7 Q. How does g sound before n?

When g comes before n, in the beginning of a word, it sounds like h, as gnaw, gnash, gnat.

8 Q. Does h show any alteration in its sound?

A. ch, sh, and th, have a peculiar sound like new and distinct letters, as chalk, cheese, shall, shew, that, there; and ph, which sounds like f, as physic, dolphin.

9 Q. Doth th always sound alike?

A. th sometimes has a hard sound, as this, they, bathe, brother; and sometimes 'tis sounded softer, as hath, bath, thin, thick.

10 Q. Wherein doth k alter its sound?

A. k before, in the beginning of a word, is pronounced like h, as knock, knife, knowledge.

11 Q. Wherein doth s change its pronunciation ?

A. sounds sometimes softer, as this, best, lesson; sometimes hard, like z, as these, his, reason.

12 Q. How doth t change its sound?

A. ti, ct, and si, in the middle of a word, sound like sh; when another vowel follows them, as social, vision, action, relation; except when s goes just before the t, as christian, question; also except such derivative words, as emptied, mightier, twentieth, which are but few.

13 Q. Doth t sound like s any where else.

A. st sounds like double s in such words as these, castle, thistle, whistle.

/CHAP. IV. Of Consonants that lose their Sound.

I QUESTION.

ARE all the consonants always pronounced?

A. Nine consonants lose their sounds entirely in some words, as b, c, g, h, l, n, p, s, aud w.

2 Q. When doth b lose its sound?

A. b is not sounded at the end of a word just after m, as lamb, comb, nor before t, as debt, doubt.

3 Q. When is c quite silent?

A. c is not sounded in these words, verdict, victuals, indict, muscle.

4 Q. Where has g no sound?

A. g has no sound before n, in the end of a word, as sign sovereign; except condign.

5 Q. When is h without sound.

A. h is hardly sounded in these words, honour, honest, heir, herb, &c.

6 Q. When is not pronounced?

A. The sound of

is almost worn out towards the end of

a syllable in many words; as psalm, half, fault, talk, salmon, faulcon.

7 Q. Where is n silent?

A. n is never pronounced at the end of a word after m, as damn, condemn, column, contemn, limn, solemn, hymn, autumn, nor in the words malt-kiln, and brick-kiln.

8 Q. Where does p lose its sound?

A. p can hardly be sounded in such words as these, receipt, psalm, tempt, empty, redemption.

9 Q. In what words doth s lose its sound?

A. is not sounded in isle, island, demesne, viscount.

10 Q. When is w not pronounced?

A. The sound of w before r is almost worn out, as wrath, write, bewray; nor is it sounded after s in these words, sword,

sworn, answer.

Note, I have not mentioned here such consonants, as è in scissars, science, back, sick, &c. and í in pitch, catch; h in ghess, ghost, rhyme, myrrh; because they have all the sound they can have, in the place where they stand.

CHAP. V. Of the several Sounds of single Vowels,

I QUESTION.

Do the vowels always keep the same sound?

Answer. Every vowel has a long and a short sound, but the letter a is pronounced long, and short, and broad.

2 Q. How are these three several sounds of a distinguished? A. a is sounded in short in mat, cart; 'tis long in mate, care; and broad in malt, call.

3 Q. What are the different sounds of e?

A. e is pronounced short in hell, then, ever; and long in he, here, these, even; and besides these, the short sound is sometimes prolonged, as there, were, equal, &c.

4 Q. How is i sounded?

A. We pronounce i short in fish, mill, thin; long in fire, mile, thine; and it sounds like short u in first, third, bird, dirt, &c.

5 Q. How is o pronounced?

A. 'Tis a short o in not, rod; 'tis a long o in post, gold; it is sounded double in to, do, more, prove; it sounds like i in women, and it is pronounced like short u in love, dost, doth, some, comfort, conduit, money, and some others.

6 Q. Has u several sounds also?

A. u is pronounced short in dull, cut; long in dure, cure ; and it sounds like a short i in bury, busy; and words derived from them.

7 Q. How shall you know when these vowels are to be pronounced long or short?

A. This can hardly be determined by any general rules, but must be learned by practice; yet there is this one rule that scarce ever fails, namely, All single vowels are short, where only a single consonant comes after them in the same syllable, as flag, then, pin, not, cur; and they have a long sound if e be added at the end of a word, after a single consonant, as stage, these, pine, note, cure.

The chief exception to this rule are the letters i and o in some few common words, which custom pronounces sbort, though they have an e at the end; as give, live, one, some, come, gone, love, done, dove.

8 Q. When must a have its broad sound?

A. Chiefly in two cases:

First, a hath generally its broad sound when 7 follows it in the same syllable, as call, false, bald, halter; except in some words that have a double in the middle, as tallow, sallad, or where for v consonant follows it, as calf, half, salve.

Secondly, a is often pronounced broad, when it comes after a w in the same syllable; as war, was, water, swan, swallow, and some few other words.

9 Q. What general exception is there to these two rules concerning the letter a?

A. a must be sounded long like other vowels in short words that end in e, though an come after it, or w before it; as pale, whale, wade, sware, waste.

CHAP. VI. Of single Vowels losing their Sound,

I QUESTION.

DO the vowels ever quite lose their sound?

Answer. One of the vowels in a diphthong often loses its sound, and sometimes single vowels too.

2 Q. When doth a lose its sound?

A. A single a seldom or never loses its sound, except in diamond.

8 Q. When doth e lose its sound?

A. e loses its sound in words of two syllables that end in en, as garden, token; or le as candle, castle; or re as metre, lucre.

Note, In these sorts of words the sound of the vowel may be dropt without loss; because n, l, r, are liquids, or half vowels, and have some imperfect sound of their own.

4 Q. Is a single e ever pronounced at the end of a word? A. A single e is never pronounced at the end of a word, but where there is no other vowel in the word, as the, he, she, me, we, be.

5 Q. Why then doth e stand at the end of so many words, if it must be silent and not pronounced?

A. The silent e at the end of a word serves two purposes: First, It makes that word a syllable long, which otherwise would be short, as can, cane, not, note, hast, hate, bath, bathe. Secondly, It softens the sound of c and g, as lac, lace, rag, rage, sing, singe.

In other words it does nothing but shew the genius and custom of the English tongue, which seldom ends a word with any other of the four vowels; as lie, die, toe, foe, sloe, true, virtue, plague.

6 Q. Are there any words wherein i is not pronounced? A. is not pronounced in evil, devil, venison, marriage, carriage, business, cushion, fashion, parliament.

7 Q. Doth o ever lose its sound?

A. The sound of o is lost in many words ending in on, as mutton, crimson, bacon.

8 Q. Doth u ever lose its sound?

A. A single u is always pronounced, but it is often lost when another vowel follows it after g, as guard, guilty, tongue, plague; yet not always, as anguish, languish.

9 Q. Doth not u lose its sound after q?

A. զ is never written without u; and there are some words wherein the u is quite silent; as conquer, musquet, liquor, masquerade; and all words borrowed from other languages that end in que, as barque, risque, burlesque, oblique.

CHAP. VII.-Of the Sound of Diphthongs.

I QUESTION.

ARE both the vowels in a diphthong plainly pronounced? Answer. In some words they seem to be both pronounced, in some they are not, and in other words they have a peculiar sound by themselves.

2 Q. Give some instances of words where both vowels seem to be pronounced.

A. a are both pronounced in the word pain, o u in house, oi in point, ow in cow.

3 Q. Give some instances of diphthongs, where but on of the vowels is pronounced ?

A. a only is pronounced in heart, e in bread, i in guide, o in cough, and u in rough.

4 Q. Give some instances where the vowels, joined in a diphthong, have a peculiar sound of their own.

A. e e in need, o o in moon.

5 Q. What is the use of writing two vowels, where but one is pronounced.

A. Custom has made it necessary, and it serves also gene

rally to lengthen the syllable, or to alter the sound of the other vowel 1; as a u in cause, ev in people, o a in groan.

6 Q. Do not diphthongs much alter their sound in different words;

A, Yes; so much, as scarce to be reduced to any certain rules, and it is better learned by custom and practice.

Note, It has been usual, with writers on these subjects, to distinguish the diphthongs into two sorts, namely, proper and improper: They call those proper where both vowels are pronounced; and improper, where one only is sounded. But there are so many instances wherein one of the vowels is not sounded, even in those which they call proper diphthongs; as in aunt, grow, flow, cough, rough, neuter, &c. that I choose rather to make no such distinction between them; for it is nothing but practice can teach us how and when one or both vowels are to be sounded.

We should proceed in the next place to show what difference there is in the pronunciation of proper names, or words of any foreign language.

Let it be observed in general, that most words borrowed or derived from the learned languages, namely, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, are pronounced in English, as Englishmen pronounce them in those languages; except where the termipation is altered, and those words are made English, then that determination is pronounced according to the English custom.

These words that we have borrowed from our neighbour nations, such as the French, &c. should be pronounced nearly as a Frenchman pronounces them in his own tongue.

But to help the English reader, these few following rules may be of some advantage.

CHAP. VIII. Of the Sound of Consonants in Foreign Words.

I QUESTION.

WHICH of the consonants differ from their English sound in words borrowed or derived from other languages?

Answer. c, g, h, and t, in proper names and foreign words differ a little from the usual English pronunciation; also the double consonant ch.

2 Q. Wherein doth c differ?

A. c sounds like k in sceptic, scepticism, scepton, ascetic; and some proper names; as Cis, Cenchrea, Aceldama.

3 Q. Where doth ch differ from the English sound?

A. ch sounds like k in words derived from the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; as chaos, character, christian, stomach, anchor, scheme, &c. and proper names; as Melchizedek, Archelaus, Archippus, and Antioch. But there are two exceptions.

First, except schism, schismatic, drachm, &c. where the ch is lost.

Secondly, except Rachael, Tychicus, cherubim; and the words that are made English beginning with arch, as arch-bishop, arch-angel, architect, where ch has the proper English sound; though if a vowel follow arch, the ch, may be also sometimes sounded like k; as archetype, architect, &c. may be read arketype, arki-tect.