New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-06-01

gsThetcs, aisle, boat, board, aye In view Of this
fact, what's there wonderful in combination Of
four letters, O-u-g-h, having even as many as
twelve different powers
To reproduce what has already been said upon
this subject the proposition Of the last Of the lines
from Notes and Queries" that there appears to
be no reason for these different sounds, is based
on fallacy which is continually leading sciolists
into pathological error, and has misled even some
Of the ablest of photographers. They forget that
the sole rules for the regulation of language are
those derived from custom, as Horace puts it
Quem penes arbitrium est, ct jus norma loquendir
Had this been appreciated, we should never
have had such egotistic corruptions as center
instead of centre, given as the correct English
forms of the present day. Whatever may once
have been the usus, centre is the uSus now Had
anything but the
Hoe voo, sic jubeo, stet pro ratione voluutaS,
governed we should have had no attempt to force
upon US, in opposition not only to polite custom in
English, but in opposition to the polite custom in
all the modern languages, such cacophonous
form as contemporary instead of contemporary.
Universal custom-by which, of course, is always
to be understood polite custom-the custom Of
the literati-of the forum the bar, the pulpit the
rostrum, the desk the stage, and educated soci-
ety-had settled such words as centre and co1ten.
porary, both in spelling and pronunciation. And
it was with equal egotsm, i'll taste and impraeti.
cabiity, that one man tried to force the English.
speaking scores of millions to alter all this to suit
his notions. The Harpers and the Tribunes and
cheap stereotype school.books pander to them, it
is true but only to render corruptions more cor
rupt. Long before these corruptions can reach
fba irnTna 10 4
interested in receiving them as improvements in
the English language, that language will have
changed again, as much as it has changed since
the days of Wiclif and Chaucer and they will be
known if at all, as at best only revivas Of obsolete
forms and futile attempts at forming Language
while pretending to illustrate what that Language
really is.
We are but repeating ourselves when we say
that o-u-g-h has dozen different sounds, which
although itmay be difficult to render them clear, will
become distinctly appreciable on a little careful
and candid reflection. In the first place
it has the sound in so 2ndly, of on in thou ;
3dly, Of f in muf; 4thly of a1o in lar; 5thly, OF
90 in tooj 6thly, of ocb in lock 7thly, of up il
sup Sthly, of oUgh in Tough, in which the rough
cultural sound cannot be described in English by
any simpler word; 9thly of a cultural sound simi
lar to the last, but much smoother, and which We
know Of no better way of representing than by
saying it is that heard in one of the forms of pro
nuncaton given to Y0ugbal, where the on is
given the power of the obscure 0, and the oh that
of the aspirate b. 1Othly, of the obscure o, as in
the word mason; llthy, of of in loft 12thly, OF
a,qt' in algfu.
In some words it is to be observed that the pro-
nunCiaton is varied according to their meaning
In others it is pronounced in more than one way
even when they are employed in the same sense
In yet others, the authorities at our command dc
not make it clear what sound belongs to them.
Further, names of persons in which the combina-
tion occurs are not considered in our synopsis be.
cause in them custom or caprice might vary its
power to an indefinite extent. To take one case by
way of example, in the patronymic ''Brougham, .
given by Worcester as bro-am" or " bronze 81
and which is by no means unfrequently pronounced
" bru-am' and bruno" or broom" the com
bination ough might, in addition to any of the
other sounds above noticed as given to it, have
the hard sound or the soft sound Of given to the
g't, aud the various sounds Of 0, on and u to the
ou and so forth; and these would give, among
the very numerous other forces it would have
and which it is not possible to say it has not in
some part of the world-such as & brudjam,
bruggam," bruckam' "broiam," bro,
gam" hroggam,' brodjam," "brutam, "
bru-gam,' "browgam," d" browjam,n bro
kam,'' q bru-kam," ''browkam."
Leaving names of persons out of consideration
then, although we give names Of places, we sub
join lists of words in which the combination 0Ugt
occurs, distinguishing its powers in accordance with
the statement above given to them. Where a sin.
gle alleged pronunciation seems doubtful, we at
taeh note of Interrogation to the word where il
has two or more sounds, we indicate that which is
generally preferred, by attaching an astersk to it.
Where we are doubtful which of several sounds
are preferred, we attix dagger and note of inter
Togation to those apparently having the best
claims.
OF its having the first sound, rhyming with so
we have the following instances: Dough, though
although, furlough, brougham "a vehicle) borough
hough (meaning an axe), trough? according to
Kenrickl CroughtoR, Houghton, Poughguag, Poug.
hill, Rougham, stoNghton, Woughton, Wroughtoni
stoughstcp sprougtlton ?ELoughton Hougham
Coughton+ t? Brougham t? Boughton? Broqghton
WOf the second sound, oW in thou, we have the
following b0ugh clough Ia cleft, cliff or glen)
doughty, drought, mough, mought, plough, slough
"a quagmire) Doughty, swough Boughrood,
Doughtys Fork, Slough; Boughtont? Cough
ton? Hougham? Loughtonf? stoughstown
sprougton +? Wroughton?
OF the third sound, eB in NUT, the following ::
chough, clough, enough, rough slough Ia cast-off
skin mortified flesh, etc., sough, tough, houghte,
Tough, (obsolete past of laugh;) trough? (ac-
oording to Jamieson); Brough, Hough, Rough
stown, Loughborough, Rough3l Creek Roughton,
Tough; Brougham? Hougham+? L9ughton?
OF the fourth sound, d,0 in lalo, we have be-
sought, bought, brought, fought, nOught, ought
sought, thought wrought, boughten, rought, Job
sOlete past of reac1l BrougAtou, lBroug'bty,
Youghal, (Ka,ol Boug'bton? cbughton? Lough,
ton Sproughton? Wroughton
OF the fifth sound. 90 in toe, through, slough
tnterjeotion.) -