B as but one sound, as in bite. C is always sounded like k or s—like k before a, o, and u—and like s before e, i and y. Thus, ca, ce, ci, co, cu, cy. ka, se, si, ko, ku, sy. At the end of words it is always hard like k, and in public. When followed by i, or e before vowels the syllable slides into the sound of sh; as in cetaceous, gracious, social, which are pronounced cetashus, grashus, soshal. D has only one sound, as in dress, bold. F has its own proper sound, as in life, fever, except in of, where it has the sound of v. G before a, e, o, and u, has always its hard sound, as in gave, go, gun. Before e, i, and y, it has the same hard sound in some words, and in others, the j. But these varieties are incapable of being reduced to a single rule, and are to be learnt only by practice, observation, and a dictionary, in which the sounds are designated. H can hardly be said to have any sound, but it denotes an aspiration or impulse of the breath, which modifies the sound of the following vowel, as in heart, heave. I is a vowel, as in fit; or a consonant as in bullion. J is the mark of a compound sound, or union of sounds, which may be represented by dzh, or the soft g, as in jelly. K has but one sound, as in king; and before the n is always silent, as in know. M has but one sound, as in man, and is never silent. P has one uniform sound, as in pit. Q has the power of k, and is always followed by u, as in question. R has one sound only, as in barrel. S has the sound of c as in so, of z, as in rose—and when followed by i, preceding a vowel, the syllable has the sound of sh, as in mission; or zh as in osier. T has its proper sound, as in turn, at the beginning of words and ends of syllables. In all the terminations tion, and tial, ti have the sound of sh as in nation, nuptial; except when preceded by s or x, in which cases they have the sound of ch, as in question, mixtion. U has the properties of a consonant and vowel, in union, &c. V has uniformly one sound, as in voice, live, and never silent. W has the power of a vowel, as in dwell; or a consonant, as in well, will. X has the sound of ks as in wax; or gz, as in exist, and in other words, when followed by an accented syllable beginning with a vowel. In the beginning of Greek names, it has the sound of z, as in Xerxes, Xenophon. Y is a vowel, as in vanity; a dipthong, as in defy; or a consonant, as in young. 9 Z has its own sound usually, as in zeal, freeze. Ch have the sound of tsh in words of English origin, as in chip—in some words of French origin, they have the sound of sh as in machine—and some words of Greek origin, the sound of k, as in chorus. Gh have the sound of f as in laugh, or are silent as in light. Ph have the sound of f as in philosophy; except in Stephen, where the sound is that of v. Ng have a nasal sound, as in sing; but when e follows g, the latter takes the sound of j, as in range. In the words, longer, stronger, younger, the sound of g is doubled, and the last syllable is sounded as if written long-ger, &c. Sh has one sound only, as in shell; but this use is often supplied by ti, ci, and ce, before a vowel, as in motion, gracious, cetaceous. Th has two sounds, aspirated and vocal—aspirated, as in think, bath—vocal, as in those, that bathe. Sc before a, o, u, and r are pronounced like sk, as in scale, scoff, sculpture, scribble: before e, i, y, like soft c, or s, as in scene, sceptic, science, Scythian. Thus pronounced, sca, sce, sci, sco, scu, scy. ska, se, si, sko, sku, sy Formation of Words and Sentences. Letters form syllables: syllables form words, and words form sentences, which compose a discourse. A syllable is a letter or union of letters, which can be uttered at one impulse of voice. A word of one syllable is called a monosyllable. of two syllables a dissyllable. of three syllables a trisyllaable. of many syllables a polysyllable. Of Accent, Emphasis, and Cadence. Accent is a forcible stress or impulse of voice on a letter or syllable, distinguishing it from others in the same word. When it falls on a vowel, it prolongs the sound, as in glo-ry; when it falls on a consonant, the preceding vowel is short, as in hab-it. The general rule by which accent is regulated, is that the stress of the voice falls on that syllable of a word, which renders the articulation most easy to the speaker, and most agreeable to the hearer—By this rule has the accent of most words been imperceptibly established by long and universal usage