KC 10837 UNIVERSITY 046*172 Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1836, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. NOTICE. In consequence of the increasing use of the New National Spelling-Book, the author has thought best to revise this work; and by adding a few pages and making slight alteration in a few others, to render it a suitable introduction to both his Spelling-Books. In doing which none of the reading exercises have been altered, and so inconsiderable were the changes necessary to be made in the spelling columns, that teachers will experience little or no inconvenience in using this improved edition in the same class with former editions of this book. STEREOTYPED BY SHEPARD, OLIVER, AND CO. INTRODUCTION. In the English language, there are twenty-six letters; they are divided into vowels and consonants. A towel is a simple sound of itself. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes » and y. A consonant has no sound independent of its union with a vowel. The consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z, and sometimes w and y. A diphthong is the union of two vowels, pronounced toge ther, so as to make one syllable. A triphthong is the union of three vowels. A proper diphthong has both the vowels sounded. An improper diphthong has but one of the vowels sounded. Of the Vowels. A has five sounds;-1. as heard in fate, nation;--2. as heard in tår, fåther;-3. as heard in båll, fåll;—4. as heard in fån, fåtten ;—5. as heard in wad, wanton. E has two sounds;-1. as heard in mé, hère;-2. as heard in inet, tendril. I has two sounds;-1. as heard in time, fineness;-2. as heard in pin, dinner. O has five sounds;-1. as heard in nó, nổtion;—2. as heard in move, löse ;—3. as heard in nor, forfeit ;—4. as heardin not, yonder ;—5. as heard in good, wolf. U has four sounds;--1. as heard in care. mute;-2. as heard in tib, buffet;-3. as heard in båll, fuiness;-1. as heard in rule, truly. IV, when a vowel, conforms to the long sound of u, as in few, pewter. Y, when a vowel, conforms to the long or short sound of i, as in tyrant, duty. Of the Consonants. F, j, l, m, n, r, s, v, z, and c and g soft, are called semi-vowels, because they have an imperfect sound of themselves. L, m, n, and r, are also called liquids, because they easily unite in sound with other consonants. K, p, and t, are called mutes, because they cannot be uttered without a previous suspension of the voice. B has but one sound. Chas five sounds;-like k, as in came; like s, as in acid; like sh, as in vicious; like z, as in suffice; and like ts, when followed by h, not silent, in the same syllable. D has three sounds ;-besides that heard in itself, it has the sound of, as in cracked, mixed, pronounced crackt, mixt; it has also the sound of j, as in soldier, pronounced sol-jur. F has no variation of sound, except in the word of, pronounced cv. G has two sounds;-a hard sound, as in gét, dagger, and a soft sound, as in gibe, general. H is no more than a forcible breathing, before the succeeding vowel is pronounced. Jis uniformly sounded like g soft, except in the word hallelujah, where it is pronounced like y. K has the sound of c hard. I has but one sound. M has but one sound. N has two sounds;-one simple and pure, as in man, net; the other a compound sound, like ng, as in thank, pronounced thangk. P has but one sound. Ph is generally pronounced like f, as in Philip, phantom. Q has but one sound, which is like k: it is always followed by, which has the sound of w; as in quack, queen, pronounced kwack, kween. R has but one sound: it is never silent, but is sometimes transposed; as in sabre, pronounced sa-bur. S has four sounds ;--a hissing sound, as in sin, this; a buzzing sound, as in was, his; the sound of sh, as in mission, Ensure; and the sound zh, as in n.easure, effusion. T has three sounds ;-besides that heard in itself, it has the sound sh, as in nation, mention; also the sound of tsh, as in nature, bastion, pronounced na-tshure, bas-tshun. Th has two sounds ;—a sharp sound, as in thank, thin; and a flat sound, as in than, that. V has but one sound, like flat ƒ. IV, when a consonant, has but one sound. X has two sounds;-a sharp sound, like ks; and a flat sound, like gz, as in exact, pronounced egz-act. Y, when a consonant, has but one sound. Z has the souna of flat s; it has, in a few cases, the sound of zh, as in glazier, pronounced gla-zhur. Of Words. The elements of words are syllables and letters. 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 more than three syllables, á polysyllable. Every word of more than one syllable has one accented syllable. An accented syllable must be pronounced with a stronger and fuller sound of the voice. The mark of accent is placed at the right hand of the syllable to be accented. KEY. Table of the Simple and Diphthongal Vowels referred to by the Figures over the Letters in this Work. 1. a. The long English a, as in fåte. 4 4. The long Italian a, as in får. å. The broad German a, as in fåll. a. The short sound of the Italian a, as in fat. 5. å. The short sound of broad a, like short broad o, The long close o, as in move. The long broad o, as in når, like broad a. The long diphthongal u, as in tube. The long obtuse u, as in rule. The long broad o and the short i, as in oil. 33 The long broad o and obtuse u, as in pound. |
