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 § 11. We may call these words in brackets KEY-WORDS, as they give a key to the pronunciation.

It is, of course, absolutely necessary that we should know what is the sound of each letter, and each combination of letters, in the key-words.

§ 12. Sounds are divided into vowel sounds and consonant sounds.

The vowel sounds of the English language are tabulated as follows by Mr. Pitman, the great authority on phonetics:—

The six long vowel-sounds, then, are brought to mind when we repeat the words:—


 * “Half-pay he thought so poor.”