Page:The Making of Latin.djvu/31

Rh of air passes, and producing another sound. Thus we get what are called Consonant i and Consonant u, conveniently written i̯ and u̯, always in combination with a vowel. These sounds differ very little from those represented by the English letters y and w (§ 45). For instance the English word way begins with u̯ and ends with i̯, and would be strictly spelt u̯ei̯. Eng. yes begins with consonant i and Eng. low ends with consonant u̯. The sounds might be strictly classed as a weak kind of Fricative (§ 35). Hence i and u are sometimes called Semi-Vowels to suggest their use both as Sonants and as Consonants.

§ . Where the current of air is only modified by receiving a vibration from the tongue we get the Liquids, r when the tip of the tongue is vibrated, and l when the sides of the tongue are vibrated; to produce l the front of the tongue is generally set fast against the teeth or palate. Eng. and Lat. r and l are both made with Voice. In modern English the Vibration of r has become very weak, and at the end of a syllable it is hardly heard at all unless a vowel follows.

§ . This vibration may be short and followed immediately by a vowel; in this case we have Consonant r and Consonant l. But the vibration may be prolonged so as to make a syllable; in this case we have Sonant r and Sonant l, conveniently written r̥ and l̥. These sounds are very common in English, though they are spelt in many ways. The last sound of the words collar, brother, Cheshire, motor is (or, at least was) a Sonant r, though in Southern English it has sunk to little more than the neutral