Page:Critical Pronouncing Dictionary (Walker, 4th edition, London, 1806).pdf/71

Rh

Surely nothing can be more evident than the analogy of the language in this case. Is it not absurd to hesitate a moment at writing all the verbs with the e final ? This is a departure from our great lexicographer, which he himself would approve, as nothing but inadvertency could have led him into this unmeaning irregularity.—It may not be improper to observe here, that those substantives which in the singular end with th sharp, adopt the th flat in the plural, as path, paTHs; bath, baTHs, etc. Such a propensity is there to slide into the flat sound of s, that we frequently hear this sound in the genitive case, as My wive's portion, for my wife's portion. In the same manner we hear of paying so much for houze rent and taxes, instead of house rent and taxes; and shopkeepers tell us they have goods of all prizes, instead of all prices. Nay, some go so far as to pronounce the plural of truth, truTHs; but this must be carefully avoided.

. Th is hard in the middle of words, either when it precedes or follows a consonant, as panther, nepenthe, orthodox, orthography, orthöepy, thwart, athwart, ethnic, misanthrope, philanthropy, etc. except brethren, farthing, farther, northern, worthy, burthen, murther, where the th is flat; but the two last words are better written burden and murder.

. Th, between two vowels, is generally soft in words purely English, as father, feather, heathen, hither, thither, whither, whether, either, neither, weather, wether, wither, gather, together, pother, mother.

. Th, between two vowels, particularly in words from the learned languages, is generally hard, is apathy, sympathy, antipathy, Athens, atheist, authentic, author, authority, athirst, cathartic, cathedral, catholic, catheter, ether, ethics, lethargy, Lethe, leviathan, litharge, lithotomy, mathesis, mathematics, method, pathetic, plethora, polymathy, prothonotary, anathema, amethyst, theatre, amphitheatre, apothecary, apotheosis.

. Th is sometimes pronounced like simple t, as Thomas, thyme, Thames, asthma, phthisis, phthisic, phthisical, and is silent in twelfthtide, pronounced twelftide.

. T is silent when preceded by s, and followed by the abbreviated terminations en and le, as hasten, chasten, fasten, listen, glisten, christen, moisten, which are pronounced as if written hace'n, chace'n, etc. in bursten the t is heard: so castle, nestle, trestle, wrestle, thistle, whistle, epistle, bristle, gristle, jostle, apostle, throstle, bustle, justle, rustle, are pronounced as if written cassle, nessle, etc. in pestle the t is pronounced; in often, fasten, and soften, the t is silent, and at the end of several words from the French, as trait, gout, (taste) eclat. In the first of these words the t begins to be pronounced; in the last, it has been sometimes heard; but in the second, never. Toupet is more frequently written toupee, and is therefore not irregular. In billet-doux the t is silent, as well as in hautboy. The same silence of t may be observed in the English words, Christmas, chestnut, mortgage ostler, bankruptcy, and in the second syllable of mistletoe. In currant and currants, the t is always mute. See No. 102, 103, 405.

. V is flat f, and bears the same relation to it as b does to p, d to t, hard g to k, and z to s. (41) It is never irregular; and if ever silent, it is in the word twelvemonth, where both that letter and the e are, in colloquial pronunciation, generally dropped, as if written twel'month.

. That w at the beginning of a word is a consonant, has been proved already. (9) (59) It is always silent before r, as in wrack, wrangle, wrap, wrath, wreak, wreath, wreck, wren, wrench, wrest, wrestle, wretch, wriggle, wright, wring, wrinkle, wrist, write, writhe, wrong, wrought, wry, awry, bewray; and before h, and the vowel o, when long, as whole, who, etc. pronounced hole, hoo, etc.

. W, before h, is pronounced as if it were after the h, as hoo-y, why, hoo-en, when, etc. but in whole, whoop, etc. the single and double o coalescing with the same sound in w, this last letter is scarcely perceptible. In swoon, however, this letter is always heard; and pronouncing it soon, is vulgar. In sword and answer it is always silent. In two it mingles with its kindred sound, and the number two is pronounced like the adverb too. In the prepositions toward and towards, the w is dropped, as if written toard and toards, rhyming with hoard and hoards; but in the adjectives and adverbs toward and towardly, froward and frowardly the w is heard distinctly. It is sometimes dropped in the last syllable of awkward, as if written awkard; but this pronunciation is vulgar.

. X is a letter composed of those which have been already considered, and therefore will need but little discussion. (48) (51) It is flat or sharp like its component letters, and is subject to the same laws.

. X has a sharp sound like ks, when it ends a syllable with the accent upon it, as exercise, excellence, etc. or when the accent is on the next syllable, if it begin with a consonant, as excuse, expense, etc. (71)

. X has its flat sound like gz, when the accent is not on it, and the following syllable having the accent begins with a vowel, as exert, example, exist, etc. pronounced egzert, egzample, egzist, etc. The same sound may be observed if h follow, as in exhibit, exhale, etc. pronounced