, have the accent on the penultimate syllable, because the vowel in this syllable is long in Greek and Latin. But all words ending in osis have the accent on the penultimate, except metaphorphosis and apotheosis, which desert the accent of their Latin originals, while those in ysis are accented regularly on the antepenultimate in Greek, Latin, and English, as analysis, paralysis, etc. We may note too, that every s in all these terminations is sharp and hissing. See the words Exostosis and Apotheosis.
521. Words of three syllables ending in ator, have the accent on the penultimate, as spectator, collator, delator, etc. except orator, senator, legator, and barrator. But words in this termination, of more than three syllables, though they have generally the accent on the penultimate, are subject to a diversity not easily reduced to the rule: thus navigator, propagator, dedicator, etc. are sometimes pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, and sometimes on the third: but as these words may be pronounced with an accent on both these syllables, it is of less consequence on which syllable we place the accent, when we use only one. (528) The general rule certainly inclines to the penultimate accent; but as all these words are verbal nouns, and, though generally derived from Latin words of the same terminations, have verbs corresponding to them in our own language, it is very natural to preserve the accent of the verb in these words, as it gives an emphasis to the most significant part of them: thus equivocator, prevaricator, dedicator, might be regularly formed from the verbs to equivocate, to prevaricate, and to dedicate; and, agreeably to analogy, would have been written equivocater, prevaricater, and dedicater; but an affectation of preferring every analogy to our own, has given these words a Latin termination, which answers no purpose but to involve our language in absurdities; but the ear, in this case, is not quite so servile as the eye: and though we are obliged to write these words with or, and not er, we generally hear them pronounced as if they were formed from our own verbs, and not from Latin nouns in ator. But when the word has no verb in our own language to correspond to it, the accent is then placed with great propriety upon the a, as in Latin: thus violator, instigator, navigator, etc. ought to have the accent on the first syllable; but emendator, gladiator, adulator, etc. on the last but one.
SECONDARY ACCENT.
522. Hitherto we have considered that accent only, which necessarily distinguishes one syllable in a word from the rest; and which, with very little diversity, is adopted by all who speak the English language.
523. The secondary accent is that stress we may occasionally place upon another syllable, besides that which has the principal accent, in order to pronounce every part of the word more distinctly, forcibly, and harmoniously. Thus this accent may be placed on the first syllable of conversation, commendation, etc.
524. There are few authors who have not taken notice of two accents upon some of the longer polysyllables, but none have once hinted that one of these is not essential to the sound of the word: they seem to have supposed both accents equally necessary, and without any other difference than that one was pronounced more forcibly than the other. This mistake arose from a want of studying the speaking voice. A knowledge of this would have told them, that one accent only was essential to every word of more than one syllable, and that the secondary stress might, or might not, be adopted, as distinctness, force, or harmony should require, thus, complaisant, contraband, caravan; and violin, partisan, artisan, courtesan, metaphysick, have frequently an accent on the first, as well as on the third syllable, though a somewhat less forcible one. The same may be observed of repartee, referee, privateer, domineer, etc. but it must still be observed, that though an ​accent be allowable on the first syllable of these words, it is by no means necessary; they may all be pronounced with one accent, and that on the last syllable, without the least deviation from propriety.
525. In order to give some idea of the nature of the secondary accent, let us suppose, that, in giving our opinion of an astronomical argument, we say,
"It is a diréct demonstrátion of the Copernican system."
In this sentence, as an accent is necessarily upon the last syllable of direct, we seldom lay a stress on the first syllable of demonstration, unless we mean to be uncommonly emphatical; but in the following sentence,
"It is a démonstrátion of the Copernican system."
Here, as no accented word precedes demonstration, the voice finds a rest, and the ear a force, in placing an accent on the first, as well as on the third syllable.
526. But though we may, or may not, use the secondary accent at pleasure, it is by no means a matter of indifference on what syllable we place it: this is fixed with as much certainty as the place of the principal accent itself; and a wrong position of one would as much derange the sound of the word, as a wrong position of the other: and it must be carefully noted, that though we lay no stress upon the syllable which may have the secondary accent, the consonants and vowels have exactly the same sound as if the doubtful syllable (as it may be called) were accented. Thus, though I lay no stress upon the second syllable of negociation, pronunciation, ecclesiastic, etc. the c and s go into the sound of sh and zh, as if the secondary accent were on the preceding syllable. (357) (451) (459)
527. It may be observed, in the first place, that the secondary accent is always two syllables, at least, distant from the principal accent: thus in demonstration, lamentatation, provocation, etc. the secondary accent is on the first syllable, and the principal on the third; and in arteriotomy, meteorology, and hypochondriacal, the secondary accent is on the first, and the principal on the fourth syllable; and in the word indivisibility we may place two secondary accents, one upon the first, and the other on the third.
528. In the next place it may be observed, that though the syllable on which the principal accent is placed, is fixed and certain, yet we may, and do frequently make the secondary principal, and the principal secondary: thus caravan, complaisant, violin, repartee, referee, privateer, domineer, courtezan, artizan, charlatan, may all have the greatest stress on the first, and the least on the last syllable, without any violent offence to the ear: nay, it may be asserted, that the principal accent on the first syllable of these words, and none at all on the last, though certainly improper, has nothing in it grating or discordant; but placing an accent on the second syllable of these words would entirely derange them, and produce an intolerable harshness and dissonance. The same observations may be applied to demonstration, lamentation, provocation, navigator, propagator, alligator, and every similar word in the language. But, as we have observed, No. 526, the consonants t, d, c, and s, after the secondary accent, are exactly under the same predicament as after the primary; that is, if they are followed by a diphthong or diphthongal vowel, these consonants are pronounced like sh, tsh, zh, or j, as sententiosity, partiality, etc. (526)
QUANTITY.
529. In treating this part of pronunciation, it will not be necessary to enter into the nature of that quantity which constitutes poetry; the quantity here considered will be that which relates to words taken singly; and this is nothing more than the length or shortness of the vowels, either as they stand alone, or as they are differently combined with vowels or consonants. (63)
530. Quantity, in this point of view, has already been fully considered under every vowel and diphthong in the language. What remains to be said on this subject is, the quantity of vowels under the secondary accent. We have seen that vowels, under the principal accent, before the diphthongs ia, ie, eou, ion, are all long except i. (507) That all vowels are long before the terminations ity and ety, as deity, piety, etc. (511) that if one or more consonants precede these terminations, every preceding accented vowel, except the a in scarcity and rarity, signifying uncommonness, is short but u: and that the same analogy of quantity is found before the terminations ic and ical, and the numerous enclitical terminations we have just been pointing out. Here we find custom conformable to analogy; and that the rules for the accent and quantity of these words admit of scarcely any exceptions. In other parts of the language, where custom is more capricious, we can still discover general rules; and there are but very few words in which the quantity of the vowel under the principal accent is not ascertained. Those who have but a common share of education, and are conversant with the pronunciation of the Capital, are seldom at a loss for the quantity of the vowel under that accent which may be called principal; but the secondary accent in the longer polysyllables does not seem to decide the quantity of the vowels so invariably. Mr. Sheridan divides the words deglutition, depravation, degradation, dereliction, and democratical, into de-glu-ti-tion, de-pra-va-tion, de-gra-da-tion, de-re-lic-tion, and de-mo-crat-i-cal; while Dr. Kenrick more accurately divides them into deg-lu-ti-tion, dep-ra-va-tion, deg-ra-da-tion, and dem-o-crat-i-cal; but makes not any distinction between the first o in profanation and profane, prodigality and prodigious, prorogation and prorogue, though he distinguishes this letter in the first syllable of progress and that in progression: and though Mr. Sheridan divides retrograde into ret-ro-grade, ​he divides retrogradation, retrogression, retrospect, retrospection, and retrospective, into re-tro-gra-da-tion, re-tro-gres-sion, re-tro-spect, re-tro-spec-tion, and re-tro-spec-tive. At the first sight of these words we are tempted to prefer the preposition in a distinct syllable, as supposing that mode to convey more distinctly each part of the word; but custom at large, the best interpreter of nature, soon lets us see that these prepositions coalesce with the word they are prefixed to, for reasons greatly superior to those which present themselves at first. (514) If we observe the tendency of pronunciation, with respect to inseparable prepositions, we shall find, that those compound words which we adopt whole from other languages, we consider as simples, and pronounce them without any respect to their component parts; but those compounds which we form ourselves, retain the traces of their formation, in the distinction which is observable between the prepositive and radical part of the word: thus retrograde, retrogression, retrospect, and retrospective, coming compounded to us from the Latin, ought, when the accent is on the preposition, to shorten the vowel, and unite it to the root, as in res-ur-rec-tion, rec-ol-lec-tion, prep-o-sit-ion, etc. while re-commit, re-convey, etc. being compounds of our own, must preserve it separate.
531. From what has been observed, arises this general rule: where the compound retains the primary sense of the simples, and the parts of the word are the same in every respect, both in and out of composition, then the preposition is pronounced in a distinct syllable; but when the compound departs ever so little from the literal sense of the simples, the same departure is observable in the pronunciation; hence the different syllabication and pronunciation of re-com-mence and rec-om-mend; the former signifies a repetition of a commencement, but the latter does not imply a repetition of a commendation: thus re-petition would signify to petition again; while rep-etition signifies only an iteration of the same act, be it what it will. The same may be observed of the words re-create and rec-reate, re-formation and ref-ormation.
532. That this is perfectly agreeable to the nature of the language, appears from the short pronunciation of the vowel in the first syllable of preface, prelate, prelude, prologue, etc. as if divided into pref-ace, prel-ate, prel-ude, prol-ogue, etc. It is much to be regretted, however, that this short sound of the penultimate vowel has so much obtained in our language, which abounds too much in these sounds; nor can etymology be always pleaded for this pronunciation: for in the foregoing words, the first vowel is long in the Latin praefatio, praelatus, praeludium, though short in prŏlogus: for though in words from the Greek the preposition προ was short, in Latin it was generally long; and why we should shorten it in progress, project, etc. where it is long in Latin, can only be accounted for by the superficial application of a general rule, to the prejudice of the sound of our language. (543)
533. It will be necessary, however, to observe, that in forming a judgement of the propriety of these observations, the nicest care must be taken not to confound those prepositions which are under the primary and secondary accent, with those which immediately precede the stress; for preclude, pretend, etc. are under a very different predicament from prologue, preposition, etc. and the very same law that obliges us to pronounce the vowel short in the first syllable of prov-i-dence, prov-o-cation, and prof-a-nation, obliges us to pronounce the vowel open, and with some degree of length, in pro-vide, pro-voke, and pro-fane. The same may be observed of the e in re-pair and rep-a-ration, re-ply and rep-li-cation, re-peat, and rep-e-tition, the accent making the whole difference between the quantity of the vowel in one word and the other.
534. The only exception to the shortening power of the secondary accent, is the same as that which prevents the shortening power of the primary accent, (503) namely, the vowel u, as in lucubration, or when any other of the vowels are succeeded by a semi-consonant diphthong: (196) thus mediator and mediatorial have the e in the first syllable as long as in mediate; deviation has the e in the first syllable as long as in deviate, notwithstanding the secondary accent is on it, and which would infallibly have shortened it, if it had not been for the succeeding diphthong ia; and even this diphthong, in gladiator, has not the power of preserving the first syllable long, though Mr. Sheridan, by his marking it, has made it so.
535. From what has been seen of accent and quantity, it is easy to perceive how prone our language is to an antepenultimate accent, and how naturally this accent shortens the vowel it falls upon: nay, so great a propensity have vowels to shrink under this accent, that the diphthong itself, in some words, and analogy in others, are not sufficient to prevent it, as valiant, retaliate. Thus, by the subjoining only of al to nation, with the a long, it becomes national, with the a short, though contrary to its relation with occasion and congregation, which do not shorten the a upon being made occasional and congregational: in like manner the acquisition of the same termination to the word nature, makes it nat-u-ral; but this, it may be presumed, is derived from the Latin naturalis, and not from adding al to the English word, as in the foregoing instances; and thus it comes under the shortening power of the antepenultimate accent, notwithstanding the semi-consonant diphthong u.
536. The same shortening power in the antepenultimate accent may be observed in rational and ratiocinate, where the first a in the first word and the o in the second, are short. The first a in the second word is short also by the power of the secondary accent; though Mr. Sheridan has, ​in my opinion, very erroneously divided ratiocination into ra-sho-sy-na-shun; that is, into a syllable less than it ought to have, with the o long instead of short.
537. The accent on the Latin antepenultimate seemed to have something of a similar tendency: for though the great difference in the nature of the Latin and English accent will allow us to argue from one to the other, but in very few circumstances, (503) yet we may perceive in that accent, so different from ours in general, a great coincidence in this particular; namely, its tendency to shorten an antepenultimate syllable. Bishop Hare tells us, that "Quae acuunter in tertia ab extrema, interdum acuta corripiunt, si positione sola longa sunt, ut óptime, sérvitus, pérvelim, Pámphilus, et pauca alia, quo Cretici mutantur, in Anapestos. Idem factum est in néutiquam, licet incipiat diphthongo." De Metr. Comic, pag. 62. Those words which have the accute accent on the antepenultimate syllable, have sometimes that syllable shortened, if it was only long by position, as óptime, sérvitus, pérvelim, Pámphilus, and a few others, which by this means are changed from Cretic to Anapestic feet: nay, néutiquam undergoes the same fate, though it begins with a diphthong.
SYLLABICATION.
538. Dividing words into syllables is a very different operation, according to the different ends proposed by it. The object of syllabication may be, either to enable children to discover the sound of words they are unacquainted with, or to shew the etymology of a word, or to exhibit the exact pronunciation of it.
539. When a child has made certain advances in reading, but is ignorant of the sound of many of the longer words, it may not be improper to lay down the common general rule to him, that a consonant between two vowels must go to the latter: and that two consonants coming together must be divided. Farther than this, it would be absurd to go with a child; for telling him that compounds must be divided into their simples, and that such consonants as may begin a word may begin a syllable, requires a previous knowledge of words, which children cannot be supposed to have; and which, if they have, makes the division of words into syllables unnecessary. Children, therefore, may be very usefully taught the general rule above mentioned, as, in many cases, it will lead them to the exact sound of the word, as in pro-vi-ded: and in others, it will enable them to give a good guess at it, as in de-li-cate; and this is all that can be expected: for, when we are to form an unknown compound sound, out of several known simple sounds, (which is the case with children, when we wish them to find out the sound of a word by spelling it) this, I say, is the only method that can be taken.
540. But an etymological division of words is a different operation: it is the division of a person acquainted with the whole word, and who wishes to convey, by this division, a knowledge of its constituent parts, as ortho-graphy, theo-logy, etc.
541. In the same manner, a person, who is pre-acquainted with the whole compound sound of a word, and wants to convey the sound of each part to one unacquainted with it, must divide it into such partial sounds as, when put together again, will exactly form the whole, as or-thog-ra-phy, the-ol-o-gy, etc. This is the method adopted by those who would convey the whole sound, by giving distinctly every part; and, when this is the object of syllabication, Dr. Lowth's rule is certainly to be followed. "The best and easiest rule," says the learned bishop, "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." Introduction to Eng. Gram, page 7.
542. In this view of syllabication we consider it only as the picture of actual pronunciation; but may we not consider it as directed likewise by some laws of its own? Laws which arise out of the very nature of enunciation, and the specific qualities of the letters? These laws certainly direct us to separate double consonants, and such as are uncombinable from the incoalescence of their sounds: and if such a separation will not paint the true sound of the word, we may be certain that such sound is unnatural, and has arisen from caprice: thus the words Chamber, Cambridge, and Cambrick, must be divided at the letter m, and as this letter, by terminating the syllable according to the settled rules of pronunciation, shortens the vowel—the general pronunciation given to these words must be absurd, and contrary to the first principles of the language. Angel, ancient, danger, manger, and ranger, are under the same predicament; but the paucity of words of this kind, so far from weakening the general rule, strengthen it. See Change.
543. By an induction which demonstrates the shortening power of the antepenultimate accent, has been shown the propriety of uniting the consonant to the vowel in the first syllable of demonstration, lamentation, propagation, etc. we thus decide upon the quantity of these vowels, which are so uncertain in our best dictionaries; and may we not hope, by a similar induction, and with the first principles of language in view, to decide the true, genuine, and analogical sound of some words of another kind which waver between different pronunciations? The antepenultimate accent has unquestionably a shortening power; and I have ​not the smallest doubt that the penultimate accent has a lengthening power: that is, if our own words, and words borrowed from other languages, of two syllables, with but one consonant in the middle, had been left to the general ear, the accent on the first syllable would have infallibly lengthened the first vowel. A strong presumption of this arises from our pronunciation of all Latin dissyllables in this manner, without any regard to the quantity of the original, (see Drama) and the ancient practice of doubling the consonant when preceded by a single vowel in the participial terminations, as to begin, beginning, to regret, regretted: and I believe it may be confidently affirmed, that words of two syllables from the Latin, with but one consonant in the middle, would always have had the first vowel long, if a pedantic imitation of Latin quantity had not prevented it. (see Drama) Let an Englishman, with only an English education, be put to pronounce zephyr, and he will, without hesitation, pronounce the e long, as in zenith: if you tell him the e is pronounced short in the Latin zephyrus, which makes it short in English, and he should happen to ask you the Latin quantity of the first syllable of comic, mimic, solace, etc. your answer would be a contradiction to your rule.—What irrefragably proves this to be the genuine analogy of English quantity, is the different quantity we give a Latin word of two syllables when in the nominative, and when in an oblique case: thus in the first syllable of sidus and nomen, which ought to be long; and of miser and onus, which ought to be short, we equally use the common long sound of the vowels: but in the oblique cases, sideris, nominis, miseri, oneris, etc. we use quite another sound, and that a short one: and this analogy runs through the whole English pronunciation of the learned languages. (533) (535)
544. But the small dependance of the English quantity on that of the Latin, will be best seen by a selection of words of two syllables, with the accent on the first, and but one consonant in the middle, and comparing them with the Latin words from which they are derived.
English dissyllables which have but one consonant, or a mute and liquid in the middle, and have the first syllable accented, contrasted with the Latin words from which they are derived, marked with their respective quantities.
Words in which the first vowel in both languages is long:
| pīca, | pīca. |
| drāma, | drāma. |
| lābra, | lābra, lăbra. |
| hȳdra, | hȳdra. |
| ēra, | aera. |
| strāta, | strāta. |
| īcon, | ἐικὼν. |
| stīpend, | stīpendium. |
| nōtice, | nōtĭtia. |
| frāgrance, | frāgro. |
| līcence, | līcentia. |
| crēdence, | crēdentia. |
| fēmale, | foemina. |
| ēdile, | aedīlis. |
| fēline, | fēlīnus. |
| rāsure, | rāsūra. |
| fībre, | fībra, fĭbra. |
| mētre, | mētrum, mĕtrum. |
| nāture, | nātūra. |
| plācate, | plācātus. |
| prīmate, | prīmātus. |
| clīmate, | clīma. |
| lībrate, | lībrātus, |
| vībrate, | vībro, vĭbro. |
| prīvate, | prīvātus. |
| cērate, | cērātus. |
| fīnite, | fīnītus. |
| lēvite, | lēvīta. |
| nātive, | nātīvus. |
| mōtive, | mōtivus. |
| vōtive, | vōtivus. |
| vōcal, | vōcālis. |
| prēdal, | praeda. |
| rēgal, | rēgālis. |
| lēgal, | lēgālis. |
| flāvour, | flāvŭs. |
| fēces, | faeces. |
| mānes, | mānēs. |
| īris, | īrĭs. |
| crīsis, | κρίσις, crīsis. |
| grātis, | grātis. |
| ēgress, | ēgrēssus. |
| rēgress, | rēgrēssus. |
| rēgress, | rĕgrēssus. |
| tȳgress, | tīgris, tĭgris. |
| rēbus, | rēbŭs. |
| bōlus, | bōlus, bŏlus. |
| prēcept, | praeceptum. |
| plēnist, | plēnus. |
| pāpist, | pāpa. |
| clīmax, | clīmax. |
| rēflex, | rēflexus, rĕflexus. |
| prēfix, | praefixum. |
| phēnix, | phoenix. |
| mātrix, | mātrix. |
| vārix, | vārix. |
| sȳrinx, | sȳrinx, σύρινξ. |
| pēnal, | paenālis. |
| fīnal, | fīnālis. |
| spīnal, | spīnālis. |
| trīnal, | trīnus. |
| hōral, | hōra. |
| flōral, | flōrālis. |
| nāsal, | nāsŭs. |
| fātal, | fātālis. |
| nātal, | nātālis. |
| vītal, | vītālis. |
| nāval, | nāvālis. |
| rīval, | rīvālis. |
| ōval, | ōvālis. |
| īdol, | īdōlum. |
| grēcism, | graecīsmus. |
| pāgan, | pāgānus. |
| ōmen, | ōmen. |
| sīren, | sīrēn. |
| sīphon, | σίφον, sīphon. |
| cōlon, | κῶλον, cōlon. |
| dēmon, | daemon. |
| hālo, | hālo. |
| sōlo, | sōlo. |
| tȳro, | tīro. |
| sōlar, | sōlāris. |
| lāzar, | lāzărus. |
| sōber, | sōbrĭus. |
| tȳger, | tīgris, tĭgris. |
| ēther, | aether. |
| ōker, | ώχρα. |
| mīmer, | mīmus. |
| cāper, | cāppăres. |
| vīper, | vīpera. |
| prētor, | praetor. |
| līmous, | līmōsus. |
| spīnous, | spīnōsus. |
| vīnous, | vīnōsus. |
| crēbrous, | crēber. |
| fētus, | foetus. |
| ēdict, | ēdīctum. |
| sēcret, | sēcrētus. |
| fībre, | fībra, fĭbra. |
| frāgrant, | frāgrans. |
| cōgent, | cōgent. |
| mōment, | mōmentum. |
| pōnent, | pōnens. |
| dīgest, sub. | dīgestus. |
| rēflux, | rēfluxus. |
| rēflux, | rĕfluxus. |
| trōphy, | trōphaeum. |
| trōphy, | trŏphaeum. |
| chēly, | chēle. |
| spīny, | spīna. |
| chāry, | cārus. |
| quēry, | quaere. |
| glōry. | glōria. |
| stōry, | histŏria. |
Words in which the same vowel is short in both languages:
| măgic, | măgĭcus. |
| trăgic, | trăgĭcus. |
| săbine, | săbīni. |
| fămine, | fămes. ​ |
| lŏgic, | lŏgica. |
| cŏlic, | cŏlĭcus. |
| chrŏnic, | chrŏnicus. |
| lўric, | lўrĭcus. |
| răbid, | răbĭdus. |
| ăcid, | ăcidus. |
| plăcid, | plăcĭdus. |
| rĭgid, | rĭgĭdus. |
| călid, | călĭdus. |
| vălid, | vălĭdus. |
| gĕlid, | gĕlĭdus. |
| ŏlid, | ŏlĭdus. |
| sŏlid, | sŏlĭdus. |
| tĭmid, | tĭmĭdus. |
| răpid, | răpĭdus. |
| săpid, | săpĭdus. |
| văpid, | văpĭdus. |
| tĕpid, | tĕpĭdus |
| nĭtid, | nĭtĭdus. |
| sĕcond, | sĕcūndus. |
| dĕcade, | dĕcăs. |
| mĕthod, | mĕthŏdus. |
| pălace, | pălātium. |
| ămice, | ămīctus. |
| chălice, | călix. |
| mălice, | mălĭtĭa. |
| ănice, | ănīsum. |
| ĭmage, | ĭmāgo. |
| rĕfuge, | rĕfŭgium. |
| ădage, | ădăgium. |
| ăloe, | ălŏe. |
| grăcile, | grăcilis. |
| dŏcile, | dŏcĭlis. |
| ăgile, | ăgĭlis. |
| frăgile, | frăgĭlis. |
| fĕbrile, | fĕbrĭlis, fēbrĭlis. |
| glŏbule, | glŏbŭlus. |
| măcule, | măcŭla. |
| plătane, | plătănŭs. |
| băsil, | băsĭlĭcum. |
| căvil, | căvillor. |
| dĕvil, | dĭăbolus. |
| ătom, | ătŏmus. |
| sŏphism, | sŏphīsma. |
| mĭnum, | mĭnus. |
| ălum, | ălūmen. |
| ĕbon, | ĕbĕnus. |
| plătin, | plătĭna. |
| rŏbin, | rŭbīcula. |
| cŭmin, | cŭminum. |
| lătin, | lătīnus. |
| căvin, | căvea. |
| săvin, | săbina. |
| cŏlumn, | cŏlumna. |
| drăgon, | drăco. |
| cănon, | cănon. |
| căvern, | căverna. |
| tăvern, | tăberna. |
| săturn, | săturnus. |
| vĭcar, | vĭcārius. |
| schŏlar, | schŏlāris. |
| slăver, | săliva. |
| prŏper, | prŏprĭus. |
| zĕphĭr, | zĕphўrŭs. |
| lĭquor, | lĭquor. |
| vĭgour, | vĭgor. |
| răpine, | răpīna. |
| pătine, | pătīna. |
| trĭbune, | trĭbunūs. |
| stăture, | stătūra. |
| rĕfuse, | rĕfūsus. |
| pălate, | pălātum. |
| sĕnate, | sĕnātus. |
| ăgate, | ăchātes. |
| trĭbute, | trĭbūtio. |
| mĭnute, | mĭnūtus. |
| stătute, | stătūtus. |
| vălue, | vălor. |
| stătue, | stătŭa. |
| mŏnarch, | mŏnarcha. |
| stŏmach, | stŏmachus. |
| epŏch, | epŏcha. |
| pŏlish, | pŏlitus. |
| fămish, | fămes. |
| pĕrish, | pĕrĭo. |
| părish, | părŏchia. |
| răvish, | răpio. |
| cŏrinth, | cŏrinthus. |
| ĕpic, | ĕpĭcŭs. |
| tŏnic, | tŏnĭcus. |
| cŏnic, | cŏnĭcus. |
| tŏpic, | tŏpĭcus. |
| trŏpic, | trŏpĭcus. |
| cўnic, | cўnĭcus. |
| stătic, | stătĭcus. |
| crĭtic, | crĭtĭcus. |
| mĕtal, | mĕtallum. |
| rĕbel, | rĕbello. |
| mŏdel, | mŏdŭlus. |
| cămel, | cămelus. |
| chăpel, | căpella. |
| nŏvel, | nŏvellus. |
| sĭgil, | sĭgillum. |
| vĭgil, | vĭgĭlia. |
| stĕril, | stĕrĭlis. |
| rĭgour, | rĭgĭr. |
| vălour, | vălor. |
| cŏlour, | cŏlor. |
| tĕnor, | tĕnor. |
| dŏlour, | dŏlŏr. |
| hŏnour, | hŏnor. |
| ăloes, | ălōes. |
| rĕlict, | rĕlictus. |
| prŏphet, | prŏphēta. |
| cŏmet, | cŏmēta. |
| plănet, | plănēta. |
| tĕnet, | tĕnĕo. |
| tăpet, | tăpes. |
| hăbit, | hăbĭtus. |
| plăcit, | plăcĭtum. |
| tăcit, | tăcĭtus. |
| ădit, | ădĭtus. |
| vŏmit, | vŏmo. |
| mĕrit, | mĕritum. |
| tălent, | tălentum. |
| pătent, sub. | păteo. |
| mŏdest, | mŏdestus. |
| fŏrest, | fŏrestum. |
| nĕphew, | nĕpos. |
| sĭnew, | sĭnuo. |
| mŏney, | mŏneta. |
| stŭdy, | stŭdiūm. |
Words in which the same vowel is long in English, and short in Latin:
| tūmid, | tŭmĭdus. |
| cōma, | cŏma. |
| quōta, | quŏta. |
| trīpod, | trĭpus. |
| sēquence, | sēquentia. |
| cādence, | cădens. |
| sīlence, | sĭlentium. |
| mōnade, | mŏnas. |
| trōchee. | trŏchaeus, |
| sātire, | sătўră. |
| vācate, | văco. |
| cāvate, | căvo. |
| dātive, | dătīvus. |
| trīumph, | trĭumphus. |
| fōcal, | fŏcus. |
| lōcal, | lŏcālis. |
| grēgal, | grĕgālis. |
| chōral, | chŏrŭs. |
| nīval, | nĭvālis. |
| lābel, | lăbellum. |
| lībel, | lĭbellus. |
| sērum, | sĕrum. |
| fōrum, | fŏrum. |
| lāpis, | lăpĭs. |
| bāsis, | băsĭs. |
| phāsis, | φάσις. |
| schēsis, | σχέσις, schĕsis. |
| thēsis, | θέσις, thĕsis. |
| trīpos, | trĭpos. |
| fōcus, | fŏcŭs. |
| crōcus, | crŏcŭs. |
| mōdus, | mŏdŭs. |
| gēnus, | gĕnŭs. |
| sīnus, | sĭnŭs. |
| gārous, | gărum. |
| scābrous, | scăber. |
| nōtus, | nŏtŭs. |
| ēpact, | ἐπάκται. |
| sātan, | sătan. |
| hȳmen, | hĭmen. |
| trīdent, | trĭdens. |
| trīgon, | trĭgon. |
| nēgro, | nĭgĕr. |
| hēro, | hĕros. |
| pōlar, | pŏlāris. |
| pāper, | păpyrus. |
| vāpour, | văpŏr. |
| fēver, | fĕbris, fēbris. |
| frāgor, | frăgor. |
| rīgor, | rĭgor. |
| īchor, | ιχωρ. |
| āchor, | ăchŏr. |
| sāpor, | săpŏr. |
| tēpor, | tĕpŏr. |
| fāvour, | făvor. |
| lābour, | lăbŏr. |
| ōdour, | ŏdŏr. |
| trēmur, | trĕmŏr. |
| vāpour, | văpor. |
| pēdal, | pĕdālis. |
| pētal, | pĕtālum. |
| rēcent, | rĕcens. |
| dēcent, | dĕcens. |
| rēgent, | rĕgens. |
| clīent, | clĭens. |
| sīlent, | sĭlentium. |
| pārent, | părens. |
| pātent, adj. | păteo. |
| lātent, | lătens. |
| pōtent, | pŏtens. |
| gērent, | gĕrens. |
| vīrent, | vĭrens. |
| frēquent, | frĕquens. |
| sēquent, | sĕquens. |
| sācrist, | săcer. |
| lōcust, | lŏcūstă. ​ |
| rōset, | rŏsa. |
| vācant, | văcans. |
| sēcant, | sĕcans. |
| vāgrant, | văgus. |
| tȳrant, | tĭrannus. |
| blātant, | blătărans. |
| nātant, | nătans. |
| phālanx, | phălanx. |
| āpex, | ăpex. |
| cālix, | călix. |
| hēlix, | ἕλιξ. |
| phārynx, | φαρυγξ. |
| lārynx, | γαρυγξ. |
| ōnyx, | ŏnyx. |
Words in which the same vowel is short in English, and long in Latin:
| cĭvic, | cīvicus. |
| mĭmic, | mīmicus. |
| ĕthic, | ἠθικη. |
| tăbid, | tābĭdus. |
| frĭgid, | frīgĭdus. |
| squălid, | squālĭdus. |
| ăcrid, | ācer. |
| ărid, | ārĭdus. |
| flŏrid, | flōrĭdus. |
| rŏrid, | rōrĭdus. |
| fĕtid, | foetĭdus. |
| lĭvid, | līvĭdus. |
| vĭvid, | vīvĭdus. |
| făcund, | fācūndus. |
| fĕcund, | foecūndus. |
| prĕbend, | praebēnda. |
| sŏlace, | sōlātium. |
| prĕface, | praefatio. |
| pŭmice, | pūmex. |
| pēnance, | poena. |
| flŏrence, | flōrentia. |
| prŏvince, | prōvincia. |
| prŏduce, | prōductio. |
| flăbile, | flābĭlis. |
| dĕbile, | dēbĭlis. |
| grănule, | grānŭlum. |
| prŏmise, | prōmitto. |
| cĕruse, | cerūssa. |
| lĕper, | lēpra, lĕpra. |
| prĭmer, | prīmitius. |
| prŏffer, | prōfero. |
| rĭver, | rīvus. |
| sĕver, | sēpăro. |
| clămour, | clāmŏr. |
| ĕthics, | ἠθικα. |
| crăsis, | crāsis. |
| prŏcess, | prōcessus. |
| spĭrit, | spīritus. |
| trăject, | trājectus. |
| prŏject, | prōjectus. |
| prŏduct, | prōductus. |
| crĕdit, | crēdĭtus. |
| lĕgate, | lēgātus. |
| grănate, | grānātus. |
| grănite, | grānātus. |
| spĭnach, | spīnāchia. |
| rădish, | rādix. |
| plănish, | plānus. |
| vănish, | vānesco. |
| fĭnish, | fīnio. |
| pŭnish, | pūnio. |
| flŏurish, | flōrio. |
| nŏurish, | nūtria. |
| cŏmic, | oōmĭcus. |
| cŏral, | cōrăllium. |
| mŏral, | mōrālis. |
| trămel, | trāma. |
| cĭvil, | cīvīlis. |
| lĭnen, | līnum. |
| sĕven, | sēptēm. |
| flŏrin, | flōrēntia. |
| rĕsin, | rēsina. |
| rŏsin, | rēsina. |
| mătin, | mātūtīnus. |
| sŏlemn, | sōlēmnis. |
| fĕlon, | fēlōnia. |
| mĕlon, | mēlo. |
| lĕmons, | līmonēs. |
| ĕcho, | ēchō, ἤχω. |
| bĭshop, | epīscopus. |
| prŏfit, | prōfĭcio. |
| lĭmit, | līmĭtatio. |
| spĭrit, | spīrītus. |
| vĭsit, | vīsĭto. |
| pĕdant, | paedāneous. |
| clĕment, | clēmens. |
| cĕment, | caementum. |
| prĕsent, | praesens. |
| prŏtest, | prōtestor. |
| lĭly, | līlĭum. |
| fĭlly, | fīlĭa. |
| vĕry, | vērò. |
| cĭty, | cīvĭtas. |
| prĭvy, | prīvus. |
545. In this view of the Latin and English quantity, we see how uncertain it is to argue from the former to the latter; for though the Latin accent is frequently a rule for placing the English accent, as in words derived whole from that language, as abdomen, acumen, etc. (503) or preserving the same number of syllables, as in impudent, elegant, from impudens, elegans, etc. (503) yet the quantity of the Latin seems to have no influence on that of the English. In words of two syllables, where one consonant comes between two vowels, as focus, basis, local, etc. though the vowel in the first syllable is short in Latin, it is long in English; and inversely, florid, frigid, livid, etc. have the vowels in the first syllable short, though these vowels are long in floridus, frigidus, lividus, etc. so that if any thing like a rule can be formed, it is, that when a word of three syllables in Latin, with the two first short, is anglicised by dropping the last syllable; we shorten the first syllable of the English dissyllable, unless it ends with the vowel u. (535) Thus we see the shortening power of our English antepenultimate accent, which shortens every antepenultimate vowel but u in our pronunciation of Latin words; as in mimicus, vividus, etc. and continues its shortening power in the penultimate accent of these words when anglicised into mimick and vivid; and hence it is that the short quantity of the first vowel in dissyllables is become so prevalent in our language, to the great detriment of its sound, and the disturbance of its simplicity.
It may be necessary, in the next place, to take a view of such words as are either of Saxon or French original, or not so immediately derived from the Latin, as to be influenced by its quantity.
Dissyllables with but one consonant in the middle, having the first syllable pronounced long:
| sōfa, | aera, | līlach, | sōphi, |
| āga, | bīfold, | trīglyph, | kāli, |
| ēpha, | dōtard, | gārish, | rēbeck, |
| gāla, | dōtage, | zēnith, | cōpal, |
| chīna, | cōping, | cādi, | gābel, |
| nāvel, | ēgre, | bōsom, | grāvy, |
| hāzel, | cīpher, | rāven, | īvy, |
| fōcil, | fāther, | ēven, | hāzy, |
| ēvil, | sāker, | zēchin, | nīzy, |
| ācorn, | ōker, | bāson, | clōver, |
| māson, | stōker, | cāpon, | sīzer, |
| dādo, | tāper, | āpron, | nādir, |
| sāgo, | tōper, | īron, | tābour, |
| brāvo, | wāter, | glēby, | wāges, |
| trōchar, | wāver, | hōly, | bōlis, |
| pōlar, | lēver, | zāny, | tōphet, |
| grōcer, | ōver, | tīny, | ēgret, |
| spīder, | rīgol, | pōny, | rōlant, |
| cīder, | tōken, | crōny, | pīlot, |
| wāfer, | mēgrim, | tōry, | bōrax, |
| wāger, | bēsom, | mīsy, | bāby. |
Dyssyllables with but one consonant in the middle, having the first syllable pronounced short:
| bŏrough, | drĭvel, | flăgon, | gĕnet, |
| sĕraph, | swĭvel, | wăgon, | clăret, |
| rĕlish, | hŏvel, | tălon, | clŏset, |
| blĕmish, | grŏvel, | tĕnon, | cĭvet, |
| bănish, | shŏvel, | hĕron, | trĭvet, |
| dămask, | drăzel, | băron, | rĭvet, |
| frŏlick, | mănage, | sĭrup, | cŏvet, |
| mĕdal, | bŏrage, | lĕcher, | făgot, |
| shĕkel, | vĭsage, | wĕther, | bĭgot, |
| ămel, | răvage, | găther, | jĭgot, |
| chĭsel, | săvage, | lăther, | spĭgot, |
| găvel, | rĭvage, | răther, | pĭvot, |
| ĕphod, | trăvise, | nĕther, | dĕsart, |
| hăzard, | trăverse, | hĭther, | cŏvert, |
| hăgard, | rĕfuse, | wĭther, | cŏpist, |
| dĭzard, | frĭgate, | thĭther, | prŏvost, |
| lĭzard, | shĕriff, | tĭther, | gămot, |
| vĭzard, | trăvail, | ŏther, | shădow, |
| wĭzard, | pĕril, | mŏther, | wĭdow, |
| bŏdice, | vĕnom, | smŏther, | hŏney, |
| bălance, | wŏman, | pŏther, | cŏmely, |
| vălance, | rĭven, | sĭker, | măny, |
| dămage, | slŏven, | clĕver, | cŏny, |
| hŏmage, | ŏven, | nĕver, | bŭry, |
| grăvel, | sătin, | quĭver, | bŭsy, |
| bĕvil, | băvin, | cŏver, | bĕvy, |
| lĕvel, | răvin, | hŏver, | lĕvy, |
| rĕvel, | spăvin, | mănor, | tĭvy, |
| snĭvel, | plĕvin, | căract, | prĭvy, |
| rĭvel, | cŏvin, | vălet, | pĭty, |
From the perusal of this selection we see a great majority of words where the first vowel is sounded short, and therefore, to some inspectors it may seem improbable that the original tendency of our Saxon language was to long quantity of the penultimate vowel. But as Mr. Nares very judiciously observes, "the rule is sufficiently general to be admitted, and is undoubtedly founded in the nature of our pronunciation:" for which he quotes Dr. Wallis, who says, "Haec videtur genuina linguae nostrae ratio antiqua." Elements of Orthöepy, page 225.
546. Those who have made the progress of languages their study, will observe, it is presumed, that the broad sounds of vowels change to the slender, the difficult consonants to the easier, and the long vowels to short ones. This, it is imagined, will be found to be true in all languages, as well as our own; and such alteration seems founded in the nature of man and of society. The next object to understanding a language being dispatch, it is no wonder that short sounds have been encroaching on us, and depriving us of the tune of our words for the sake of gaining time. This is apparent in the abbreviation of simples when compounded, as in knowledge, shepherd, etc. (518) but as it is the business of art to correct and regulate the eccentricities of nature and the excesses of custom, it should be the care of every philosophic grammarian to keep his eye upon the original genius and general scope of his language, and to suffer custom to depart as little from them as possible. But although no inconsistency or want of analogy can alter any pronunciation which is once acknowledged and settled, yet, when a pronunciation is wavering, consistency, analogy, and general principles, ought to decide against a great majority of mere fashion and caprice.
Thus have I endeavoured to give a distinct view of the correspondence between the accent and quantity of the learned languages and our own; and to rescue a plain Englishman (who, as Ben Jonson says of Shakespeare, has little Latin and less Greek) from the supercilious criticism of those Greeklings and Latinitasters, who are often remarkably ignorant of their own language, and yet frequently decide upon its accent and quantity, because they have a smattering of Greek and Latin. If the question turns upon the accent of an English word, the Latin word it is derived from is immediately produced, and sentence passed without appeal; and yet if the Englishman were to ask the rule on which this decision is founded, the scholar would, in all probability, be at a loss to tell him. Has every English word, he might say, the same accent as the Latin word from which it is derived? This the scholar could not answer in the affirmative, as the least recollection would tell him that parsimony, acrimony, etc. cannot be accented after the Latin parsimonia, acrimonia, etc. as the the Latin is never accented higher than the antepenultimate. But perhaps the English word is adopted whole from the Latin. Here is undoubtedly a fair pretence for pronouncing it with the Latin accent; and yet we see how many exceptions there are to this rule. (See No. 503, b.) Or perhaps the English word, though anglicised, retains the same number of syllables. This, indeed, may be said to be a general rule for preserving the Latin accent, but so general as to be neglected in a thousand instances. (See No. 503, f, g, h, i, k.) But if the scholar, as is often the case, huddles quantity and accent together, and infers the English quantity from the Latin; the English scholar needs only to re​fer him to the selections here given, (No. 544, 545) to show the inanity of such a plea. Upon the whole, therefore, I flatter myself that men of learning will be gratified to see the subject in a clearer point of view than any in which it has ever been exhibited; and the plain English scholar will be indebted to me for giving him as clear and distinct an idea of the connexion between the Greek and Latin accent and quantity, and the accent and quantity of his native tongue, as if he had Homer and Horace by heart; and for placing him out of the reach of those pert minor critics, who arc constantly insulting him with their knowledge of the dead languages.
Of the Quantity of the Unaccented Vowels not in the same Syllable with Consonants.
547. Accented syllables, as we have before observed, (179) are so strongly marked as to be easily comprehended when they are once settled by custom or analogy; but those immediately before or after the accent are in a state of uncertainty, which some of our best judges find themselves unable to remove. Some grammarians have called all the open vowels before or after the accent short, though the ear so evidently dictates the contrary in the u in utility, the o in obedience, etc. Some have saved themselves the trouble of farther search by comprehending these vowels under the epithet obscure: nay, so unfixed do the sounds of these vowels seem, that Dr. Kenrick, whose Rhetorical Dictionary shows he was possessed of very great philological abilities, seems as much at a loss about them as the meanest grammarian in the kingdom; for when he comes to mark the sound of the vowel o in the first syllable of a series of words with the accent on the second, he makes the o in promulge, propel, and prolix, long, as they ought to be; and the same letter in proboscis, proceed, and procedure, short. Dominion, domestic, donation, and domain, are marked as if pronounced dom-inion, dom-estic, don-ation, and dom-ain, with the o short; while the first of docility, potential, and monotony, have the o marked long, as in donor, potent, and modish; though it is certain to a demonstration, that the etymology, accent, and letters, being the same, the same sound must be produced, unless where custom has precisely marked a difference; and that the first syllables of promulge, propel, and prolix, and those of proboscis, proceed, and procedure, have no such difference, seems too evident to need proof.
548. I know it may be demanded, with great plausibility, how do I know that there is not this very inconsistency in custom itself? What right have I to suppose that custom is not as vague and capricious in these syllables as in those under the accent? To which I answer: if custom has determined the sound of these vowels, the dispute is at an end. I implicitly acquiesce in the decision; but if professors of the art disagree in their opinions, it is a shrewd sign that custom is not altogether so clear in its sentence; and I must insist on recurring to principles till custom has unequivocally decided.
549. Every vowel that is neither shortened by the accent, nor succeeded by a double consonant, naturally terminates a syllable; and this terminating vowel, though not so properly long as if the accent were on it, would be very improperly termed short, if by short, as is often the case, be meant shut. (65) According to this idea of syllabication, it is presumed that the word opinion would fall into three distinct parts, and every part be terminated by a consonant but the first, thus, o-pin-ion.
550. But it may be demanded, what reason is there in the nature of the thing for dividing the word in this manner, rather than into op-in-ion, where a consonant ends every syllable? In this, as in many other cases, of delicacy, we may be allowed to prove what is right, by first proving what is wrong. Every ear would be hurt, if the first syllable of opinion and opulence were pronounced exactly alike, op-in-ion would be as different from o-pin-ion, as o-pu-lence from op-u-lence, and consequently a different syllabication ought to be adopted; but as opulence is rightly divided into op-u-lence, opinion must be divided into o-pin-ion; that is, the o must be necessarily separated from the p, as in o-pen; for, as was before observed, every vowel pronounced alone has its open sound, as nothing but its junction with a consonant can shut it, and consequently unaccented vowels net necessarily joined to a consonant are always open: therefore, without violating the fundamental laws of pronunciation, opinion must necessarily be divided into o-pin-ion, and not op-in-ion, and the o pronounced as in the word open, and not as in opulence: which was the thing to be proved.
551. If these reasons are valid with respect to the vowel in question, they have the same force with respect to every other vowel, not shut by a consonant, throughout the language. That the vowels in this situation are actually open, we may easily perceive by observing that vowel, which, from its diphthongal and semi-consonant sound, is less liable to suffer by obscure pronunciation than any other. The letter u, in this situation, always preserves itself full and open, as ​we may observe in utility, lucubration, etc. The o, the most open of all the simple vowels, has the same tendency in obedience, opake, position, etc. the e in the first syllable of event, in the second of delegate, the first and third of evangelist, in the second of gaiety, nicety, etc. the a in the first of abate, and the second of probable, etc. and the i in nullity. This unaccented letter being no more than e, and this sound, when long, corresponding exactly with its short sound, (which is not the case with any of the other vowels, 65, 66) the difference between the long and short, or open and shut sound of this letter, is less perceptible than in any other: yet we may easily perceive that a delicate pronunciation evidently leaves it open when unaccented in indivisibility, as this word would not be justly pronounced if the i in every syllable were closed by a consonant, as if divided into in-div-is-ib-il-it-y; the first, third, and fifth syllables would, indeed, be justly pronounced according to this division, as these have all accentual force, which shuts this vowel, and joins it to the succeeding consonant; but in the second, fourth, and sixth syllables, there is no such force, and consequently it must remain open and unconnected with the consonant: though, as was before observed, the long and short sound of this vowel are so near each other, that the difference is less perceived than in the rest. Every ear would be displeased at such a pronunciation as is indicated by ut-til-lit-y, luc-cub-bration, op-pin-ion, pos-ition, ev-vent, ev-van-gel-list, ab-bate, prob-bab-ble, etc. but for exactly the same reasons that the vowels out of the stress ought to be kept open in these words, the slender i must be kept open in the same situation in the word in-di-vis-i-bil-i-ty, an every similar word in the language.
552. From all this it will necessarily follow, that the custom adopted by the ancients and moderns of joining the single consonant to the latter vowel in syllabication, when investigating the unknown sound of a word, has its foundation in reason and good sense: that the only reason why vowels are short and shut, is their junction with a consonant; so those that are not joined to consonants, when we are not speaking metrically, cannot be said to be either short or shut: and that as all accented vowels, when final or pronounced alone, have their open sound, so those vowels that are alone or final in a syllable must necessarily retain their open sound likewise, as nothing but uniting instantaneously with the succeeding consonant can shut them: and though nothing but a delicate ear will direct us to the degree of openness with which we must pronounce the first unaccented o in docility, domestic, potential, proceed, monastic, monotony, etc. we may be assured that it is exactly under the same predicament, with respect to sound, in all these words: and as they can never be pronounced short and shut, as if written dossility, dommestic, etc. without hurting the dullest ear; so the e in event, evangelist, etc. and the i in the third syllable of utility, and in the second, fourth, and sixth of indivisibility, can never be sounded as if joined to the consonant without offending every delicate ear, and overturning the first principles of pronunciation.
553. The only considerable exception to this general rule of syllabication, which determines the sound of the unaccented vowels, is when e succeeds the accent, and is followed by r, as in literal, general, misery, etc. which can never be pronounced lit-e-ral, gen-e-ral, mis-e-ry, etc. without the appearance of affectation. In this situation we find the r corrupt the sound of the e, as it does that of every other vowel when in a final unaccented syllable. For this consonant being nothing more than a jar, it unavoidably mixes with the e in this situation, and reduces it to the obscure sound of short u, (418) a sound to which the other unaccented vowels before r have sometimes so evident a tendency.
554. An obscure idea of the principles of syllabication just laid down, and the contradiction to them perceived in this exception, has made most of our orthöepists extremely wavering and uncertain in their division of words into syllables, when the unaccented e has preceded r, where we not only find them differing from each other, but sometimes even from themselves:
| Sheridan. | Kenrick. | Scott. | Perry. |
| miz-ur-ubl, | —————— | mis-e-ra-bl, | mis-er-a-ble, |
| miz-zur-y, | mis-er-y, | mis-e-ry, | mis-e-ry, |
| sur-dzhury, | sur-ge-ry, | sur-ge-ry, | surg-e-ry, |
| sor-cer-y, | sor-ce-ry, | sor-ce-ry, | sor-ce-ry, |
| rob-bur-y, | —————— | rob-ber-y, | rob-be-ry, |
| fore-jer-y, | for-ge-ry, | for-ge-ry, | forg-e-ry, |
| slave-er-y, | sla-ve-ry, | sla-ve-ry, | sla-ve-ry, |
| na-vur-y, | kna-ve-ry, | kna-ve-ry, | knav-e-ry, |
| bra-vu-ry, | —————— | bra-ve-ry, | brav-e-ry, |
| cook-er-y, | —————— | cook-e-ry, | cook-e-ry, |
| rook-ur-y, | rook-er-y, | rook-e-ry, | rook-e-ry, |
| im-midzh-ry, | im-a-ger-y, | im-a-ger-y, | im-a-ge-ry, |
| flum-mur-y, | flum-mer-y, | flum-ma-ry, | flum-mer-y, |
| mum-mur-y, | mum-mer-y, | mum-me-ry, | mum-me-ry, |
| mur-der-ur, | —————— | mur-der-er, | mur-der-er, |
| mur-dur-us, | —————— | mur-der-ous, | mur-der-ous, |
| fine-ur-y, | —————— | fi-ne-ry, | fine-ry, |
| gun-nur-y, | gun-ner-y, | gun-ne-ry, | gun-ne-ry, |
| dan-je-rus, | dan-ger-ous, | dan-ger-ous, | dang-er-ous, |
| vo-sif-er-us, | vo-cif-e-rous, | vo-cif-er-ous, | vo-cif-e-rous, ​ |
| som-nif-fer-us, | som-nif-e-rous, | som-nif-er-ous, | som-nif-e-rous, |
| nu-mer-rus, | nu-me-rous, | nu-me-rous, | nu-me-rous, |
| in-nu-mur-us, | —————— | in-nu-me-rous, | in-nu-me-rous, |
| pros-per-us, | —————— | pros-per-ous, | pros-per-ous, |
| im-pros-pur-us, | —————— | un-pros-per-ous, | un-pros-per-ous, |
| ut-tur-ebl, | —————— | ut-ter-a-ble, | ut-ter-a-ble, |
| un-ut-ter-ebl, | —————— | un-ut-ter-a-ble, | un-ut-ter-a-ble. |
555. I have been the more copious in my collection of these varieties, that I might not appear to have taken the advantage of any oversight or mistake of the press: nor is it any wonder when the principles of syllabication so strongly incline us to leave the vowel e, like the other vowels, open before a single consonant; and the ear so decidedly tells us, that this letter is not always open when preceded by the accent, and followed by r, it is no wonder, I say, that a writer should be perplexed, and that he should sometimes incline to one side, and sometimes to the other. I am conscious I have not always been free from this inconsistency myself. The examples therefore which I have selected, will, I hope, fully justify me in the syllabication I have adopted; which is, that of sometimes separating the e from the r in this situation, and sometimes not. When solemn and deliberate speaking has seemed to admit of lengthening the e, I have sometimes made it end the syllable; when this was not the case, I have sometimes joined it to the r: thus, as e in the penultimate syllable of incarcerate, reverberate, etc. seems, in solemn speaking, to admit of a small degree of length and distinctness, it ends a syllable; but as no solemnity of pronunciation seems to admit of the same length and openness of the e in tolerate, deliberate, etc. it is united with r, and sounded in the notation by short u. It ought, however, to be carefully observed, that though the e in this situation is sometimes separated from the r, there is no speaking, however deliberate and solemn, that will not admit of uniting it to r, and pronouncing it like short u, without offending the nicest and most critical ear.
556. It must also be noted, that this alteration of the sound of e before r is only when it follows the accent, either primary or secondary; (522) (530) for when it is in the first syllable of a word, though unaccented, it keeps its true sound: thus, though the e is pronounced like u in alter, alteration, etc. yet in perfection, terrific, etc. this letter is as pure as when the accent is on it in perfect, terrible, etc.
557. Something like the corruption of the sound of unaccented e before r we may perceive in the colloquial pronunciation of the vowel o in the same situation; and accordingly we find our best orthöepists differ in their notation of this letter: thus memory, memorable, immemorable, memorably, memorize, have the o pronounced like short u by Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Scott; and memorandum, with the o, as in open; while Dr. Kenrick gives the o in all these words the sound it has in the conjunction or. Mr. Sheridan marks the unaccented o in corporal, corporate, and corporation, like the o in open; but Mr. Scott pronounces this o in corporal, corporate, and corporation, like short u, and the same letter in incorporate and incorporation like Mr. Sheridan; and Dr. Kenrick, like the o in the former instances. Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Scott are uniform in their pronunciation of the same vowel like short u in armour, armorer, armory, pillory, suasory, persuasory, allegory, compulsory, cursory, and predatory; while Dr. Kenrick pronounces the o in armour and armory like the o in open, and the same letter in pillory, allegory, and cursory, like the o in or, nor, etc. This diversity, among good judges, can arise from nothing but the same uncertainty of the sound of this letter that we have just observed of the e; but if we narrowly watch our pronunciation, we shall find that the unaccented o may be opened and lengthened, in deliberate speaking, without hurting the ear, which is not always the case with e; and this has induced me generally to separate the o from the succeeding r, when immediately following the accent; though I am sensible that the rapidity of colloquial speaking often reduces it to short u without offending the ear: but when the o is removed more than one syllable from the accent, the most deliberate speaking generally lets it slide into the other vowel; for which reason I have commonly marked it in this manner. See Command.
559. A TABLE of the SIMPLE and DIPHTHONGAL VOWELS referred to by the Figures over the Letters in this Dictionary.
| english sounds. | english sounds. | english sounds. | french sounds. |
| 1. | 1a. | The long slender English a, as in f1ate, p1aper, etc. (73) | é in fée, épée. |
| 2. | 2a. | The long Italian a, as in f2ar, f2a-ther, pa-p2a, mam-m2a, (77) | a in fable, rable. |
| 3. | 3a. | The broad German a, as in f3all, w3all, w3a-ter, (83) | â in âge, Châlons. |
| 4. | 4a. | The short sound of the Italian a, as in f4at, m4at, m4ar-ry, (81) | a in fat, matin. |
| 1. | 1e. | The long e, as in m1e, h1ere, m1e-tre, m1e-dium, (93) | i in mitre, epitre. |
| 2. | 2e. | The short e, as in m2et, l2et, g2et, (95) | e in mette, nette. |
| 1. | 1i. | The long diphthongal i, as in p1ine, t1i-tle, (105) | aï in laïque, naif. |
| 2. | 2i. | The short simple i, as in p2in, t2it-tle, (107) | i in inné, titré. |
| 1. | 1o. | The long open o, as in no, n1ote, n1o-tice, (162) | o in globe, lobe. |
| 2. | 2o. | The long close o, as in m2ove, pr2ove, (164) | ou in mouvoir, pouvoir. |
| 3. | 3o. | The long broad o, as in n3or, f3or, 3or; like the broad 3a, (167) | o in or, for, encor. |
| 4. | 4o. | The short broad o, as in n4ot, h4ot, g4ot, (163) | o in hotte, cotte. |
| 1. | 1u. | The long diphthongal u, as in t1ube, c1u-pid, (171) | iou in Cioutat, chiourme. |
| 2. | 2u. | The short simple u, as in t2ub, c2up, s2up, (172) | eu in neuf, veuf. |
| 3. | 3u. | The middle or obtuse u, as in b3ull, f3ull, p3ull, (173) | ou in boule, foule, poule. |
| 3o2i. | 3o2i. | The long broad 3o, and the short 2i, as in 3o2il, (299) | oï in cycloïde, heroïque. |
| 3o3u. | 3o3u. | The long broad 3o, and the middle obtuse 3u, as in th3o3u, p3o3und, (313) | aoû in Aoûte. |
| Th. The acute or sharp th, as in think, thin, (466) ||||
| Th. The grave or flat th, as in this, that, (41) (50) (469) ||||
560. When G is printed in the Roman character, it has its hard sound in get, gone, etc. as go, give, geese, etc. when it has its soft sound, it is spelled in the notation by the consonant J, as giant, ginger, ji-ant, jin-ger. The same may be observed of S: the Roman character denotes its hard sound in sin, sun, etc. as so, sit, sense, etc. its soft sound is spelled by z, as rose, raise, etc. roze, raze, etc.
ADVERTISEMENT.
In the course of a critical investigation of the powers of the letters in the foregoing principles, there is scarcely a word of any difficulty or diversity of sound which has not been noticed, and the true pronunciation, with the reasons and authorities for it, pointed out; so that if the inspector should not meet with sufficient information in the Dictionary under the word, let him consult the Principles under the vowel, diphthong, or consonant, he wishes to be explained, and it is highly probable he will meet with the satisfaction he requires. Thus to know something more, concerning the g, in the word impugn, which some speakers pronounce and others suppress, let him look into the Principles under the letter G, No. 386, and he will find additional observations to those in the Dictionary under the word. It is true that most of these doubtful, as well as other words, are referred to the Principles; but if this reference should by chance be omitted, it is hoped that this Advertisement will supply the deficiency.
* ↑ How so accurate a grammarian as Dr. Lowth could pronounce so definitively on the nature of y, and insist on its being always a vowel, can only be accounted for by considering the small attention which is generally paid to this part of grammar. His words are these: "The same sound which we express by the initial y, our Saxon ancestors in many instances expressed by the vowel e; as eower, your; and by the vowel i; as iw, yew; iong, young. In the word yew the initial y has precisely the same sound with i in the words view, lieu, adieu; the i is acknowledged to be a vowel in these latter; how then can the y, which has the very same sound, possibly be a consonant in the former? Its initial sound is generally like that of i in shire, or ee nearly; it is formed by the opening of the mouth without any motion or contact of the parts: in a word, it has every property of a vowel, and not one of a consonant." Introduction to English Grammar, page 3. Thus far the learned bishop; who has too fixed a fame to suffer any diminution by a mistake in so trifling a part of literature as this: but it may be asked, if y has every property of a vowel and not one of a consonant, why, when it begins a word, does it not admit the euphonic article an before it?
* ↑ An ignorance of the real composition of u, and a want of knowing that it partook of the nature of a consonant, has occasioned a great diversity and uncertainty in prefixing the indefinite article an before it. Our ancestors judging of its nature from its name, never suspected that it was not a pure vowel, and constantly prefixed the article an before nouns beginning with this letter; as an union, an useful book. They were confirmed in this opinion by finding the an always adapted to the short u, as an umpire, an umbrella, without ever dreaming that the short u is a pure vowel, and essentially different from the long one. But the modern, not resting in the name of a letter, and consulting their ears rather than their eyes, have frequently placed the a instead of an before the long u, and we have seen a union, a university, a useful book, from some of the most respectable pens of the present age. Nor can we doubt a moment of the propriety of this orthography, when we reflect that these words actually begin to the ear with y, and might be spelled younion, youniversity, youseful, and can therefore no more admit of an before them than year and youth. See Remarks on the word An in this Dictionary.
* ↑ Since the first publication of this Dictionary the Publick have been favoured with some very elaborate and judicious observations on English pronunciation by Mr. Smith, in a Scheme of a French and English Dictionary. In this work he departs frequently from my judgement, and particularly in the pronunciation of the letter a, when succeeded by ss, st, or n, and another consonant, as past, last, chance, etc. to which he annexes the long sound of a in father. That this was the sound formerly, is highly probable from its being still the sound given it by the vulgar, who are generally the last to alter the common pronunciation; but that the short a in these words is now the general pronunciation of the polite and learned world, seems to be candidly acknowledged by Mr. Smith himself; and as every correct ear would be disgusted at giving the a in these words the full sound of the a in father, any middle sound ought to be discountenanced, as tending to render the pronunciation of a language obscure and indefinite. (163) Ben Jonson, in his Grammar, classes salt, malt, balm, and calm, as having the same sound of a; and aunt, as having the same deep sound, as audience, author, law, saw, draw, etc.
* ↑ We see how many disputes the simple and ambiguous nature of vowels created among grammarians, and how it has begot the mistake concerning diphthongs: all that are properly so are syllables, and not diphthongs, as intended to be signified by that word. Holder.
* ↑ This omission of the letter L, I see, has been rectified in the last quarto edition of Johnson's Dictionary; and it would have been well if the Editors had acknowledged their obligations and extended their emendations to the word Codle, and several others.
* ↑ Professor Ward, speaking of the reason for doubling the s at the end of words, says, "s doubled retains its proper force, which, when single at the end of words, is softened into z, as bis, biss." And Dr. Wallis tells us, that it is almost certain when a noun has s hard in the last syllable, and becomes a verb; that in the latter case the s becomes soft, as a house is pronounced with the hard s, and to house with the s soft.
* ↑ See Observations on the Greek and Latin Accent and Quantity, at the end of the Key to the Classical Pronunciation of Greek, Latin, and Scripture Proper Names.
* ↑ It is not improbable that the verb, by receiving a participial termination, has inclined us to pronounce that part of speech with an accent nearer the end than we do the noun: for though we can without any difficulty pronounce the verb with the accent on the noun, we cannot so easily pronounce the participle and the adverb formed from it with that accent: thus we can pronounce to tránsport with the accent on the first syllable; but not so easily tránsporting and tránsportingly. This is a solid reason for the distinction, and ought to induce us, where we can, to observe it. A sépulchre and to sepúlchre seem to require it. See the word.
* ↑ Ben Jonson seems to have had a faint idea of this coincidence, where he says, "all verbs coming from the Latin, either of the supine or otherwise, hold the accent as it is found in the first person present of those Latin verbs, as ánimo, ánimate, célebro, célebrate; except words compounded of facio, as lique-facio, liquefy; and of statuo, as constituto, constitute." English Grammar. Of the extent and justness of these observation, the critical reader will be the best judge.
* ↑ These words ought certainly to be accented alike; and accordingly we find Dr. Johnson, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Barclay, and Mr. Smith, place the accent on the second syllable; but though Fenning accents significatory in in the same manner, he places the accent on the antepenultimate of pacificatory; and Kenrick likewise accents the second syllable of significatory, but the first of pacificatory: the other orthöepists who have not got these words have avoided these inconsistencies.
* ↑ It is highly probable that, in Ben Jonson's time, the a in this word was pronounced as in an, since he classes it to show the short sound of a with art, act, and apple. Grammar.
* ↑ Alioqui, pro usu, abusus et inveteratus error nobis obtruderetur. Olim enim pro mutatione sonorum mutabantur et literae: et si quando consuetudo aliquid mutasset, scribendi quoque modus statim variabatur. Unde quum apud Ennium et Plautum Sont et Servos diceretur et scriberetur, posteà multis aurium delicijs o vocali rejecta, quod vastus illius videretur sonus u littera substituta est, et sono expressa; ita ut eorum loco Sunt et Servus prolatum et scriptum sit. Adolphi Mekerchi Brugensis De Vet. et Rect. Pronun. Linguae Graecae Commentarius.
* ↑ I am aware that this ingenious writer seems to avoid this inconsistency, by premising, in his Rhetorical Grammar, page 43, that he has sometimes marked the o in words beginning with a preposition with the oratorial, and sometimes with the colloquial pronunciation: thus, in commune, communicate, etc. the oratorial sound is given as in the first syllable of common, while the colloquial sound changes the o into u, as if the words were written cummune, cummunicate, etc. but the distinction in these examples does not touch the point: here there is a change only of one short sound for another, and not any promiscuous use of a long and short, or open and shut sound of the same letter. Dr. Kenrick himself, when he marks the o in proboscis, proceed, and procedure, does not adopt the short u, as he does in commune, communicate, etc. nor is he aware of the essential difference with respect to the quantity of the vowel, in the double consonant in one set of words, and the single one in the other.
* ↑ It is plain that Mr. Sheridan considered the unaccented vowel i, whether ending a syllable, or joined to the succeeding consonant, as standing for the same sound; for we see him sometimes making use of one division, and sometimes of another: thus he divides the word di-ver-si-ty with the i terminating the penultimate syllable, and u-ny-ver-sit-y with the same i united to the consonant. The same variety takes place in the words di-vis-i-bil-i-ty and in-di-vis-i-bil-it-y, while Dr. Kenrick divides all words of this termination regularly in the former manner.