A

LETTER S.

LETTER is the firft Principle, or leaft part,

of a Word.

'An Articulate Sound is the found of the human voice, formed by the organs of fpeech.

A Vowel is a fimple articulate found, formed by the impulse of the voice, and by the opening

ין

only of the mouth in a particular manner.

A Confonant cannot be perfectly founded by itself; but joined with a vowel forms a compound articulate found, by a particular motion or contact of the parts of the mouth.

A Diphthong, or compound vowel, is the union of two or more vowels pronounced by a a fingle impulse of the voice.

In English there are twenty-fix Letters.

A, a; B, b; C, c; D, d; E, e; F, f; G, g; H, h; I, i; J, j; K, k; L,1; M, m; N, n; O, o; P, p; Q, q; R, r; S, f; T, ti U, u ; V, v ; W, w; X, x; Y, y; Z, z.

the former

Jj, and Vu, are confonants; having the found of the foft g, and the latter that of a coarfer f: they are therefore entirely different from the vowels i and u and diftin& letters of themselves; they ought also to be distinguished from them, each by a peculiar Name; the former may be called ja, and the latter vee.

The Names then of the twenty-fix letters will be as follows: a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, ja, ka, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, efs, tee, u, vee, double u ex y, zad.

Six of the letters are vowels, and may be founded by themselves; a, e, i, o, u, y.

E is generally filent at the end of a word; but it has its effect in lengthening the preceding vowel, as bid, bide: and fometimes likewise in the middle of a word; as, ungrateful, retirement: Sometimes it has no other effect, than that of softening a preceding g: as, lodge, judge, judgement; for which purpose it is quite neceffary in thefe and the like words.

r is in found wholly the fame with i; and is written inftead of it at the end of words; or

before i, as flying, denying: it is retained likewise in fome words derived from the Greek; and it is always a vowel (1)..

W is either vowel, or diphthong; its proper found is the fame as the Italian u the French ou, or the English 00; after o, it is fometimes not founded at all; fometimes like a fingle u.

The reft of the letters are confonants; which cannot be founded alone: fome not at all, and thefe are called Mutes; b, c, d, g, k, p, q, ti others very imperfectly, making a kind of obfcure found; and thefe are called Semi-vowels, or Half-vowels, l, m, n, r, f, s; the first four of which are alfo diftinguished by the name of Liquids.

(1) The fame found, which we exprefs by the initial y our Saxon Ancefors in many inftances expreffed by the vowel ; as cower, your and by the vowel i; as iw, yew; iong, young. In the word yew, the initial y has precifely the fame found with i in the words view, lieu, adieu: the i is acknowledged to be a Vowel in these latter; how then can the y which has the very fame found, poffibly be a Consonant in the former? Its initial found is generally like that of i in fhire, or ee nearly: it is formed by the opening of the mouth, without any motion or contract of the parts: in a word, it has every property of a Vowel, and not one of a Confonant.

The Mutes and the Semi-vowels are diftinguished by their names in the Alphabet; those of the former all beginning with a confonant, bee, cee, &c. ; those of the latter all beginning with a vowel, &c.

ef, ell,

X is a double confonant, compounded of c. or k, and s.

feems not to be a double confonant in English, as it is commonly supposed: it has the fame relation to s, as v has to ƒ, being a thicker and coarfer expreffion of it.

H is only an Aspiration, or Breathing: and fometimes at the beginning of a word is not founded at all; as, an hour, an honest man.

C is pronounced like k, before a, o, u; and foft, likes, before e i, y: in like manner g

is

pronounced always hard before a, o, u; fometimes hard and fometimes foft before i, and y; and for the most part foft before e.

is

The English Alphabet, like moft others both deficient and redundant; in fome cafes, the fame letters expreffing different founds, and different letters expreffing the fame founds.

A

SYLLABLES.

SYLLABLE is a found either fimple or compounded, pronounced by a single impulfe of the voice, and conftituting a word or part of a word,

Spelling is the art of reading by naming the letters fingly, and rightly dividing words into their fyllables. Or, in writing, it is the expreffing of a word by its proper letters.

In fpelling, a fyllable in the beginning or middle of a word ends in a vowel, unless it be followed by x; or by two or more confonants: these are for the most part to be separated; and at least one of them always belongs to the preceding fyllable, when the vowel of that fyllable is pronounced short, Particles in Compofition, though followed by a vowel, generally remain undivided in 'fpelling, A mute generally unites with a liquid following; and a liquid, or a mute, generally feparates from a mute following: le and re are never separated from a preceding mute. Examples: ma-ni-feft, ex-e-crable, un-e-qual, mif ap-ply, dif-tin-guish, cor-ref-pon-ding,