O.-9. The sound of the aw in bawl, of the au in haul, and of the a in hall, all, talk, &c.—This sound is generally expressed by the letter a, either alone, as in all and ball, or combined with some other letter, as in haul and bawl. The expression, however, is faulty, and conceals the true nature of the sound. Its real relation is to the two sounds that will next be mentioned, to which it stands in the same relation that the a in father does to the a in fate and the a in fat. 10. The sound of the o in note, boat, float, no, so, &c. 11. The sound of the o in not, knot, knotty, &c. 12. The sound of the u in but, nut, &c.—It is doubtful how far this sound is a separate and independent sound, or how far it is a variety of the oo in cool, and the u in pull. The sounds hitherto named are called vowel sounds, or vowels. SEMI-VOWELS. 13. The sound of the letter w in wo, will.-This sound is evidently allied to the sound of the oo in cool. Some writers consider it identical, and assert that the words will and oo-il are sounded alike. It is, however, convenient to consider the w in will as a separate independent sound. 14. The sound of the letter y in ye, yes, yet.—This sound is evidently allied to the sound of the ee in feet. Some writers consider it identical, and assert that the words yet and ee-et are sounded alike. It is, however, convenient to consider the y in yet as a separate independent sound. The sounds expressed by w and y are called semi-vowel (i. e. halfvowel) sounds, or semi-vowels. MUTES. P, B, F, V.—15. The sound of the letter p in pin, pit, &c. 16. The sound of the letter b in bin, bit, &c. 17. The sound of the letter ƒ in fin, fit, &c. 18. The sound of the letter v in van, vane, &c. T, D, TH, DH.-19. The sound of the letter t in tin, tip, teal, neat, &c. 20. The sound of the letter d in din, dip, deal, need, &c. 21. The sound of the letters th in thin, thick, through, cloth, moth, &c.-It is here necessary to mark the difference that exists between the speaking and the spelling. The sound of the th in thin is a simple single elementary sound; and, as such, should be expressed by a simple single elementary letter. Instead of this, it is expressed by two letters, or by a combination; so that, although a simple sound to the ear, it has the appearance of being a compound one to the eye. 22. The sound of the letters th in thine, them, than, clothe. Respecting this sound the reader's attention is called to two points: 1st, That, like the sound last mentioned, it is a simple single elementary sound, expressed, not by a simple single elementary sign, or letter, but by two letters, or a combination. 2nd, That, although different from the sound last mentioned, it is spelt precisely in the same way. The th in thin is allied to the sound of t, as in tin. The th in thine is allied to the sound of d, as in din. K, G.23—. The sound of the letter k, as in kill, keep, oak, &c. 24. The sound of the letter g, as in go, gun, log, egg, &c. S, Z, SH, ZH.-25. The sound of the letter s, as in sin, seal, yes, &c. 26. The sound of the letter z, as in zeal, buzz, blaze, &c. 27. The sound of the letters sh, as in shy, shine, short, ash, bush, &c.—This sound is in the same predicament as sounds 21 and 22. It is a single simple elementary sound, expressed, not by a single simple elementary sign, or letter, but by two letters, or a combination. 28. The sound of the letter z in azure.-Although without a corresponding sign, or letter, this sound is single, simple, and elementary. Its real nature, however, is disguised by the various and incorrect methods by which it is represented in writing. The sounds of the z in azure, the z in glazier, and the s in pleasure are identical. This sound is related to the sh in shine in the same way as the th in thin is related to the th in thine. Moreover, the sh in shine and the z in azure are related to the usual sounds of s and z respectively, just as the th in thin and the th in thine are respectively related to t and d. The sounds from 15 to 28, inclusive, are called mute sounds, or mutes. NG. 29. The sound of the letters ng, as in king, sing, ring, &c., is a simple single elementary sound, expressed, not by a simple single elementary sign, or letter, but by two letters, or a combination. The real sound of g preceded by n is very different from that of the ng in king, and the real sound of the ng in king is very different from that of g preceded by n. H. 30. The sound of the letter h, as in hot, hear, hop, &c., consists of a simple breathing. LIQUIDS. 31. The sound of the letter l in leg, kill, &c. These four last-mentioned sounds are called liquids. The mutes, liquids, ng, and h, taken together, are called conso nants. Here ends the list of the simple single elementary sounds in the English language. COMPOUND SOUNDS. Of these, four are compounded by means of a vowel, and two by means of a consonant. D The compound sounds formed by vowels fall into two divisions. Compounds formed by means of a vowel and the semivowel w. These are two in number: 1. The sound of the letters ou in house, mouse, &c.-The nature of this compound is disguised by the spelling. It consists of the sound of the a in father, followed by that of the w in will, rapidly pronounced. 2. The sound of the letters ew in new, and also of the single letter u (when sounded ew) in muse, tune, &c.—The nature of this compound is disguised by the spelling. It consists of the sound of the i in pit, followed by that of the win will, rapidly pronounced. When represented by means of the single letter u, the spelling gives the erroneous notion of its being a single simple elementary sound. Compounds formed by means of a vowel and the semivowel y.-These, also, are two in number: 1. The sound of the letter i in pine, fine, find, mind.The nature of this compound is disguised by the spelling. As it is represented by means of the single letter i, the erroneous notion is engendered of its being a simple single elementary sound; and also of its being the sound. of the i in pit, lengthened in the pronunciation. Both these views are wrong. The real elements of the sound in question are generally considered to be the sound of the a in fat, followed by that of the y in yet, rapidly pronounced. 2. The sound of the letters oi in voice, noise.-The nature of this compound is sufficiently, although not exactly, represented by the spelling. Its real elements are the aw in bawl, and the y in yet. The compound sounds formed by the union of a vowel and a semi-vowel are called diphthongs. The compound sounds formed by the union of two consonants are two in number: 1. The sound of the letter ch in chest.-This is really the sound of tsh rapidly pronounced. 2. The sound of the letter j in jest.—This is really the sound of dzh rapidly pronounced. The letter g, as in gibbet, also represents this sound. § 28. The sounds that constitute language are formed by means of the breath passed through the throat and mouth, and acted upon during its passage by the tongue, teeth, or lips. When the passage of the air is either free, or only partially closed, the stream of air passes without interruption, and so forms the sounds which we called the vowels. The vowels can all be pronounced with the mouth partially open and with the breath in an uninterrupted stream. The elementary sounds called consonants have the following peculiarity. They are unable to form even the shortest word or syllable without the aid of a vowel. Thus, the vowels a or o are capable of being used as syllables, and so are the combinations ba or lo. But the single sounds of b', or l', if taken by themselves, cannot form a word, or even a syllable. In order to do so, they must be joined to a vowel, and sounded along with it. For this reason they are called consonants, from the Latin words con (with) and sonans (sounding); whilst the word vowel is derived from the Latin word vocalis (vocal), because vowels can be sounded by themselves. The word Diphthong is derived from the Greek words dis (double), and phthongé (a voice). 29. The point respecting the nature of the elementary sounds with which it is most important, in English grammar, to be familiar, is the difference between the sounds that are called sharp or surd, and the sounds that are called flat or sonant. This is of especial importance in dealing with the mutes. In order to understand this difference, it is necessary to take some mute consonants and to pronounce them as |