THE BASIS OF THE NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF WEBSTER'S TOGETHER WITH NUMEROUS EXERCISES IN SYNONYMS, IN OPPOSITES, IN ANALYSIS, BY CHARLES Wallon A.M., AUTHOR OF "SERIES OF SCHOOL READERS;" "ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH WORDS;" "ELEMENTARY AND ELOCUTIONARY CHART," ETC., ETC. IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO., NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 1872. THE aim in this book has been to bring into shape, suitable for daily use in the schools, the clear and complete exhibition of English Orthography and Orthoëpy, found in the last edition of Webster's great American Dictionary. The plan adopted for this purpose is, in several respects, quite out of the beaten track for works of this kind. This will especially appear in the series of exercises on the powers and uses of the vowels, which, though prepared for this special purpose, have, nevertheless, all the simplicity of ordinary spelling lessons. It will appear, also, in the method employed for the illustration of the several Rules for Spelling, which are here supported, not, as is usual, by a few instances, however appropriate, but by such an array of examples, all digested into lessons of convenient size, as can not fail to fix in the mind of the learner the means of determining at once the true spelling of thousands of words. In the collection of TEST WORDS, too, will be found a feature singularly useful for the higher classes in schools, and for Teachers' Institutes; embracing, as it does, over two thousand words, so arranged as to reveal many similarities and differences that ordinarily escape the attention of youth entirely. The whole is eminently practical. It shows the laws and usages of the language in respect to spelling and pronunciation, it explains by comparison, by contrast, by analysis, and by formal definition, the true meaning and application of words; yet all this is done without cumbering the path of the pupil with any perplexing details of theoretic teaching. The treatise on the Powers and Uses of the Letters, the list of Proper Names, Foreign Words and Phrases, with their definitions, as well as the description of Pauses and Marks used in writing, can not fail to be regarded as essential elements in every well-arranged Spelling Book. NEW YORK, July, 1865. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern Electrotyped by SMITH & MCDOUGAL, 82 and 84 Beekman St., N.Y. Dup. exch. Bureau of R'way Econ. 13Je19. SANDERS' UNION SPELLER. SECTION I. ORTHOGRAPHY. ORTHOGRAPHY treats of letters, syllables and words. LETTERS are marks, or characters used to represent the sounds of the human voice, heard in speaking. The number of letters in English is twenty-six. In respect to form, they are distinguished as capitals and small letters. In respect to the sounds they are employed to represent, they are either vowels or consonants. A VOWEL represents a free, uninterrupted sound of the voice. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, y. W, also, when preceded by a vowel in the same syllable, has sometimes the force of a vowel, as in the words few, cow, power. I, followed by a vowel in the same syllable, as in alien (al yen), is a consonant; so, also, is y, as in yet. U, after q, and sometimes after g and s, is a consonant equal to w, as in quit (kwit), languid, assuage. A DIPHTHONG is the union of two vowels in the same syllable; as oi in oil. If, however, one only of the vowels is sounded, the diphthong is called improper. A TRIPHTHONG is the union of three vowels in the same syllable; as ieu in lieu. A CONSONANT is a letter that represents a sound of the voice, modified by some interruption from the organs of speech. The consonants are separately considered in Section II, A SYLLABLE is a letter, or a combination of letters, uttered by one emission of the voice; as, boy, boy'ish. A WORD is a syllable, or a combination of syllables, significant of some thought, or idea; as, house, manly. A word of one syllable is called a MONOSYLLABLE, a word of two syllables, a DISSYLLABLE, a word of three syllables, a TRISYLLABLE, a word of four or more syllables, a POLYSYLLABLE. A PRIMITIVE WORD is one derived from no other word; as, fear. A DERIVATIVE WORD is one formed from a primitive, by means of prefixes and suffixes; as, fear less, re turn. A SIMPLE WORD is one not compounded; as, milk, man. A COMPOUND WORD is one composed of two or more simple ones; as, milkman, nevertheless. ACCENT is a special stress of the voice, which distinguishes one syllable above others in the same word; as, hap' py, be dew'. Accent is either primary, as that on the last syllable of in tend', or secondary, as that on the first syllable of su' per in tend'. ORTHOEPY treats of the proper pronunciation of words, as Orthography treats of their proper spelling. SECTION II. POWERS AND USES OF THE LETTERS. VOWELS. Each of the vowels has its regular long, short, and its occasional sounds which are distinctly marked in the Key, pages 14 and 15. All these various vowel sounds, as also some that are exceptional, will be found fully illustrated in the opening exercises of this book. CONSONANTS. B. B has but one sound, as in bid, rib. Before t and after m in the same syllable, it is generally silent, as in debt, bomb. It is, also, silent in bdellium. C. C has the sound of s before e, 2, or y, as in cent, cite, cyst, doc' ile. This is its soft sound. Before a, o, u, l, or r, as in cat, cot, cut, clot, crop-before k, s, or t final, as in hack, optics, act, and, also, when it ends a word, or a syllable not followed by e, i, or y, as in lac, tac tic, it has the sound of k. This is its. hard sound. In a few words, it has the sound of z, as in sice (size), suffice, sacrifice; in some cases, it is silent, as in Czar, indict, victuals, muscle. D. The regular sound of this letter is heard in sad, date, madden; after a whispered, or sharp consonant in the same syllable, it has the sound of t, as in missed (mist), vexed. In Wednesday, handsome, handkerchief, and wind' row, it is silent. |