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

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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 sin. gle 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.

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By this list it appears, that there are in the English language fourteen simple vowel sounds: but as i and 2, when pronounced long, may be considered as diphthongs

or diphthongal vowels, our language, strictly speaking, co tains 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.

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Several letters marked in the English alphabet, as con sonants, 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. Jis

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

unnecessary, because 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 unneces sary, because its sound is the same with k, as in opaque. Y 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. W and y 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 w and 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 diffi culty 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 n and y, are of an ambiguous nature; being consonants at the beginning of words, and vowels at the end. Encyclopaedia Britannica, WALKER's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, page 24, third edilwm. PERRY's English Dictionary, Preface, page 7.

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