itfelf: For the Sound produced by its Articulation is distinct, and agreeable; and may be made as long, or as fhort, as the Speaker pleases; and this, meerly by continuing to emit his Breath a longer or shorter Time, without any Change in the Pofition of his Organs of Speech.

Several Modifications, befides Length and Shortness, may be given to the Sound of the fame Vowel; and that without the Affiftance of the Confonants. For it may be made flender, by emitting the Breath with a less Force through a lefs Aperture of the Mouth; or broad, by using more Force and a greater Aperture. Or it may be made close, by directing the Breath toward the Roof of the Mouth, and letting fome Part of it pass leisurely through the Nofe; or it may be made open, by paffing all or most of the Breath by the Mouth only.

The Articulations of two Vowels may be run into each other without checking the Course of the Breath. And by this Proceeding feveral of the Sounds are formed which are denoted by Diphthongs; fuch as ai, oi. But fome Diphthongs are used, in English, to denote the broad Sound, and others, the clofe Sound of a fingle Vowel. Thus aw denotes the broad Sound of a; and oo the clofe Sound of o, &c,

The Letters which are not Vowels, direct to fuch Articulations as do not, of themselves, produce distinct Utterance; but serve to modify the Sounds denoted by Vowels. Therefore thefe Letters are called CONSO

NANTS.

B, d, k, p, t, are mute Confonants. For the Articulation which each of them denotes prevents the Breath

from

from paffing either through the Mouth or Nose; and till the Breath paffes, no Sound can enfue.

C and g are fometimes mute, and fometimes not fo. When mute, they are faid to be hard; as in can, crime, give, gold, grant. When not mute, (i. e, when a little of the Voice is fuffered to pass whilft the Articulations continue which they denote) they are faid to be soft; as in cell, civil, gem, giant, &c.

The rest of the Letters, viz. F, h, j, l, m, n, q, r, , v, (y and w, even when used as Confonants) x, and x, direct to fuch Pofitions of the Organs of Speech as permit the Breath to pass either through the Lips or Nose, or both. But the Sound which enfues, is either so weak, or indistinct, as to be disagreeable by itself: And therefore the Sounds which thefe Letters denote, are not confidered as fully articulated, but as serving to modify the Sounds denoted by the Vowels.

L, m, n, r, are called Liquids: They require the Breath to be directed towards the Roof of the Mouth, and then fuffered to escape by the Nose, or by the Sides of the Tongue; and this gives their Sounds that continued Flow which is called Liquid by the Grammarians.

The Articulation of a Confonant may modify that of a Vowel, either by preceding, or fucceeding it. If a Confonant is placed before a Vowel, we discharge the Articulation of the Confonant upon that of the Vowel, and emit the Breath by the latter Articulation. If a Confonant is placed after a Vowel, we continue the Articulation of the Vowel, without checking the Course of the Breath, till the Articulation of the Consonant is compleatly formed. The Sound of every Syllable that

con

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confifts of a Vowel and a Confonant is formed in one of the Manners above defcribed. The Articulations of two or more Confonants may unite with a Vowel or Diphthong in forming a Syllable; as in blush, crawl, toils, &c. But when a Syllable is very complex, it is ufually difficult to pronounce; and whatsoever is fo, is not agreeable to the Ear.

Syllables are the Elements of Words.

Of the Letters in particulur: And firft of the

T

Vowels.

A.

HIS Vowel has three Sounds in English; the flender, the open, and the broad.

Slender; as in place, nation, various, &c.

Open; as in father, languish, valley, &c.

Broad; as in all, wall, &c. The broad a, is the open a pronounced long.

A is used in forming the Diphthongs ai, ay, au, aw.

Ai or ay denotes a long and flender, as in vain, play, &c.

Au and aw have the fame found as a broad. For haul and bawl are pronouced as hall and ball.

E.

Single e is feldom pronounced long in English, except in fome Words taken directly from the Greek or Latin; as Demon, Philetus, quére, &c.

E fhort

E fhort is the most common Vowel in the Language; as in error, beft, &c.

E is used at the End of many Words, meerly to fhew that the Sound of the laft Syllable is to be foftened. This is ufually done by lengthening and opening the Sound of the Vowel which is in the Syllable; as in babe, recede, ftrike, provoke, duke.

E, when thus ufed, is faid to be filent.

In fome Words, only the Confonant of the laft Syllable is opened by the filent e, and the preceding Vowel is close and fhort; as in hermitage, furface, give, love, &c.

E at the End of Words, before n, and after I, or r, is a Notice that the Sound of the laft Syllable is to be formed within the Mouth towards the Palate, without suffering much of the Breath to depart through the Lips; as in open, given, fable, buckle, metre, lucre. When le and re have this Sound, the e is pronounced before the / and the r, although it is written behind them. Syllables thus founded are faid to be liquid, in Terms of Grammar.

E is ufed in forming the Diphthongs ea, ei, eu, ew.

Ea, in many Words, denotes e long and open; as im dream, cream. But in many Words it has the Effect of e; that is, of e long and close; as in dear, fear. But in bread, ftead, fweat, and fome other Words, ea is founded as e fhort and close.

Ei has a Sound which is intermediate between the ⚫pen and clofe Sounds of a long; as in perceive, teize.

Eo is found in People and founds as ee; and in Yeoman pronounced Yemman.

Eu and Ew have the found of u long and foft, but not made liquid by letting the Breath escape by the Nose; as in eulogy, dew, &c.

He sometimes appears as a Diphthong in Greek and Latin Names; as Eacus, Cæfar. It founds as ee before a Vowel, and as ea before a Confonant.

I.

I has a long open Sound in Monofyllables, if they end in Silent e, or in ind; as mine, fire, fmile, bind, behind, &c. In other Words it is short; as if, bid, this, &c.

I before r is often founded almost as u clofe; as first, flirt, fhirt.

The Diphthong ie is founded as e long and clofe; as in field, believe. I begins no other Diphthong; except that it precedes eu in lieu, and er in view; which are founded as if written with a long and close.

O is ufually long before fingle Confonants; as in odious, omen and short before two Confonants; as in loll, rock. But it is long in toll, roll, and frequently before r followed by another Confonant; as in border, ordinance, ornament, &c. O precedes all the Vowels in forming Diphthongs.

Oa has the found of long and open, as in coal, boaft.

Oe is only found in fome few Greek Words taken immediately into the English, as economy, acumenical. It founds as e long and open.

Oi de