(6) Complex sounds are sometimes expressed by single letters. (7) Letters are often written but not pronounced—that is to say, many of our words contain silent letters.

A Remedy proposed Phonographic Spelling. Phonography is an attempt to remove these anomalies. But a phonographic alphabet will never take the place of the old one. First, because it conceals the etymology of words, confounding such as are alike in sound but distinct in meaning; secondly, and chiefly, because the whole literature of Europe is written on the old system. The change would be too troublesome, while the advantage is doubtful.

ADDITIONAL FACTS RESPECTING THE
ENGLISH ALPHABET.

1. C is hard (like k) before a, o, u (e.g. cat, cot, cut), and soft (like s) before e, i, and y (e.g. cell, city, Cyprus).

2. G (like c) is hard before a, o, u (e.g. gate, gold, gunnery); soft before e (e.g. gem), and before words in i and y that are not of Teutonic origin (e.g. gin, gypsy); but hard in gift, gild, gill (of a fish), etc.

3. Q bears a French name. It represents the sound of (Fr.)

queue, a tail.

4. In the old-fashioned way of writing the (y or ye), the y is a corruption of the old letter called thorn (p), which stood for the th in thin. It is absurd to mistake this letter for y.

5. A doubled consonant usually shows that the preceding vowel is short, e.g. running, rotting, sinning, winning, from run, rot, sin, win.

6. Mute e, after a single consonant, usually shows that the preceding vowel is long, e.g. bane, bone, pine, shine, etc. 7. The hard sound of g is often maintained by putting u after it, as guest, guild, guile, guinea.

8. T before ch, and d before g, in the same syllable, are often inserted to show that the following consonant is to be

sounded as a sibilant, e.g. catch, fetch, latch, vetch, edge, sedge, etc.

9. The introduction of g before was intended at first to preserve the guttural pronunciation at a time when the gutturals were becoming weakened, as in might, night, from miht, niht. The gutturals, however, were dropped, and after a time it came to be regarded merely as a sign that the preceding must be sounded long. Hence it came to be inserted in words, like sprightly (from sprite), that had no claim to the gutturals whatever. 10. When a hard and a soft consonant come together, the one gets assimilated to the other.

A Syllable What?

If we were to define the word according to its etymological meaning, we should define a syllable as a collection of letters pronounced by a single effort of the voice, and containing one vowel sound, either simple or compound, as sharp, though, fine.

The word is derived from the Greek σvλ-λaßý, and thus de notes a number of letters taken together; but the expression is not quite accurate, as syllables are often formed of single vowels. This is the case, e.g., in the words a-part, e-mit, o-mit, hol-i-day, quer-u-lous, turb-u-lent.

The best definition, therefore, of a syllable is 'a single vowel sound, with or without one or more consonants.' Every syllable was at one time a significant word.

How Words are to be divided into Syllables.

1. Words of one syllable cannot be divided.

2. Prefixes and affixes are divided so as to separate them from the root, as be-little, contemptible.

3. Compound words are divided into their component parts, as house-maid, harm-less, hand-book.

4. When two vowels come together, and do not form a diphthong, they may be divided, as la-i-ty, a-e-ri-al.

Two rules commonly given are open to serious objection: (a) When two consonants come together between two vowels, they should be divided, as tab-let.*

(6) Each separate syllable should, as far as possible, begin with a consonant, as in-com-pre-hen-si-ble.

It is, perhaps, impossible to lay down rules of universal application, but the principle to be kept in view should be to divide words so that the syllabic division may, as far as possible, coincide with the etymological division, as right-eous, guard-ian, ortho-graphy, theo-logy, etc. Only, perhaps, when teaching mainly the sound of the letters, would it be permissible to divide in such a manner as to belie the etymology, e.g. pro-vi-ded, or-thog-raph-y, the-ol-ogy, etc.

What Causes have influenced English Spelling? The anomalies of English spelling are proverbial, and no doubt present great difficulties to foreigners, and even to Englishmen. In explanation of them, it should be remem bered that English spelling is influenced

1. By the deficiencies and uncertainties of the English Alphabet, which it seeks to remedy by various orthographical expedients.

Mute e, for instance, is employed to show that the preceding vowel is long, e.g. robe, shine, bane. Or, a consonant is doubled to show that the preceding vowel is short, e.g. running, sinning, winning.

2. By the variety and copiousness of the words that have. been taken from various sources, and need to be connected, by the spelling, with their roots.

City might be spelt sity, but it is necessary, by retaining the c, to show the connection with the Latin civis, civitas, etc. 3. By the necessity of distinguishing words of like sound, but of different meaning.

For example, cord must be distinguished by the spelling from chord, and corps from corpse, which, nevertheless, come from the same root; and also such words as sun and son, scent and sent, veil and vale, which come from different roots, though they are identical in pronunciation.

We once asked, in accordance with this unscientific rule, an ever ready friend what was the meaning of bac-ka-che. He at once replied, *O! ba-ká-she, an Eastern beverage, similar to sherbet.' He appeared astonished when he was informed that it was the ordinary word back-ache.

4. Many words from the Latin and Greek have come to us through different channels, sometimes direct from the original language, sometimes through the French, in passing through which they have undergone much alteration of form.

Independent and humor, for instance, came direct from the Latin; dependant and humour reached us through the French. Authorize and civilization are Greek forms of Latin words; whereas authorise and civilisation are the forms in which they reach us through the French. This accounts for the difference in spelling. Both forms are correct. The question which is to be preferred depends upon another, viz. whether we desire to follow the general analogy of our language, and of the language from which the words were originally taken, or whether, neglecting the analogy, we prefer to give, in the spelling, the history of the form.

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST STRIKING DEFECTS OF ENGLISH ORTHOGRAPHY.

(a) We find that s is frequently written where is pronounced, e.g. stags, dogs, legs. This is always the case when s is suffixed to a flat mute, a vowel, or a liquid.

(b) Ed is frequently written where is pronounced, eg wrecked, stopped. This occurs whenever ed is suffixed to a sharp mute.

(c) Ti and si are used sometimes with their natural sounds, e.g. quan-ti-ty, cri-si-s, and sometimes as sh, e.g. in nation, fusion. In the latter case they are always followed by a vowel.

(d) Es is frequently written where z is sounded, e.g. lives, hides, wolves.

(e) Letters are occasionally written which are not sounded, e.g. plumb, indict, sign, knife, calm, mnemonics, condemn, island, bustle, wrong, Gnostic, pneumatic. (f) When a consonant is doubled, only one is sounded, as appear, address, immure.

(g) A single letter often represents different sounds, and the same sound is often represented by different letters.

ORTHOEPY.

Orthoepy is that division of Grammar which treats of correct pronunciation.

There are in Great Britain five principal dialects-the Northern and Scotch, the Irish, the London and South Eastern, the West and South Western, and the dialect of the Midland Counties, with sub-divisions of each. Distinct and separate errors of pronunciation* are peculiar to each dialect, besides which one dialect often contains some of the peculiarities of another. Into the question of pronunciation we cannot find space to enter. The reader who is interested in English dialects will read with pleasure some of the poetical specimens of Provincial English contained in the first part of Mr. James Orchard Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words. The pronunciation of many English words has changed even since the days of the Regency. The fashionable pronuncia tion of 'Rome't in the time of George IV. was Room, 'gold was pronounced goold, and 'lilac,' layloc. A gentleman would speak of a 'yellow' silk handkerchief as yallow, would allud to a piece of 'china' as chaney, and in returning thanks for small service would declare himself vastly obleeged. Such ar the changes to which human speech is subject. This oncefashionable mode of speaking would now be thought ridiculous.

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS ON THE

ALPHABET.

1. What is the use of an Alphabet? Give some account of our Alphabet, with reference both to its origin and to the classification of its letters.

We trust the reader will pardon the insertion of an anecdote. The author recollects, upon one occasion, having travelled by a train which stopped for a couple of minutes at a junction on the Great Northern Railway. On the arrival of the train, a loud-lunged porter promenaded the platform, and called out, 'Change here for Selby an' 'Ool;' thereby directing the passengers to change for Selby and Hull. Ours being 'a through carriage,' the porter's pronunciation created some little amusement among the passengers from the South. One little man, looking round the carriage with a complacent smile and an air of benevolent superiority, explained to his fellow-travellers, 'Ee means 'Ull.'

+ 'Now it is Rome indeed and room enough.'-Cæsar.