Page:Critical Pronouncing Dictionary (Walker, 4th edition, London, 1806).pdf/55

Rh outermost, paramount, plough, pouch, pounce, pound, pout, profound, pronoun, pronounce, propound, proud, rebound, recount, redoubt, redoubted, redound, rencounter, round, roundelay, rouse, rout, scoundrel, scour, scout, shout, shroud, slouch, spouse, spout, sprout, stout, surround, south, thou, thousand, touse, trounce, trousers, trout, wuound, (did wind) slough, (a miry place) vouch, vouchsafe, without, scaramouch.

. The second sound is that of short u in bud, and is heard in the following words and their compounds: Adjourn, journey, journal, bourgeon, country, cousin, couple, accouple, double, trouble, courteous, courtesy, courage, encourage, joust, gournet, housewife, flourish, mounch, nourish, enough, chough, rough, tough, slough, (a cast skin) scourge, southerly, southern, southernwood, southward, touch, touchy, young, younker, and youngster; but southern, southerly, and southward, are sometimes pronounced regularly like south: this, however, is far from the prevailing pronunciation. This is the sound this diphthong always has when the accent is not on it, unless in very few instances, where the compound retains the sound of the simple, as in pronoun; but in sojourn and sojourner, with the accent on the first syllable, and in every unaccented termination in our and ous, this diphthong has exactly the sound of short u: thus favour, honour, odour, and famous, are pronounced as if written favur, honur, odur, and famus.

. The third sound given to these vowels is that of oo in coo and woo, (39) and is found in the following words: Bouge, croup, group, aggroup, amour, paramour, bouse, bousy, boutefeu, capouch, cartouch, fourbe, gout, (taste) and ragout, pronounced goo and ragoo) rendezvous, rouge, soup, sous, (pronounced soo) surtout, through, throughly, toupee or toupet, you, your, youth, tour, contour, tourney, tournay, tournament, pour, and route, (a road) accoutre, billet-doux, agouti, uncouth, wound, (a hurt) and routine (a beaten road). See.

. The verb to pour is sometimes pronounced to pore, and sometimes to poor; in each case it interferes with a word of a different signification, and the best pronunciation, which is that similar to power, is as little liable to that exception as either of the others. See the word.

. To wound is sometimes pronounced so as to rhyme with found; but this is directly contrary to the best usage; but route, (a road, as to take a different route) is often pronounced so as to rhyme with doubt, by respectable speakers.

. The fourth sound of this diphthong is that of long open o, and is heard in the following words: Though, although, coulter, court, accourt, gourd, courtier, course, discourse, source, recourse, resource, bourn, dough, doughy, four, mould, mouldy, moult, mourn, shoulder, smoulder, soul, poultice, poult, poulterer, poultry, troul, (to roll smoothly, marked by Mr. Sheridan as rhyming with doll, but more properly by Dr. Kenrick with roll) and borough, thorough, furlough, fourteen, concourse, and intercourse, preserve the diphthong in the sound of long o, though not under the accent.

. The fifth sound of ou is like the noun awe, and is heard only in ought, bought, brought, sought, besought, fought, nought, thought, methought, wrought.

. The sixth sound is that of short oo, or the u in bull, and is heard only in the auxiliary verbs would, could, should, rhyming with good, hood, stood, etc.

. The seventh sound is that of short o, and heard only in cough and trough, rhyming with off and scoff; and in lough and shough, pronounced lock and shock.

. The elementary sound of this diphthong is the same as the first sound of ou, and is heard in how, now, etc. but the sound of long o obtains in so many instances, that it will be necessary to give a catalogue of both.

. The general sound, as the elementary sound may be called, is heard in now, how, bow, (a mark of respect) mow, (a heap of barley, etc.) cow, brow, brown, browse, plow, sow, vow, avow, allow, disallow, endow, down, clown, frown, town, crown, drown, gown, renown, dowager, dowdy, dower, dowre, dowry, dowery, dowlas, drowse, drowsy, flower, bower, lower, (to look gloomy) power, powder, prowess, prow, prowl, vowel, towel, bower, rowel, cowl, scowl, crowd, shower, tower, sow, (a swine) sowins, sowl, thowl, low, (to bellow as a cow). This word is generally pronounced as low, not high; but if custom, in this case, has not absolutely decided, it ought, in my opinion, to have the first sound of this diphthong, rhyming with how, as much more expressive of the noise it signifies; which, where sounds are the ideas to be expressed, ought to have great weight in pronunciation. (241) (251) See the word.

. The second sound of this diphthong is heard in blow, slow, crow, flow, glow, bow, (to shoot with) know, low, (not high) mow, (to cut grass) row, show, sow, (to scatter grain) strow, snow, trow, below, bestow, owe, own, owner, flown, grown, growth, know, known, sown, lower, (to bring low) throw, thrown; in all these words the ow sounds like long o in go, no, so, etc.

. The noun prow, signifying the forepart of a ship, rhymes with go in Mr. Sheridan, and with now in Dr. Kenrick. The latter is, in my opinion, the preferable sound; while the verb to prowl (to seek for prey) rhymes with owl, according to Mr. Sheridan, and with soul, according to Dr. Kenrick: the latter has the old spelling prole to plead, but the former has, in my opinion, both analogy and the best usage on its side. Both these writers unite in giving the first sound of this diphthong to prowess; which is unquestionably the true pronunciation. See to.

. The proper names How, Howel, and Howard, and Powel, generally are heard with the first sound of this diphthong, as in how, now, etc. but Howes and Stow (the historian) commonly rhyme with knows and know. Howard, among people of rank, is generally pronounced with the