CHAP. XII.

Of Quantity and Accent?

*Alables to be pronounced

RE all Words and Syl

with the fame fort of Voice or Sound?

A. Every Syllable must be sounded according to its proper Quantity, and every Word of two or more Sylla-bles must have its proper Accent. 22. What is Quantity?

A. Quantity is the Diftinction of Syllables into long and fhort..

32. How are long and fhort SylJables diftinguifhed?

A. All long Syllables have a Diph-thong in them, as Gain, Heap; or elfe the Vowel has a long or a broad? Sound, as Gall, Mate, Hope; all other Syllables are short, as Mat, hop, Bank, String, Punch.

42 What do you mean by Aċ-

cent?

A. The Accent is a particular Stress or Force of Sound that the Voice lays E. 3%

upon

upon any Syllable, whether the Syllable be long or fhort, as o in o-pen, pé in Pé-ny

52. Doth not the Accent then always belong to the long Syllable?

A. Tho the Accent is laid much more frequently on a long Syllable, than a fhort one, yet not always; for in these Words, Money, borrow, the last Syllable is long, and the first fhort, yet the Accent belongs to the first.

Yet here let it be noted, That tho in reading VERSE, the Accent must be laid on the fame Syllable as it is in PROSE, and the Words must bave the fame Pronunciation; yet a Syllable in VERSE is called LONG or SHORT, not according to the long or fhort Vowel, but according to the Accent.

6. Q. Is the Accent always the fame in the fame Words?

A. It is for the most part the fame, yet there are two Cafes wherein, fometimes, the Accent differs.

First, The fame Word when it fignifies an Action, is accented upon the laft Syllable, as to contract, to rebel: when it fignifies a Thing, the

Accent

Accent is fometimes transferr'd to the first, as a Contract, a Rebel.

Secondly, Tho Compound Words and Derivatives are moft times accented like their Primitives, yet not always, as Maker has a ftrong Ac cent on the firft Syllable, which is loft in Shoemaker; prefer has the Accent on the laft Syllable; but Prẻference and preferable on the first: Finite has its Accent on the fi, but infinite on the Syllable in; and Infinity has it reftored to the Syllable. fi again.

72. Doth the Accent change the Sound of Letters?

A. Wherefoever the Accent is laid on a fhort Vowel before a fingle Confonant, it makes the Confonant be pronounced double, as Malice, Seven, Body, must be founded like Mal lice, Sev-ven, Bod-dy.

8Q; Have any Words more Accents than one?

A. Yes, fome long Words have two Accents, as únivérfal, omnipréfent, both which are accented on the firft and third Syllables: TranfubStantiation

ftantiation has three; but generally one of thofe Accents is much ftronger than the other.

9 Q. Are there any certain Directions where to place the Accent in Words of feveral Syllables ?

A. Tho there can no certain Rules be given where to place the Accent, but Custom must entirely determine; yet there is this general Obfervation, which may be of fome Ufe, (viz.) That it is the Cuftom of the English, in moft Words, to remove the Accent far from the laft Syllable; whence thefe particular Remarks follow:

I Remark, That in Words of two Syllables, where both are fhort, or both long, the Accent is laid generally on the first, as Mantle, private. 2 Remark, If the firft Syllable only be long, the Accent is very feldom laid on the last.

"

3 Remark, That where the Accent lies on the laft Syllable, the Word is almost always a kind of a Compound, and the firft Syllable is a Prepofition, as complète, diffölve, prevént, return.

4 Remark, That in Words of three, four, or five Syllables, the Accent is feldom laid on the two last Syllables, but often on one of the firft, as Ceremony, abominable, questionable, vifionary.

Laft Remark, In Words of Six Syllables, there are frequently two Accents, one on the firft, and the other on the fourth, as Juftification, unphilofophical, Familiarity.

But after all the Rules that can be given, I know not any thing that' will lead a Child fo eafily to put the right Accent upon Words, as Tables or Catalogues of Words difpofed according to their Accents on the first, fecond, or third Syllable, &c.

It must be acknowledged that our Language is compounded and mingled with fo many Languages, that renders the Sounds of Letters and Syllables fo very irregular, that 'tis hardly to be learnt by any Rules, without long and particular Catalogues of Words, or by conftant Obfervation and Practice.

Thus