Imatges de pàgina
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F.

This letter has but one sound, as in flame, soft, staff, except in the word of, which is pronounced ov. It is never silent.

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G.

G, before a, o, and u, as in gale, gore, gun, has, except in the word gaol (jāle), a hard sound; also, before l and r, as in glad, grope, and occasionally before i and y, as in get, give, logy. It has this hard sound always at the end of a word, or a syllable not followed by e, i, or y, as in beg, big, bog; so, too, when doubled, as in begging, biggest, boggy. Before e, i, and y, however, with very few exceptions, g has its soft sound, as in gem, ginger, gypsum, rigid. In a few words, g has the sound of zh, as in rouge (roozh). Before m and n it is silent, as in phlegm, sign, gnat.

H.

H represents a mere breathing, or aspirate, as in home, hat. It is silent after g, as in ghost, after r, as in rhyme, as also when preceded by a vowel in the same syllable, as in oh, Jehovah.

J.

J has very nearly the sound of dzh, being the precise equivalent of g soft, as in jibe. In hallelujah, (when spelled with j,) it has the sound of y. It is never silent.

K.

K has but one sound, as in ken, kin. It is silent before n in the same syllable, as in knight; also after c, as in back.

L.

L has but one sound, as in lame, land, miller. It is sometimes silent, especially before a final consonant, as in calm, walk, would, half.

M.

M has but one sound, as in make, clam, hammer. It is silent before n in the same syllable, as in mnemonics.

N.

N has two sounds, that heard in note, ten, nail, and that in linger, link, uncle, which latter is essentially the same sound as that represented by ng. This sound it has, as a general rule, before g, k, c, q, and x, as in anger (ang' ger), link, cinque (sink), zinc,

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P.

P has but one sound,-that heard in pen, lip, hop, except in the words cupboard (kub' urd) and clapboard (klab' bōrd), where it has the sound of b. It is silent, when initial, before n, s and t, as in pneumatic, psalm, ptarmigan; so, also, in a few other cases, as in receipt, corps (cūre), raspberry.

Q.

This letter always occurs before u, and the two (qu) together have the sound generally of kw, as in quiet (kwiet). In some words, however, qu has the sound of k only, as in coquette (cokět'), antique.

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Before a vowel in the same syllable, as in ream, dream, as also when between two vowels, the first of which is short, as in băron, měrit, florid, the letter r has a rough, or trilled sound. In other situations, it has a smooth or palatal sound, as in far, form, terse; while in others still, it has this smooth, or palatal sound combined with an obscure vowel sound, somewhat like that of u in urge, as in the words fare, ore, our. R is never silent.

S.

This letter has two sounds; one sharp and hissing, as in sin, mist, the other flat and buzzing, as in has (haz), amuse.

S, with its sharp sound, following a liquid or another s, and coming before a letter with the sound of consonant, (as in version, mansion, passion,) also, in some cases, where it comes before ū, (as in sūre, sugar), has the sound of sh. In some words s alone has this sound, as in nausea (naushea), Asiatic. S, preceded by a vowel in an accented syllable, and followed by a vowel with the sound of y consonant, in connection with the latter vowel, generally has the sound of zh; thus, vision (vizhun), fusion (fuzhun), &c.; so, also, in scission, abscission, rescission. S is silent in a few words, as in aisle, isle, island, demesne, puisne, viscount, and mostly at the end of French words, adopted in English, as, chamois (sham' my).

T.

The proper sound of t is heard in the words, take, note, latter. When t precedes ia, ie, and io, and, at the same time, follows an accented syllable not ending in s or x, it has the sound of sh, as in patient (pa shent), station, partial, &c. Preceded by x or s, the t and i preserve each its own separate sound, or together assume the sound of ch, as in mixtion (miksť' yun, or mik' chun), question, &c.

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The true sound of this letter is heard in vale, civil, live. It is never silent, except in sevennight (sennit).

W.

W, before a vowel in the same syllable, is a consonant, with a sound closely resembling oo in moon, as in

the words wet (oo et), wine, twine, reward; after a vowel, however, in the same syllable, it is either altogether silent, as in the words, grow, grown, or, with the vowel preceding, forms a diphthong; thus, few (fu), new (nu), cow (ow like ou in our), power. Before r, in the same syllable, w is silent, as in wring (ring), wrote, as also in the words answer (anser), toward (to' ard), and two (too).

X.

X has two sounds-that of ks, as in tax (taks), which is called its sharp sound, and that of gz, as in exist (egzist), which is called its soft, or flat sound. When commencing a word, it has the sound of z, as in xebec (zebec).

Y.

Y, when a consonant, always precedes a vowel in the same syllable, as in you, halyard. When a vowel, it has exactly the same sound as i; thus, hymn (him), tyrant.

Z.

The regular sound of z is heard in zone, maze, hazy.

In some words, it has the sound of zh, as seizure (seez yur). In rendezvous (rèn' de vōō) it is silent.

CH.

CH has nearly the sound of tsh, as in child, much, richly. In some words, it has the sound of sh, as chaise, machine. In some, it sounds like k, as chorus. In drachm (dram), schism (sizm), and yacht (yot), ch is silent.

GH.

GH, beginning a word, has the sound of g hard, as in ghost (gost). In hiccough (hik' kup), it has the sound

of p. In other cases, it sounds like ƒ, as, in draught (draft), or like k, as, in hough (hõk). After i, it is silent, as in sigh (sī), and generally before t, as in taught (tawt); so, also, in though (thō), and through (thrōō).

PH.

PH has usually the sound of f, as in sylph (sylf), phantom. In Stephen (steven), it sounds like v. Before th initial, it is silent, as in phthisic (tiz' ik), as also in a few other cases.

SH.

The proper sound of this combination is heard in shop, shine, flesh. Sh is never silent, but the sound which it indicates, is represented variously; by c, for example, as in o ce an' ic,-by s, as in nausea,—by t, as in negotiate, by ce, as in ocean,-by ci, as in social,-by si, as in tension,--by ti, as in captious,by xi, as in noxious,-by ch, as in machine,—by sci, as in conscience, &c.

TH.

TH has a sharp, or whispered sound, as in thing, breath, author, and a flat or vocal sound, as in thine, then, mother. Th in thyme (time), phthisic (tiz ik), Thomas (tom as), Thames (temz), sounds like t.

WH.

The letters in this combination are sounded as if written hw, as in what (hwat). In who, whole, and whoop, the w is silent.

ZH.

The sound represented by this combination, is heard in the words fusion, (fuzhun), brasier (brazher),

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