Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/1052

 theless oppose one an other in making up the five. Thus, according to Hart, "A has five sounds of its own, as in fate, fare, far, fall, fat,"--Hart's E. Gram., p. 26. According to W. Allen, "A has five sounds;--the long or slender, as in cane; the short or open, as in can; the middle, as in arm; the broad, as in all; and the broad contracted, as in want."--Allen's E. Gram., p. 6. P. Davis has the same sounds in a different order, thus: "a [as in] mane, mar, fall, mat, what."--Davis's E. Gram., p. xvi. Mennye says, "A has five sounds; as, 1 fame, 2 fat, 3 false, 4 farm, 5 beggar."--Mennye's E. Gram., p. 55. Here the fifth sound is the seventh of Worcester,--the "A obscure."

DIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH A.

The only proper diphthong in which a is put first, is the word ay, meaning yes: in which a has its middle sound, as in ah, and y is like open e, or ee, uttered feebly--ah-ee. Aa, when pronounced as an improper diphthong, and not as pertaining to two syllables, usually takes the sound of close a; as in Balaam, Canaan, Isaac. In many words, as in Baäl, Gaäl, Gaäsh, the diæresis occurs. In baa, the cry of a sheep, we hear the Italian sound of a; and, since we hear it but once, one a or the other must be silent.

Æ, a Latin improper diphthong, common also in the Anglo-Saxon, generally has, according to modern orthoëpists, the sound of open e or ee; as in Cæsar, ænigma, pæan;--sometimes that of close or short e; as in aphæresis, diæresis, et cætera. Some authors, judging the a of this diphthong to be needless, reject it, and write Cesar, enigma, &c.

Ai, an improper diphthong, generally has the sound of open or long a; as in sail, avail, vainly. In a final unaccented syllable, it sometimes preserves the first sound of a; as in chilblain, mortmain: but oftener takes the sound of close or short i; as in certain, curtain, mountain, villain. In said, saith, again, and against, it takes the sound of close or short e; and in the name Britain, that of close or short u.

Ao, an improper diphthong, occurs in the word gaol, now frequently written as it is pronounced, jail; also in gaoler, which may be written jailer; and in the compounds of gaol: and, again, it is found in the adjective extraordinary, and its derivatives, in which, according to nearly all orthoëpists, the a is silent. The name Pharaoh, is pronounced F=a'r=o.

Au, an improper diphthong, is generally sounded like broad a; as in cause, caught, applause. Before n and an other consonant, it usually has the sound of grave or middle a; as in aunt, flaunt, gaunt, launch, laundry. So in laugh, laughter, and their derivatives. Gauge and gauger are pronounced gage and gager, and sometimes written so.

Aw, an improper diphthong, is always sounded like broad a; as in draw, drawn, drawl.

Ay, an improper diphthong, like ai, has usually the sound of open or long a; as in day, pay, delay: in sayst and says, it has the sound of close or short e.

TRIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH A.

Awe is sounded au, like broad a. Aye, an adverb signifying always, has the sound of open or long a only; being different, both in sound and in spelling, from the adverb ay, yes, with which it is often carelessly confounded. The distinction is maintained by Johnson, Walker, Todd, Chalmers, Jones, Cobb, Maunder, Bolles, and others; but Webster and Worcester give it up, and write "ay, or aye," each sounded ah-ee, for the affirmation, and "aye," sounded =a, for the adverb of time: Ainsworth on the contrary has ay only, for either sense, and does not note the pronunciation.

II. OF THE LETTER B.

The consonant B has but one sound; as in boy, robber, cub. B is silent before t or after m in the same syllable; as in debt, debtor, doubt, dumb, lamb, climb, tomb. It is heard in subtile, fine; but not in subtle, cunning.

III. OF THE LETTER C.

The consonant C has two sounds, neither of them peculiar to this letter; the one hard, like that of k, and the other soft, or rather hissing, like that of s. C before a, o, u, l, r, t, or when it ends a syllable, is generally hard, like k; as in can, come curb, clay, crab, act, action, accent, flaccid. C before e, i, or y, is always soft, like s; as in cent, civil, decency, acid.

In a few words, c takes the flat sound of s, like that of z; as in discern, suffice, sacrifice, sice. C before ea, ia, ie, io, or eou, when the accent precedes, sounds like sh; as in ocean, special, species, gracious, cetaceous. C is silent in czar, czarina, victuals, indict, muscle, corpuscle, and the second syllable of Connecticut.

Ch is generally sounded like tch, or tsh, which is the same to the ear; as in church, chance, child. But in words derived from the learned languages, it has the sound of k; as in character, scheme, catechise, chorus, choir, chyle, patriarch, drachma, magna charta: except in chart, charter, charity. Ch, in words derived from the French, takes the sound of sh; as in chaise, machine. In Hebrew words or names, in general, ch sounds like k; as in Chebar, Sirach, Enoch: but in Rachel, cherub, and cherubim, we have Anglicized the sound by uttering it as tch. Loch, a Scottish word, sometimes also a medical term, is heard as lok.

"Arch, before a vowel, is pronounced ark; as in archives, archangel, archipelago: except in arched, archer, archery, archenemy. Before a consonant it is pronounced artch; as in archbishop, archduke, archfiend."--See W. Allen's Gram., p. 10. Ch is silent in schism, yacht, and drachm. In schedule, some utter it as k; others, as sh; and many make it mute: I like the first practice.

IV. OF THE LETTER D.

The general sound of the consonant D, is that which is heard in dog, eddy, did. D, in the termination ed, preceded by a sharp consonant, takes the sound of t, when the e is suppressed or un-