The following is a list of the Anglo-Saxon, Roman, Italic, and Old English Characters.

A perfect alphabet of the English language, and, indeed, of every other language, would contain a number of letters, precisely equal to the number of simple articulate sounds belonging to the language. Every simple sound would have its distinct character; and that character be the representative of no other sound. But this is far from being the state of the English alphabet. It has more original sounds than distinct significant letters; and, consequently, some of these letters are made to represent, not one sound alone, but several sounds. This will appear, by reflecting, that the sounds signified by the united letters th, sh, ng, are elementary, and have no single appropriate characters, in our alphabet: and that the letters a and u represent the different sounds heard in hat, hate, hall and in but, bull, mule.

To explain this subject more fully to the learners, we shall set down the characters made use of to represent all the elementary articulate sounds of our language, as nearly in the manner and order of the present English alphabet, as the design of the subject will admit; and shall annex to each character the syllable or word, which contains its proper and distinct sound. And here it will be proper to begin

with the vowels.

Letters denoting the
simple sounds.

a

By this list it appears, that there are in the English language fourteen simple vowel sounds: but as i and u, when pronounced long, may be considered as diphthongs, or

diphthongal vowels, our language, strictly speaking, contains but twelve simple vowel sounds; to represent which, we have only five distinct characters or letters. If a in far, is the same specific sound as a in fat; and u in bull, the same as o in move, which is the opinion of some grammarians; then there are but ten original vowel sounds in the English language.

The following list denotes the sounds of the consonants, being in number twenty-two.

33333

as

as

in

as

in

ing, sing
shy, ash
thin, thick

as

as

in

then, them
pleasure

Several letters marked in the English alphabet, as consonants, are either superfluous, or represent, not simple, but complex sounds. C, for instance, is superfluous in both its sounds; the one being expressed by k, and the other by s. G, in the soft pronunciation, is not a simple, but a complex sound; as age is pronounced aidge. J is unnecessary, be

Some grammarians suppose h to mark only an aspiration, or breathing: but it appears to be a distinct sound, and formed in a particular manner, by the organs of speech. Encyclopædia Britannica

cause its sound, and that of the soft g, are in our language the same. Q, with its attendant u, is either complex, and resolvable into kw, as in quality; or unnecessary, because its sound is the same with k, as in opaque. X is compounded of gs, as in example; or of ks, as in expect.

From the preceding representation, it appears to be a point of considerable importance, that every learner of the English language should be taught to pronounce perfectly, and with facility, every original simple sound that belongs to it. By a timely and judicious care in this respect, the voice will be prepared to utter, with ease and accuracy, every combination of sounds; and taught to avoid that confused and imperfect manner of pronouncing words, which accompanies, through life, many persons who have not, in this respect, been properly instructed at an early period.

Letters are divided into Vowels and Consonants. A Vowel is an articulate sound, that can be perfectly uttered by itself: as,a, e, o; which are formed without the help of any other sound.

A Consonant is an articulate sound, which cannot be perfectly uttered without the help of a vowel; as, b,d, f,l; which require vowels to express them fully.

The vowels are,a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y. Wandy are consonants when, they begin a word or syllable; but in every other situation they are vowels..

It is generally acknowledged by the best grammarians, that wand y are consonants when they begin a syllable or word, and vowels when they end one. That they are consonants, when used as initials, seems to be evident from their not admitting the article an before them, as it would be improper to say, an walnut, an yard, &c.; and from their following a vowel without any hiatus or difficulty of utterance; as, frosty winter, rosy youth. That they are vowels in other situations, appears, from their regularly taking the sound of other vowels; as, w has the exact sound of u in saw, few, now, &c.; and y that of i, in hymn, fly, crystal, &c. See the letters W and Y, pages 30 and 31.*

*The letters w and y are of an ambiguous nature; being consonants at the beginning of words, and vowels at the end. Encyclop. Britannica. WALKER'S Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, page 24, third edition. PERRY'S English Dictionary, Preface, page 7.

We present the following as more exact and philosophical definitions of a vowel and consonant.

A vowel is a simple, articulate sound, perfect in itself, and 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.

A consonant is a simple, articulate sound, imperfect by itself, but which, joined with a vowel, forms a complete sound, by a particular motion or contact of the organs of speech.

Some grammarians subdivide vowels into the simple and the compound. But there does not appear to be any foundation for the distinction. Simplicity is essential to the nature of a vowel, which excludes every degree of mixed or compound sounds. It requires, according to the definition, but one conformation of the organs of speech, to form it, and no motion in the organs, whilst it is forming. Consonants are divided into mutes and semi-vow

els.

The mutes cannot be sounded at all, without the aid of a vowel. They are b, p, t, d, k, and c and g hard.

.

The semi-vowels have an imperfect sound of themselves. They are f, l, m, n, r, v, s, z, x, and c.and g soft.

Four of the semi-vowels, namely, l, m, n, r, are also distinguished by the name of liquids, from their readily uniting with other consonants, and flowing as it were into their sounds.

We have shown above, that it is essential to the nature of a consonant, that it cannot be fully uttered without the aid of a vowel. We may further observe, that even the names of the consonants, as they are pronounced in reciting the alphabet, require the help of vowels to express them. In pronouncing the names of the mutes, the assistant vowels follow the consonants: as, be, pe, te, de, ka. In pronouncing the names of the semi-vowels, the vowels generally precede the consonants: as, ef, el, em, en, ar, es, ex. The exceptions are, ce, ge, ve, zed.

This distinction between the nature and the name of a