to draw the attention of the learner to the difficult and irregular words, and to supply him with practical rules for their pronunciation. This has been done in the present work; and if the learner makes himself acquainted with the pronunciation of these words, which are comparatively few in number, he will be able to pronounce all the other words in the language without difficulty. In fact, he will only have to attend to the position of the accent, and the usual sound of the letters. And what can be more unsatisfactory than the ETYMOLOGICAL information given in our English dictionaries ?* Even in the voluminous and celebrated work of DR. JOHNSON, the amount of information on this important and interesting branch of lexicography, scarcely ever exceeds a Latin or French word, par parenthèse. Now, of what use is the mere indication of the root? To those who know any thing of the learned languages, such information is unnecessary; and to those who do not, it is useless,-unless, indeed, the primary meaning, and secondary applications of the term referred to, be fully and clearly explained. On this subject HORNE TOOKE has truly said "It is a trifling etymology that barely refers us to some word in another language, either the same or similar, unless the meaning of the word, and cause of its imposition, can be discovered by such a reference." Instead, therefore, of following the usual plan of merely indicating the root of the words, which would have occupied much space to little purpose, the compiler has, as he said before, given almost every thing that is practically useful in etymology, under the head of DERIVATION. Many of the " ENGLISH ETYMOLOGIES" will be found novel, and, it is hoped, interesting; and the LATIN and GREEK ROOTS which he has selected and illustrated, are those by which the English language has been most enriched. * With the exception of DR. RICHARDSON'S, which is the only one in the language that deserves the title of an English Etymological Dictionary. Orthoepy, or the correct Pronunciation of Words, A Collection of all the Difficult and Irregular Words in the Language, Words Spelled in Two or more Ways by different and even the same Writers; with an attempt to settle their Orthography, Words similar in Sound, but differing in Spelling and Signification, SIGNS AND ABBREVIATIONS EXPLAINED. This sign - denotes a long sound or syllable. This sign denotes a short sound or syllable. This mark', which is called the acute accent, denotes the syllable on which the principal accent or stress is to be laid. This mark over a vowel denotes that it has its long sound; but when placed immediately after a consonant, it indicates that the preceding vowel has its shut or short sound. See page ii. When a vowel has a secondary accent, this mark" denotes the principal one. See page xx. When there is no other accent marked in the same word, this sign denotes that the consonant before which it is placed, coalesces in the pronunciation with the vowel following it; as in a"gitate and addition, which are pronounced aj'itate and addish'on. The term Alphabet is derived from Alpha, Beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet; just as we say the "A. B. C." for all the letters; and Abecedarian, for a teacher of the Alphabet. The ORDER of the letters in the Alphabet appears to have been a matter of chance; nor Y y Y y wÿ. Ꮓ Ø zed THE SOUNDS OR POWERS OF THE LETTERS. VOWELS. The sounds of the vowELS may be reduced to their long or open sounds; their short or shut sounds; their obscure or unaccented sounds; and their incidental or irregular sounds. * 1. A vowel has its LONG sound when under the ACCENT; as á in fatal, é in légal, í in title, ó in notice, and ú in dúty. A vowel has also its long sound in monosyllables ending in e mute preceded by a single consonant; as ā in fate, è in mète, i in pine, ō in nōte, and u in tube. The only exceptions seem to be, hăve, ăre, găpe, băde, where (whare), there (thare), ere (air), wěre, give, live, gone, shone; and words like love, dove, &c., in which o has the sound of short u. 2. A vowel has its SHORT sound when it is followed by a consonant which shuts or abruptly terminates its sound; as ǎ in făt, è in mět, i in pin, o in not, and ŭ in tub. This is always the case in monosyllables ending in a single consonant, as in the examples just given. A vowel has also its shut or short sound when it is followed by an ACCENTED Consonant in the same syllable; as ă in băl'ance, è in fěl'on, ì in military, ŏ in novel, and u in pun'ish. It has, also, its short sound, when it is followed by two or more consonants; as in cănvăss, membrane, timbrel, mortal, and pungent.† 3. When a vowel has neither its long or open sound, nor its short or shut sound, as in the foregoing cases, it has an OBSCURE or indistinct sound, particularly when it follows an ACCENTED syllable; as the second a in cab'bage and ab'bacy; e in open and battery; i in rúin and ability; o in actor and felony; and u in Arth'ur and sulph'ury. It is evident that in such examples as the preceding, the unaccented vowel has a sound so obscure that its place might be supplied by any of the other vowels without producing any very perceptible change in the pronunciation of the word. For example, the a in cabbage and the u in Arthur might be changed into any of the other vowels without causing any material change in the pronunciation of the syllable (as in cab'bege, cab'bige, cab'boge, cab'buge; Arthar, Arth'er, Arth'ir, Arth'or). Hence the inutility of marking the sounds of the vowels in such positions.-See No. 75. 4. As no general rule can be given with regard to the INCIDENTAL OF IRREGULAR Sounds of the vowels, we shall briefly notice them under each letter in order. is it of much consequence how they are arranged. Some writers, however, have urged a new and philosophical arrangement. The voWELS, they insist, should take precedence of the CONSONANTS, and be marshalled with regard to each other, according to the aperture which each demands of the mouth to give it due utterance; while the CONSONANTS should be arranged with reference to the organs which are chiefly employed in giving them utterance; as the lips, the teeth, the throat, &c. This would certainly be a more rational arrangement of the letters; but it is now too late to make such alterations. It is remarkable that the letter A holds the first place in every alphabet; perhaps because the open sound, as in the word father, is the simplest and easiest of all sounds. It is the first articulate sound which children make, as in the words papa, mamma; and in almost every language, except the English, this is the only sound of a. * In change, mange, range, strange; chaste, haste, paste, and a few similar words, the a is long, though two consonants follow. tIn ancient, angel, chamber, cambric, and Cambridge, the a has its long sound, though followed by two consonants. The OBSCURE sounds of the vowels are also short, and more or less so according to their position; but they differ from the SHUT sounds in being less distinct. |