IMPERFECTIONS OF THE ENGLISH
ALPHABET.

The imperfections of the English alphabet are of three kinds; namely:

1. It is redundant.

2. It is deficient.

3. It is inconsistent.

1. Though the alphabet of the English language contains twenty-six letters, only twenty-two of them represent elementary sounds. The remaining four letters are superfluous, as their place might always be taken by other letters or combinations of letters having the same power. The four redundant letters are the following :

Thus we see that the letters c, j, q, x, may be struck out of the English alphabet without doing it any real injury.

2. The English alphabet is deficient also. It has not single letters to represent several of the single sounds of the language; namely:

It is deficient also in not having separate letters to represent the several sounds which are given to the same letter, as in the case of the letter a; this is made to represent four different sounds, which in a perfect alphabet would require four different characters to represent them.

3. The chief inconsistency of the English alphabet lies in its representing single sounds by double letters, and compound or double sounds by single letters.

Examples of the first kind occur in such words as

thine

th

& where single sounds are represented by double letters & shine

sh

Examples of the latter kind occur in such words as

jet

& where compound sounds, dzh, gz, are represented by single letters &

exist

ON VARIABLE AND UNIFORM SOUNDS.

X

Of the consonants some have variable sounds, whilst others retain one uniform sound whether placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. The following classification shows which of them have variable sounds, and which uniform sounds. (See general questions at the end.)

All the vowels have variable sounds, as exhibited on page 53.

ON SILENT OR MUTE LETTERS.

B is silent before t or after m in the same syllable; as in debt, doubt,

dumb, lamb.

before z, as in Czar, Czarina, also in the words indict, victuals, muscle.

at the end of English words generally, except he, be, me, we, the, she, thee.

NOTES.

In the Saxon language the single sounds of th in thing, and th in then, were represented by single characters. (See page 15.)

The letters j, z, q, are sometimes called double mutes.

Fis uniform in its sound, except in the word of, which is pronounced ov.

J is uniform in its sound, except in the word hallelujah, where it sounds like y.

M is uniform, except in comptroller, which is pronounced controller. Accompt is now written account,

R, at the beginning of words, has a rough sound, but in other situations it has a smoother sound.

G is silent before m or n in the same syllable, as in phlegm, gnaw, re

sign, &c.

when preceded by r, or at the end of a word, as in rheum, Sarah.

when followed by n in the same syllable, as in knife, know, knave.

between a and k, and between a and m in the same syllable, as in talk, calm.

also in the words could, should, would, calf, half, halve, folk, yolk, malmsey, salmon.

after m in the same syllable, as in hymn, solemn, column,

autumn.

at the beginning of words before s or t, as in psalm, psalter, ptisan.

also between m and t, as in tempt, exempt, empty, &c.

in the words island, isle, aisle, demesne, viscount, corps, Carlisle.

when preceded by s and followed by en or le; as hasten, listen, castle, bustle.

also in the words, often, soften, Christmas, chestnut, mortgage, bankruptcy.

before in the same syllable, as in wrath, wreck, wrist, wrong, wrung.

also in the words whole, whoop, two, sword, answer, wholesome, owe.

GENERAL SCALE OF THE SINGLE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

COMPOUND CONSONANT SOUNDS.

ch as in chill=tch. 1 j as in jill=dzh.

REMARKS ON THE SOUNDS OF VARIOUS
COMBINATIONS.

Arch preceding a consonant is sounded like artch, as in archbishop archdeacon, &c.: but when it precedes a vowel it sounds like ark, as in archangel, archipelago; excpt in archer, arched, archery, arch-enemy.

Au is generally sounded like a in fall, as in taught, caught; before n and another consonant it has the sound of a in art, as in aunt, flaunt, laundry, gauntlet; in hautboy it sounds like o, and the t is silent. In laurel and laudanum it sounds like short o. Ch is commonly sounded like tch, as in church. In words of Greek origin it is sounded like k, as in chemist, ache. In words of French origin it is sounded like sh, as in machine, chaise. is silent in schism, drachm, schedule, yacht.

Ch

Cious and tious at the end of words sound like shus, as in precious, captious; and cial and tial sound like shall, as in special, martial.

Ea is generally sounded like e in me, as in heat, hear; sometimes it has the sound of e in met, as in breath, bread, meadow; and sometimes the sound of a in fate, as great, bear, break.

NOTE.

* Authors are not agreed upon the two sounds which form the diphthongal sound of long i as in time. Walker and Brown suppose it to be composed of the sound of a in father, and e in he, pronounced as closely together as possible. Latham considers it to be the sound of a in fat, followed by that of y in yet, rapidly pronounced. Knowles tells us that it is composed of the sound of a in all, and e in eve. Doherty states that the sound of i in time is a close compound of the short sound of o in son, or of u in nut, with the short sound of i in thin.

Ei has various sounds; sometimes it is sounded like a in fate, as in vein, reign; sometimes like open e, as in deceit, neither, either; occasionally it has the sound of long i, as in sleight, height. In foreign and forfeit, it has the sound of i in pin.

Eo has the sound of e in me, as in people; the sound of e in met, as in leopard, jeopardy; the sound of short u, as in puncheon, dungeon. In the words geography, geology, and geometry, the e and o belong to separate syllables.

Ey and ay are generally sounded alike, as in bey, bay; hey, hay; grey, gray; prey, pray. Key and ley are exceptions.

Gh has sometimes the sound of f, as in laugh, draught, cough, tough, enough. It is sometimes silent, as in plough.

Ice when unaccented is generally sounded like iss, as in justice, notice; but when accented the i is pronounced long, as advice, rice. Caprice is sounded capreese.

Ique is generally sounded as if written eke, as in oblique, Mozambique, Martinique; and aque as if written ake, as in opaque.

Logue is sounded like log, as in catalogue, decalogue, &c.; but when ogue is not preceded by 1, the o is long, as in rogue, vogue, &c. Synagogue and pedagogue are exceptions.

Ou has various sounds; it is most commonly sounded like ow in now, as in bound, ounce; sometimes it has the sound of u in bubble, as in trouble, couple; sometimes the sound of a in fall, as in ought, bought; occasionally it has the sound of o in move, as in soup, group; and sometimes the sound of o in no, as in four, court, &c.

Ph is generally sounded like f, as in phantom, philosopher, &c. In the words Stephen and nephew it sounds like v. In diphthong and triphthong the sound of p only is heard. Ph is silent before th,

as in phthisic.

Re at the end of some words is sounded like er, as in acre, nitre, mitre, centre, lucre, sceptre, spectre, theatre.

Th has a sharp sound, as in thin; and a flat sound, as in thine: it is sometimes sounded like t only, as in Thames, Thomas, thyme, asthma.

Tion and sion at the end of words are sounded like the verb shun, as in nation, mansion; except when tion is preceded by s, when the termination sounds like tshun, as in question.

Uy is sounded like double e, as in obloquy, soliloquy; except in buy and its derivatives, where it has the long sound of i.

CAUTIONS.*

1. Be careful not to sound v like w, nor w like v, a practice so common in many localities among the uneducated.

NOTE.

Almost every experienced teacher must have noticed the tendency in some children to commit one or more of the errors here referred to; and if not effectually cured of the habit in their younger years, it is almost impossible for them to get rid of it when they grow older.