A Grammar of the English Tongue Part 3

N.

N has always, the same sound, as n.o.ble, manners.

N is sometimes mute after m, as d.a.m.n, condemn, hymn.

P.

P has always the same sound which the Welsh and Germans confound with b.

P is sometimes mute, as in psalm, and between m and t, as tempt.

Ph is used for f in words derived from the Greek, as philosopher, philanthropy, Philip.

Q.

Q, as in other languages, is always followed by u, and has a sound which our Saxon ancestors well expressed by cw, as quadrant, queen, equestrian, quilt, inquiry, quire, quotidian. Qu is never followed by u.

Qu is sometimes sounded, in words derived from the French, like k, as conquer, liquor, risque, chequer.

R.

R has the same rough snarling sound as in the other tongues.

The Saxons used often to put h before it, as before l at the beginning of words.

Rh is used in words derived from the Greek, as myrrh, myrrhine, catarrhous, rheum, rheumatick, rhyme.

Re, at the end of some words derived from the Latin or French, is p.r.o.nounced like a weak er, as theatre, sepulchre.

S.

S has a hissing sound, as sibilation, sister.

A single s seldom ends any word, except in the third person of verbs, as loves, grows; and the plurals of nouns, as trees, bushes, distresses; the p.r.o.nouns this, his, ours, yours, us; the adverb thus; and words derived from Latin, as rebus, surplus; the close being always either in se, as house, horse, or in ss, as gra.s.s, dress, bliss, less, anciently gra.s.se, dresse.

S, single at the end of words, has a grosser sound, like that of z, as trees, eyes, except this, thus, us, rebus, surplus.

It sounds like z before ion, if a vowel goes before it, as intrusion; and like s, if it follows a consonant, as conversion.

It sounds like z before e mute, as refuse, and before y final, as rosy; and in those words, bosom, desire, wisdom, prison, prisoner, present, present, damsel, cas.e.m.e.nt.

It is the peculiar quality of s, that it may be sounded before all consonants, except x and z, in which s is comprised, x being only ks, and z a hard or gross s. This s is therefore termed by grammarians suae potestatis litera; the reason of which the learned Dr. Clarke erroneously supposed to be, that in some words it might be doubled at pleasure. Thus we find in several languages.

Se????, scatter, sdegno, sdrucciolo, sfavellare, sf???, s...o...b..are, sgranare, shake, slumber, smell, snipe, s.p.a.ce, splendour, spring, squeeze, shrew, step, strength, stramen, stripe, sventura, swell.

S is mute in isle, island, demesne, viscount.

T.

T has its customary sound; as take, temptation.

Ti before a vowel has the sound of si as salvation, except an s goes before, as question; excepting likewise derivatives from words ending in ty, as mighty, mightier.

Th has two sounds; the one soft, as thus, whether; the other hard, as thing, think. The sound is soft in these words, then, thence, and there, with their derivatives and compounds, and in that, these, thou, thee, thy, thine, their, they, this, those, them, though, thus; and in all words between two vowels, as, father, whether; and between r and a vowel, as burthen.

In other words it is hard, as thick, thunder, faith, faithful. Where it is softened at the end of a word, an e silent must be added, as breath, breathe; cloth, clothe.

V.

V has a sound of near affinity to that of f, as vain, vanity.

From f in the Island.i.c.k alphabet, v is only distinguished by a diacritical point.

W.

Of w, which in diphthongs is often an undoubted vowel, some grammarians have doubted whether it ever be a consonant; and not rather as it is called a double u, or ou, as water may be resolved into ouater; but letters of the same sound are always reckoned consonants in other alphabets: and it may be observed, that w follows a vowel without any hiatus or difficulty of utterance, as frosty winter.

Wh has a sound accounted peculiar to the English, which the Saxons better expressed by hw, as, what, whence, whiting; in wh.o.r.e only, and sometimes in wholesome, wh is sounded like a simple h.

X.

X begins no English word: it has the sound of ks, as axle, extraneous.

Y.

Y, when it follows a consonant, is a vowel; when it precedes either a vowel or a diphthong, is a consonant, as ye, young. It is thought by some to be in all cases a vowel. But it may be observed of y as of w, that it follows a vowel without any hiatus, as rosy youth.

The chief argument by which w and y appear to be always vowels is, that the sounds which they are supposed to have as consonants, cannot be uttered after a vowel, like that of all other consonants; thus we say tu, ut; do, odd; but in wed, dew; the two sounds of w have no resemblance to each other.

Z.

Z begins no word originally English; it has the sound, as its name izzard or s hard expresses, of an s uttered with a closer compression of the palate by the tongue, as freeze, froze.

In orthography I have supposed orthoepy, or just utterance of words, to be included; orthography being only the art of expressing certain sounds by proper characters. I have therefore observed in what words any of the letters are mute.

Most of the writers of English grammar have given long tables of words p.r.o.nounced otherwise than they are written, and seem not sufficiently to have considered, that of English, as of all living tongues, there is a double p.r.o.nunciation, one cursory and colloquial, the other regular and solemn. The cursory p.r.o.nunciation is always vague and uncertain, being made different in different mouths by negligence, unskilfulness, or affectation. The solemn p.r.o.nunciation, though by no means immutable and permanent, is yet always less remote from the orthography, and less liable to capricious innovation. They have however generally formed their tables according to the cursory speech of those with whom they happened to converse; and concluding that the whole nation combines to vitiate language in one manner, have often established the jargon of the lowest of the people as the model of speech.

For p.r.o.nunciation the best general rule is, to consider those as the most elegant speakers who deviate least from the written words.

There have been many schemes offered for the emendation and settlement of our orthography, which, like that of other nations, being formed by chance, or according to the fancy of the earliest writers in rude ages, was at first very various and uncertain, and is yet sufficiently irregular. Of these reformers some have endeavoured to accommodate orthography better to the p.r.o.nunciation, without considering that this is to measure by a shadow, to take that for a model or standard which is changing while they apply it. Others, less absurdly indeed, but with equal unlikelihood of success, have endeavoured to proportion the number of letters to that of sounds, that every sound may have its own character, and every character a single sound. Such would be the orthography of a new language, to be formed by a synod of grammarians upon principles of science. But who can hope to prevail on nations to change their practice, and make all their old books useless? or what advantage would a new orthography procure equivalent to the confusion and perplexity of such an alteration?

Some ingenious men, indeed, have endeavoured to deserve well of their country, by writing honor and labor for honour and labour, red for read in the preter-tense, sais for says, repete tor repeat, explane for explain, or declame for declaim. Of these it may be said, that as they have done no good they have done little harm; both because they have innovated little, and because few have followed them.

The English language has properly no dialects; the style of writers has no professed diversity in the use of words, or of their flexions and terminations, nor differs but by different degrees of skill or care.

The oral diction is uniform in no s.p.a.cious country, but has less variation in England than in most other nations of equal extent. The language of the northern counties retains many words now out of use, but which are commonly of the genuine Teutonick race, and is uttered with a p.r.o.nunciation which now seems harsh and rough, but was probably used by our ancestors. The northern speech is therefore not barbarous, but obsolete. The speech in the western provinces seems to differ from the general diction rather by a depraved p.r.o.nunciation, than by any real difference which letters would express.