Page:AnEssayTowardsARealCharacterAndAPhilosophicalLanguage.pdf/41

 Chap. IV.

Dtfeêîr in Áévbabetr.

—_

1 5`

1. For their Number, they are in feveral refpeóls both Redundant, and Defcient.

I I,

r. Redundant and fuperfiuous5 either t. By allotting fée/eral Let ‚ед to the jànzepower and found. So in the Hebrew ( D 6‘ tu) and fo perhaps (З &1)(П д‘ 3)(1'3 ё‘ П) (EMP)

Soin theordinary La

tin, ( C 8c K) (F 8c Pb. ) Or a. by reckoning double Letter: amongft the moft Íimple elements of Speech —’ asjn the Hebrews '5 in the Greebg and 45 in thC'Latin( 2,01) (Х. и. ) and _?Confonant or Jod which is made up of (dab) by afiigning feveral Letters to repreíent one lim ple power, -as tb, jl), 81e. So that none of thefe‘ can regularly be rec

koned amongů the fimple elements of Speech. Q, Dqîcz'ent in other refpetits, elpecially in regard of Vowelr, of which there are 7 or 8 feveral kinds commonly ufed, ( as Ifhall lhew after wards ) though the Latin Alphabet take notice but ofjive, whereof two„namelyY (i and u. ) according to our Eng/lfb pronunciation of them,

are not properly Vowels, but Dipbtbongr. And befides, that gradual diñ'erence‘amongít Vowels of long and /bort is not fufliciently provided for. The Ancients were wont to exprefs a long Vowel by doubling the .Charaäer 0f it 5 as Arnaabarn, Мама,кггдееддэдмдфтд Mariinm: roßfuf. though oftentimes the Vowe1.I,inItead of being doubled, was onely pro

longed in the figure ofit5 as EDIL 1 s, rIs o, vIvUs.

For the

ways ufed by us I_ïnglg'fb for lengthning and abbreviating Vowels, viz. by`

adding Equìefcent to the end of a word for prolonging a Syllable, and doubling the following Confonant for the fbortning of a Vowel, as Wane, ' Wann 5 Ware, Warr, 8tc. or elfe by inßarcing fome other Vowel, for the Iengtbning of ìt,as Meat,Met_5 Read. Red, ötc. both thefe are upon this account inzproper, becaufe the Hgn ought to be where the found is. Nor would it be fo lit to expreß this by a diflinét Cbaraö'er, becanfe it denotes>

E

onely an accidental or gradual dljêrence, as byan Accent 5 the chief ufe

of Accentr,for which they are necelfary in ordinary fpeech, being to 118 niño ‚гашиша! and Elevations of voice. ‘ 3. For their Powe'rr, they are very úncertainmot alwaies fixed and de~ è If] termined to the fame Íignilication: which as to our Englrß) pronunciatì° ' — ’ on maybe made to appear by abundance of In'llances both in the Vow els and Confonants. _ ‚ g l _ `

I. As to the Vowelr: It is generally acknowledged that eachof them have feveral founds. Vocale: ornnerplurrfrna, faith Lipfìuf, And the learn. De Pronunc.

ed Vol/iu: doth allure us, that the Ancients did ufe their Vowels iń very caP- s' different wayes, alz'quando tenuiùr exiliúfène, nunc сити‘, nunc inter- ßfaxmgat'n,

medio fono.

.

y

„ Mis-'wäen'

The power of the Vowel (t) treated of afterwards, is „Рим in Devtfï‘ëPm‘

writing no lefs then fix feveral waies 5 by е. He, me, j/Je, ye. ee. Tbee, free, wee.

y

'

‚лишают‘

l

ie. Field, yield, ßJie/d, cbief.~ ea. Near, dear, bear. eo. People. i. Privilege.

l

.

So is the Power of the Vowel (et а) asin A”, aal, aw, fault, миф‘, ‘

brongbt.