micks, œcumenical. In doe, foe, sloe, toe, throe, hoe, and bilboes, it is sounded exactly like long o.

Oi has almost universally the double sound of a broad and e long united, as in boy; as, boil, toil, spoil, joint, point, anoint: which should never be pronounced as if written bile, spile, tile, &c.

Go almost always preserves its long regular sound; as in moon, soon, food. It has a shorter sound in wool, good, foot, and a few others. In blood and flood it sounds like short u. Door and floor should always be pronounced as if written dore and flore.

The diphthong ou has six different sounds. The first and proper sound is equivalent to ow in down as in bound, found, surround.

The second is that of short u; as in enough, trouble, journey,

The third is that of oo; as in soup, youth, tournament. The fourth is that of long o; as in though, mourn, poultice.

The fifth is that of short o; as in cough, trough.

The sixth is that of awe; as in ought, brought, thought. Ow is generally sounded like ou in thou; as in brown, dowry, shower. It has also the sound of long ; as in snow, grown, bestow.

The diphthong oy is but another form for oi, and is pronounced exactly like it.

P.

P has always the same sound, except, perhaps, in cupboard, where it sounds like b. It is sometimes mute; as in psalm, psalter, Ptolemy: and between m and; as tempt, empty, presumptuous.

Ph is generally pronounced like f; as in philosophy, philanthropy, Philip.

In nephew and Stephen, it has the sound of v. In apophthem, phthisis, phthisic, and phthisical, both letters are entirely dropped.

Q.

Q, is always followed by u; as quadrant, queen, quire. Qu is sometimes sounded like k; as conquer, liquor, risque.

R.

R has a rough sound; as in Rome, river, rage: anda smooth one; as in bard, card, regard.

Re at the end of many words, is pronounced like a weak er; as in theatre, sepulchre, massacre.

S.

S has two different sounds.

A soft and flat sound like z ; as, besom, nasal, dismal.
A sharp hissing sound; as, saint, sister, cyprus.
It is always sharp at the beginning of words.

At the end of words it takes the soft sound; as, his, was, trees, eyes; except in the words this, thus, us, yes, rebus, surplus, &c. ; and in words terminating with ous.

It sounds like z before ion, if a vowel goes before: as, intrusion: but like s sharp, if it follows a consonant; as, conversion. It also sounds like a before e mute; as, amuse; and before y final; as rosy; and in the words bosom, desire, wisdom, &c.

S is mute in isle, island, demesne, viscount.

T.

Thas its customary sound; as in take, temptation. Ti before a vowel has the sound of sh; as in salvation: except in such words as tierce, tiara, &c. and unless an s goes before; as, question; and excepting also derivatives from words ending in ty: as, mighty, mightier.

Th has two sounds: the one soft and flat; as, thus, whether, heathen: the other hard and sharp; as thing, think, breath.

Th, at the beginning of words, is sharp; as in thank, thick, thunder: except in that, then, thus, thither, and some others. Th, at the end of words, is also sharp; as, death, breath, mouth: except in with, booth, beneath, &c. Th, in the middle of words, is sharp; as panther, orthodox, misanthrope: except worthy, farthing, brethren, and a few others.

Th, between two vowels, is generally flat in words purely English; as, father, heathen, together, neither, mother.

Th, between two vowels, in words from the learned languages, is generally sharp as, apathy, sympathy, Athens, theatre, apothecary.

:

Th is sometimes pronounced like simple ; as, Thomas, thyme, Thames, asthma.

I has three sounds, viz,

U.

A long sound; as in mule, tube, cubic.

A short sound; as in dull, gull, custard.

An obtuse sound, like oo; as in bull, full, bushel. The strangest deviation of this letter from its natural sound, is in the words busy, business, bury, and burial; which are pronounced bizzy, biziness, berry, and berrial. A is now often used before words beginning with u long, and an always before those that begin with a short; as, a union, a university, a useful book: an uproar, an usher, an umbrella.

The diphthong ua, has sometimes the sound of wa; as in assuage, persuade, antiquary. It has also the sound of middle a; as in guard, guardian, guarantee.

Ue is often sounded like we; as in quench, querist, conquest. It has also the sound of long : as in cue, hue, ague. In a few words, it is pronounced like e short; as in guest, guess. In some words it is entirely sunk; as in antique, oblique, prorogue, catalogue, dialogue, &c.

Ui is frequently pronounced wi; as in languid, anguish, extinguish. It has sometimes the sound of i long; as in guide, guile, disguise: and sometimes that of i short; as in guilt, guinea, guildhall. In some words it is sounded like long u; as in juice, suit, pursuit: and after r, like oo as in bruise, fruit, recruit.

Uo is pronounced like wo; as in quote, quorum, quondam.

Uy has the sound of long e; as in obloquy, soliloquy; pronounced obloquee, &c. except, buy, and its derivatives

V.

It

V has the sound of flat ƒ, and bears the same relation to it, as b does to p, d to t, hard g to k, and z to s. has also one uniform sound; as, vain, vanity, love.

W.

W, when a consonant, has nearly the sound of oo; as water resembles the sound of ooater: but that it has a stronger and quicker sound than oo, and has a formation essentially different, will appear to any person who pronounces, with attention, the words we, woo, beware; and who reflects that it will not admit of the article an before it; which oo would admit. In some words it not sounded; as in answer, sword, wholesome; it is

always silent before r; as in wrap, wreck, wrinkle, wrist, wrong, wry, bewray, &c.

W before his pronounced as if it were after the b; as, why, hwy; when, hwén; what, hwat.

W is often joined to o at the end of a syllable, without affecting the sound of that vowel; as in crow, blow, grow, know, row, flow, &c.

When w is a vowel, and is distinguished in the pronunciation, it has exactly the same sound as u would have in the same situation; as, draw, crew, view, now, sawyer, vowel, outlaw.

X has three sounds, viz.

X.

It is sounded like z at the beginning of proper names of Greek original; as in Xanthus, Xenophon, Xerxes.

It has a sharp sound like ks, when it ends a syllable with the accent upon it; as, exit, exercise, excellence; or when the accent is on the next syllable, if it begins with a consonant; as excuse, extent, expense.

It has, generally, a flat sound like g%, when the accent is not on it, and the following syllable begins with a vowel; as, exert, exist, example; pronounced, egzert, egzist, egzample.

Y.

r, when a consonant, has nearly the sound of ee; as, youth, York, resemble the sounds of eeouth, eeork: but that this is not its exact sound. will be clearly perceived by pronouncing the words ye, yes, new-year, in which its just and proper sound is ascertained. It not only requires a stronger exertion of the organs of speech to pronounce it, than is required to pronounce ee; but its formation is essentially different. It will not admit of an before it, as ee will in the following example; an eel. The opinion that y and w, when they begin a word or syllable, take exactly the sound of ee and oo, has induced some grammarians to assert, that these letters are always vowels or diphthongs.

When y is a vowel, it has exactly the same sound as i would have in the same situation, as, rhyme, system, justify, pyramid, party, fancy, hungry.

Z.

Z has the sound of an s uttered with a closer compres1

the effect of a total interception; and indistinct sound, of a strong compression; and therefore a consonant is not of itself a distinct articulate voice; and its influence in varying the tones of language is not clearly perceived, unless it be accompanied by an opening of the mouth, that is, by a vowel.

By making the experiment with attention, the student will perceive that each of the mutes is formed by the voice being intercepted by the lips, by the tongue and palate, or by the tongue and throat; and that the semi-vowels are formed by the same organs strongly compressing the voice in its passage, but not totally intercepting it.

The elements of language, according to the different seats where they are formed, or the several organs of speech chiefly concerned in their pronunciation, are divided into several classes, and denominated as follows: those are called labials, which are formed by the lips; those dentals, that are formed with the teeth; palatals, that are formed with the palate; and nasals, that are formed by the nose. `

The importance of obtaining, in early life, a clear, diştinct, and accurate knowledge of the sounds of the first principles of language, and a wish to lead young minds to a further consideration of a subject so curious and useful, have induced the compiler to bestow particular attention on the preceding part of this work. Some writers think that

these subjects do not properly constitute any part of grammar; and consider them as the exclusive province of the spelling-book; but if we reflect, that letters and their sounds are the constituent principles of that art, which teaches us to speak and write with propriety, and that very little knowledge of their nature is acquired by the spelling-book, wę must admit that they properly belong to grammar; and that a rational consideration of these elementary principles of language, is an object that demands the attention of the young grammarian. The sentiments of a very judicious and eminent writer (Quinctilian) respecting this part of grammar, may, perhaps, be properly introduced on the present occasion..

"Let no persons despise, as inconsiderable, the elements of grammar, because it may seem to them a matter of small consequence, to show the distinction between vowels and consonants, and to divide the latter into liquids and mutes. But they who penetrate into the innermost parts of this