Page:A Dictionary of the English language- Volume I.djvu/8

 For u we often write w after a vowel, to make a diphthong; as raw, grew, view, vow, flowing, lowness.

The sounds of all the letters are various.

In treating on the letters, I shall not, like some other grammarians, enquire into the original of their form as an antiquarian; nor into their formation and prolation by the organs of speech, as a machanick, anatomist, or physiologist: norinto the properties and gradation of sounds, or the elegance or harshness of particular combinations, as a writer of universal and transcendental grammar. I confider the English alphabet only as it is English; and even in this narrow view I follow the example of former grammarians, perhaps with more reverence than judgment, because by writing in English I suppose my reader already acquainted with the English language; and because of sounds in general it may be observed, that words are unable to describe them. An account therefore of the primitive and simple letters is useless almost alike to those who know their sound, and those who know it not.

A has three sounds, the slender, open, and broad.

A slender is found in most words, as face, mane; and in words ending in ation, as creation, salvation, generation.

The a slender is the proper English a, call ed very justly by Erpenius, in his Arabick Grammar, a Anglicum cum e mistum, as hav ing a middle sound between the open a and the e. The French have a similar sound in the word pais, and in their e masculine.

A open is the a of the Italian, or nearly resembles it; as father, rather, congratulate, fancy, glass.

A broad resembles the a of the German; as all, wall, call.

Many words pronounced with a broad were anciently written with au, as fault, mault; and we still say fault, vault. This was probably the Saxon sound, for it is yet retained in the northern dialects, and in the rustick pronunciation; as maun for man, haund for hand.

The short a approaches to the a open, as grass.

The long a, if prolonged by e at the end of the word, is always slender, as graze, fame.

A forms a diphthong only with i or y, and u or w. Ai or ay, as in plain, wain, gay, clay, has only the sound of the long and slender a, and differs not in the pronunciation from plane', wane.

Au or aw has the found of the German a, as raw, naughty.

Ae is sometimes found in Latin words not completely naturalised or assimilated, but is no English diphthong; and is more properly expressed by single e, as Cesar, Eneas.

E is the letter which occurs most frequently in the English language.

E is long, as in scēne; or short, as in cěllar, sěparate, cělebrate, měn, thěn.

It is always short before a double consonant, or two consonants, rĕlent, mĕdlar, rěptile, sĕrpent, cěllar, cěssation, blěssing, fĕll, fĕlling, dĕbt.

E is always mute at the end of a word, except in monosyllables that have no other vowel, as the; or proper names, as Penelope, Phebe, Derbe; being used to modify the foregoing consonant, as since, once, hedge, oblige; or to lengthen the preceding vowel, as bǎn, bāne; cǎn, cāne; pǐn, pīne; tǔn, tūne; rŏb, rōbe; pǒp, pōpe; fǐr, fīre; cŭr, cūre; tŭb, tūbe.

Almost all words which now terminate in consonants ended anciently in e, as year, yeare; wildness, wildnesse; which e probably had the force of the French e feminine, and constituted a syllable with its associate consonant; for, in old editions, words are sometimes divided thus, clea-re, fel-le, knowled-ge. This e was perhaps for a time vocal or silent in poetry as convenience required; but it has been long wholly mute, Camden calls it the fiient e. It