The Grammar of English Grammars Part 252

You’re reading novel The Grammar of English Grammars Part 252 online at LightNovelFree.com. Please use the follow button to get notification about the latest chapter next time when you visit LightNovelFree.com. Use F11 button to read novel in full-screen(PC only). Drop by anytime you want to read free – fast – latest novel. It’s great if you could leave a comment, share your opinion about the new chapters, new novel with others on the internet. We’ll do our best to bring you the finest, latest novel everyday. Enjoy!

_Ch_ is generally sounded like _tch_, or _tsh_, which is the same to the ear; as in _church, chance, child_. But in words derived from the learned languages, it has the sound of _k_; as in _character, scheme, catechise, chorus, choir, chyle, patriarch, drachma, magna charta_: except in _chart, charter, charity_. _Ch_, in words derived from the French, takes the sound of _sh_; as in _chaise, machine_. In Hebrew words or names, in general, _ch_ sounds like _k_; as in _Chebar, Sirach, Enoch_: but in _Rachel, cherub_, and _cherubim_, we have Anglicized the sound by uttering it as _tch_. _Loch_, a Scottish word, sometimes also a medical term, is heard as _lok_.

"_Arch_, before a vowel, is p.r.o.nounced _ark_; as in _archives, archangel, archipelago_: except in _arched, archer, archery, archenemy_. Before a consonant it is p.r.o.nounced _artch_; as in _archbishop, archduke, archfiend_."--See _W. Allen's Gram._, p. 10. _Ch_ is silent in _schism, yacht_, and _drachm_. In _schedule_, some utter it as _k_; others, as _sh_; and many make it mute: I like the first practice.

IV. OF THE LETTER D.

The general sound of the consonant _D_, is that which is heard in _dog, eddy, did_. _D_, in the termination _ed_, preceded by a sharp consonant, takes the sound of _t_, when the _e_ is suppressed or unheard: as in _faced, stuffed, cracked, tripped, pa.s.sed_; p.r.o.nounced _faste, stuft, cract, tript, past. D_ before _ia, ie, io_, or _eou_, when the accent precedes, generally sounds like _j_; as in _Indian, soldier, tedious, hideous_. So in _verdure, arduous, education_.

V. OF THE LETTER E.

The vowel _E_ has _two_ sounds properly its own,--and I incline to think, _three_:--

1. The open, long, full, or primal _e_; as in _me, mere, menial, melodious_.

2. The close, curt, short, or stopped _e_; as in _men, merry, ebony, strength_.

3. The obscure or faint _e_; as in _open, garden, shovel, able_. This third sound is scarcely perceptible, and barely sufficient to articulate the consonant and form a syllable.

_E final_ is mute and belongs to the syllable formed by the preceding vowel or diphthong; as in _age, eve, ice, ore_. Except--1. In the words, _be, he, me, we, she_, in which it has the open sound; and the article _the_, wherein it is open before a vowel, and obscure before a consonant. 2. In Greek and Latin words, in which it has its open sound, and forms a distinct syllable, or the basis of one; as in _Penelope, Pasiphae, Cyanee, Gargaphie, Arsinoe, apostrophe, catastrophe, simile, extempore, epitome_.

3. In the terminations _ere, gre, tre_, in which it has the sound of _close_ or _curt u_, heard before the _r_; as in _acre, meagre, centre_.

Mute _e_, after a single consonant, or after _st_ or _th_, generally preserves the open or long sound of the preceding vowel; as in _cane, here, pine, cone, tune, thyme, baste, waste, lathe, clothe_: except in syllables unaccented; as in the last of _genuine_;--and in a few monosyllables; as _bade, are, were, gone, shone, one, done, give, live, shove, love_.

DIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH E.

_E_ before an other vowel, in general, either forms with it an _improper_ diphthong, or else belongs to a separate syllable. We do not hear both vowels in one syllable, except perhaps in _eu_ or _ew_.

_Ea_, an improper diphthong, mostly sounds like _open_ or _long e_; as in _ear, fear, tea_; frequently like _close_ or _curt e_; as in _head, health, leather_: sometimes, like _open_ or _long a_; as in _steak, bear, forswear_: rarely, like _middle a_; as in _heart, hearth, hearken. Ea_ in an unaccented syllable, sounds like _close_ or _curt u_; as _in vengeance, pageant_.

_Ee_, an improper diphthong, mostly sounds like one _open_ or _long e_; as in _eel, sheep, tree, trustee, referee_. The contractions _e'er_ and _ne'er_, are p.r.o.nounced _air_ and _nair_, and not like _ear_ and _near.

E'en_, however, preserves the sound of _open e. Been_ is most commonly heard with the curt sound of _i, bin_.

_Ei_, an improper diphthong, mostly sounds like the _primal_ or _long a_; as in _reign, veil_: frequently, like _open_ or _long e_; as in _deceit, either, neither, seize_: sometimes, like _open_ or _long i_; as in _height, sleight, heigh-ho_: often, in unaccented syllables, like _close_ or _curt i_; as in _foreign, forfeit, surfeit, sovereign_: rarely, like _close e_; as in _heifer, nonpareil_.

_Eo_, an improper diphthong, in _people_, sounds like _open_ or _long e_; in _leopard_ and _jeopard_, like _close_ or _curt e_; in _yeoman_, according to the best usage, like _open_ or _long o_; in _George, Georgia, georgic_, like _close o_; in _dungeon, puncheon, sturgeon_, &c., like _close u_. In _feoff_, and its derivatives, the _close_ or _short_ sound of _e_ is most fas.h.i.+onable; but some prefer the long sound of _e_; and some write the word "_fief." Feod, feodal, feodary, feodatory_, are now commonly written as they are p.r.o.nounced, _feud, feudal, feudary, feudatory_.

_Eu_ and _ew_ are sounded alike, and almost always with the diphthongal sound of _open_ or _long u_; as in _feud, deuce, jewel, dew, few, new_.

These diphthongs, when initial, sound like _yu_. Nouns beginning with this sound, require the article _a_, and not _an_, before them; as, _A European, a ewer_. After _r_ or _rh, eu_ and _ew_ are commonly sounded like _oo_; as in _drew, grew, screw, rheumatism_. In _sew_ and _Shrewsbury, ew_ sounds like _open o_: Worcester, however, prefers the sound of _oo_ in the latter word. _Shew_ and _strew_, having the same meaning as _show_ and _strow_, are sometimes, by sameness of p.r.o.nunciation, made to be the same words; and sometimes distinguished as different words, by taking the sounds _shu_ and _stroo_.

_Ey_, accented, has the sound of _open_ or _long a_; as in _bey, prey, survey_: unaccented, it has the sound of _open e_; as in _alley, valley, money. Key_ and _ley_ are p.r.o.nounced _kee, lee_.

TRIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH E.

_Eau_, a French triphthong, sounds like _open o_; as in _beau, flambeau, portmanteau, bureau_: except in _beauty_, and its compounds, in which it is p.r.o.nounced like _open u_, as if the word were written _buty_.

_Eou_ is a combination of vowels sometimes heard in one syllable, especially after _c_ or _g_; as in _crus-ta-ceous, gor-geous_. Walker, in his Rhyming Dictionary, gives one hundred and twenty words ending in _eous_, in all of which he separates these vowels; as in _ex-tra-ne-ous_.

And why, in his p.r.o.nouncing Dictionary, he gave us several such anomalies as _fa-ba-ce-ous_ in four syllables and _her-ba-ceous_ in three, it is not easy to tell. The best rule is this: after _c_ or _g_, unite these vowels; after the other consonants, separate them.

_Ewe_ is a triphthong having the sound of _yu_, and forming a word. The vulgar p.r.o.nunciation _yoe_ should be carefully avoided.

_Eye_ is an improper triphthong which also forms a word, and is p.r.o.nounced like _open i_, or the p.r.o.noun _I_.

VI. OF THE LETTER F.

The consonant _F_ has one unvaried sound, which is heard in _fan, effort, staff_: except _of_, which, when simple, is p.r.o.nounced _ov_.

VII. OF THE LETTER G.

The consonant _G_ has two sounds;--the one _hard_, guttural, and peculiar to this letter; the other _soft_, like that of _j. G_ before _a, o, u, l, r_, or at the end of a word, is hard; as in _game, gone, gull, glory, grace, log, bog_; except in _gaol. G_ before _e, i_, or _y_, is soft; as in _gem, ginger, elegy_. Except--1. In _get, give, gewgaw, finger_, and a few other words. 2. When a syllable is added to a word ending in g: as, _long, longer; fog, foggy_.

_G_ is silent before _m_ or _n_ in the same syllable; as in _phlegm, apothegm, gnaw, design. G_, when silent, usually lengthens the preceding vowel; as in _resign, impregn, impugn_.

_Gh_ at the beginning of a word has the sound of _g hard_; as in _ghastly, gherkin, Ghibelline, ghost, ghoul, ghyll_: in other situations, it is generally silent; as in _high, mighty, plough, bough, though, through, fight, night, bought. Gh final_ sometimes sounds like _f_; as in _laugh, rough, tough_; and sometimes, like _g hard_; as in _burgh_. In _hough, lough, shough_, it sounds like _k_, or _ck_; thus, _hock, lock, shock_.

VIII. OF THE LETTER H.

The sound of the consonant _H_, (though articulate and audible when properly uttered,) is little more than an aspirate breathing. It is heard in _hat, hit, hot, hut, adhere_.

_H_ at the beginning of a word, is always sounded; except in _heir, herb, honest, honour, hospital, hostler, hour, humble, humour_, with their compounds and derivatives. _H_ after _r_, is always silent; as in _rhapsody, rhetoric, rheum, rhubarb. H final_, immediately following a vowel, is always silent; as in _ah, Sarah, Nineveh, s.h.i.+loh_.

IX. OF THE LETTER I.

The vowel _I_ has three sounds, each very common to it, and perhaps properly its own:--

1. The open, long, full, or primal _i_; as in _life, fine, final, time, bind, child, sigh, pint, resign_. This is a diphthongal sound, equivalent to the sounds of _middle a_ and _open e_ quickly united.

2. The close, curt, short, or stopped _i_; as in _ink, limit, disfigure, mimicking_.

3. The feeble, faint, or slender _i_, accentless; as in _divest, doctrinal, diversity_.

This third sound is equivalent to that of _open e_, or _ee_ uttered feebly.

_I_ generally has this sound when it occurs at the end of an unaccented syllable: except at the end of Latin words, or of ancient names, where it is _open_ or _long_; as in _literati, Nervii, Eli, Levi_.

In some words, (princ.i.p.ally from other modern languages,) _i_ has the full sound of _open e_, under the accent; as in _Porto Rico, machine, magazine, antique, s.h.i.+re_.

Accented _i_ followed by a vowel, has its open or primal sound; and the vowels belong to separate syllables; as in _pliant, diet, satiety, violet, pious_. Unaccented _i_ followed by a vowel, has its feeble sound; as in _expatiate, obedient, various, abstemious_.

DIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH I.

The Grammar of English Grammars Part 252

You're reading novel The Grammar of English Grammars Part 252 online at LightNovelFree.com. You can use the follow function to bookmark your favorite novel ( Only for registered users ). If you find any errors ( broken links, can't load photos, etc.. ), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible. And when you start a conversation or debate about a certain topic with other people, please do not offend them just because you don't like their opinions.


The Grammar of English Grammars Part 252 summary

You're reading The Grammar of English Grammars Part 252. This novel has been translated by Updating. Author: Goold Brown already has 758 views.

It's great if you read and follow any novel on our website. We promise you that we'll bring you the latest, hottest novel everyday and FREE.

LightNovelFree.com is a most smartest website for reading novel online, it can automatic resize images to fit your pc screen, even on your mobile. Experience now by using your smartphone and access to LightNovelFree.com

RECENTLY UPDATED NOVEL