When a word consists of three or more syllables, the ease of speaking requires usually a secondary accent, of less forcible utterance than the primary, but clearly distinguishable from the pronunciation of the unaccented syllables; as superfluity, literary. In many compound words, the parts of which are important of themselves, there is very little distinction, as in ink-stand, church-yard. Emphasis is a particular force of utterance given to a particular word in a sentence, on account of its importance. Cadence is a fall or modulation of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at the end of a sentence. Words are simple or compound, primitive or derivative. A simple word can not be divided, without destroying the sense; as man, child, house, charity, faith. A compound word is formed by two or more words; as in chimney-piece, bookbinder. Primitive words are such as are not derived, but constitute a radical stock from which others are formed; as grace, hope, charm. Derived words are those which are formed by a primitive, and some termination or additional syllable; as grace-less, hope-ful, charm-ing, un-welcome. Spelling is the art or practice of writing or reading the proper letters of a word; called also orthography. In forming tables for learners, the best rule to be observed, is, to divide the syllables in such a manner as to guide the learner by the sound of the letters, to the sound of the words; that is, to divide them as they are divided in just pronunciation. 11 Key to the following Work. Long. 11 1 a name, late. e or ee here, feet. i time, find. o note, fort. u or ew tune, new. y dry, defy. Short. 22 2 a man, hat. e men, let. i pit, pin. u tun, but. y glory, Egypt. Broad a or aw. 3 33 a bald, tall. o cost sought. aw law Flat a. 44 4 a ask, part Short aw. 5 55 a what, was. o not, from. Oo proper. 666 o or oo move, room Oo Short. 77 7 oo book, stood. u bush, full. Short u. 888 i sir, bird. o come, love. e her. Long a. 9 99 e there, vein. Long e. 10 10 10 i fatigue, pique. oi dipthong; voice, joy oy ou dipthong; loud, now. ow EXPLANATION OF THE KEY A figure stands as the invariable representative of a certain sound. The figure 1 represents the long sound of the letters, a, e, i, o, u, or, ew, and y; number 2, the short sound of the same characters; number 3, marks the broad sound a as in hall; number 4, represents the sound of a in father; number 5, represents the short sound of broad a, as in not, what; number 6 represents the sound of o in more, commonly expressed by oo; number 7, represents the short sound of oo in root, bush; number 8 represents the sound of u short, made by e, i, and o, as in her, bird, come, pronounced hur, burd, cum; number 9, represents the first sound of a made by e as 12 in their, vein, pronounced thare, vane; the number 10, represents the French sound of i, which is the same as the e long. The sounds of the dipthongs of oi and ou are not represented by figures; these have one invariable sound, and are placed before the words where they occur in the tables. Silent letters are printed in Italic characters. Thus, in head, goal, build, people, fight, the Italic letters have no sound. S, when printed in Italic, is not silent, but pronounced like z as in devise, pronounced devize. The letter e at the end of words and of more syllable than one, is almost always silent: but serves often to lengthen a foregoing vowel, as in bid, bade.; to soften c As in notice, or to soften g, as in homage; or to change the sound of th from the first to the second, as in bath, bathe. In the following work, when e final lengthens the foregoing vowel, that is, gives it its first sound, it is printed in a Roman character, as in fate; but in all other cases it is printed in Italic, except in table 39. Ch have the English sound, as in charm; except in the 38th and 39th tables. The sounds of th in this and thou, are all distinguished in the 12th and 37th tables; except in numerical adjectives. The sound of aw is invariably that of broad a, and that of ew nearly the same as u long. N.B. Although one character is sufficient to express a simple vowel sound, yet the combinations ee, aw, ew, oo, are so well known to express certain sounds, that it was judged best to print both letters in Roman characters. Ck and ss are also printed in Roman characters, though one alone would be sufficient to express the sound