we have altered the orthography of our ancestors, we have still preserved their pronunciation.

Not sounding h where it ought to be sounded, and inversely.

A STILL worse habit than the last prevails, chiefly among the people of London, that of sinking the h at the beginning of words where it ought to be sounded, and of sounding it, either where it is not seen, or where it ought to be sunk. Thus we not unfrequently hear, especially among children, heart pronounced art, and arm, harm. This is a vice perfectly similar to that of pronouncing the v for the w, and the w for thev, and requires a similar method to correct it.

As there are but so very few words in the language where the initial h is sunk, we may select these from the rest; and, without setting the pupil right when he mispronounces these, or when he prefixes the h improperly to other words, we may make him pronounce all the words where h is sounded, till he has almost forgot there are any words pronounced otherwise. Then he may go over those words to which he improperly prefixes the h, and those where the h is seen but not sounded, without any danger of an interchange. As these latter words are but few, I shall subjoin a catalogue of them for the use of the learner. Heir, heiress, herb, herbage, honest, honesty, honestly, honour, honourable, honourably, hospital, hostler, hour, hourly, humble, humbly, humbles, humour, humourist, humourous, humourously, humoursome. Where we may observe, that humour, and its compounds, not only sink the h, but sound the u like the pronoun you or the noun yer, as if written yewmour, yewmourous, &c.

Suppressing e where it should be pronounced, and pronouncing it where it should be suppressed.

THE Vowel e before and n in a final unaccented syllable, by its being sometimes suppressed and sometimes not, forms one of the most puzzling difficulties in teaching young people to read. When any of the liquids precede these letters, the e is heard distinctly, as woollen, flannel, women, syren; but when any of the other consonants come before these letters, the e is sometimes heard, as in novel, sudden; and sometimes not, as in swivel, sadden, &c. As no other rule can be given for this variety of pronunciation, perhaps the best way will be to draw the line between those words where e is pronounced, and those where it is not; and this, by the help of the RHYMING DICTIONARY, I am easily enabled to do. In the first place, then, it may be observed, that e before 7, in a final unaccented syllable, must always be pronounced distinctly, except in the following words: shekel, weasel, ousel, nousel, (better written nuzzle,) navel, ravel, snivel, rivel, drivel, shrivel, shovel, grovel, hazel, drazel, nozel. These words are pronounced as if the e were omitted by an apostrophe, as shek'l, weaz'l, ous'l, &c., or rather as if written, sheckle, weazle, ouzle, &c.-but as these are the only words of this termination that are so pronounced, great care must be taken that children do not pronounce travel, gravel, rebel, (the substantive,) parcel, chapel, and vessel, in the same manner; a fault to which they are very liable.

E before n, in a final unaccented syllable, and not preceded by a liquid, must always be suppressed, except in the following words: sudden, mynchen, kitchen, hyphen, chicken, ticken, (better

written ticking), jerken, aspen, platen, paten, marten, latten, patten, leaven or leven, sloven. In these words thee is heard distinctly, contrary to the general rule which suppresses the e in these syllables, when preceded by a mute, as harden, heathen, Heaven, as if written hard'n, heath'n, Heav'n, &c.; nay even when preceded by a liquid in the words fallen and stolen, where the e is suppressed, as if they were written fall'n and stol'n: garden and burden, therefore, are very analogically pronounced gard'n and burdn, and this pronunciation ought the rather to be indulged, as we always hear the e suppressed in gardener and burdensome, as if written gardner and burd'nsome.

This diversity in the pronunciation of these terminations ought the more carefully to be attended to, as nothing is so vulgar and childish as to hear swivel and Heaven pronounced with the e distinctly, or novel and chicken with the e suppressed. To these observations we may add, that though evil and devil suppress the i, as if written ev'l and dev'l, yet that cavil and pencil preserve the sound of i distinctly; and that latin ought never to be pronounced, as it is generally at schools, as if written lat'n.

OBSERVATIONS

ON

THE

PRONUNCIATION OF

CERTAIN WORDS MOST FREQUENTLY MISTAKEN IN READING.

The true Sound of the Auxiliary Verbs; also when ed makes an additional Syllable, and when not.

THE auxiliary verbs, shall, would, could, should, are, and have, should never be pronounced shawll, wold, cold, shold, air, and haive, but shal, wood, cood, shood, arr, and havv.*

The participial termination ed must never be pronounced as a distinct syllable, unless preceded by d or t, except in the language of Scripture. One distinction indeed seems to have obtained between some adjectives and participles, which is, pronouncing the ed in an additional syllable in the former, and sinking it in the latter. Thus when learned, cursed, blessed, and winged, are adjectives, the ed is invariably pronounced as a distinct syllable; but when participles, as learn'd, curs'd, bless'd, and wing'd, the ed does not form an additional syllable. Poetry, however, assumes the privilege of using these adjectives either way, but correct prose rigidly exacts the pronunciation of ed in these words,

*The auxiliary verbs are as irregular in their pronunciation as in their form; and recur so often in forming the moods and tenses of other verbs, that too great care cannot be taken to pronounce them exactly right. For this purpose it would be a useful exercise, to make the pupil frequently conjugate the two auxiliary verbs are and have through all their moods and tenses; taking particular care, that are is pronounced like the first syllable of ar-dent; have with the a short, as in the first syllable of tavern; and shall, exactly as the first syllable of shal-low.

when adjectives, as a distinct syllable. The ed in aged always makes a distinct syllable, as an aged man; but when this word is compounded with another, the ed does not form a syllable, as a full-ag'd horse.

It is perhaps worthy of notice, that when adjectives are changed into adverbs, by the addition of the termination ly, we often find the participial ed preserved long and distinct; even in those very words where it was contracted when used adjectively. Thus, though we always hear confess'd, profess'd, design'd, &c., we as constantly hear con-fess-ed-ly, pro-fess-ed-ly, de-sign-ed-ly, &c. The same may be observed of the following list of words, which by the assistance of the Rhyming Dictionary I am enabled to give, as the only words in the language in which the ed is pronounced as a distinct syllable in the adverb, where it is contracted in the participial adjective. -Forcedly, enforcedly, unveiledly, deformedly, feignedly, unfeignedly, designedly, resignedly, restrainedly, refinedly, unconcernedly, undiscernedly, preparedly, assuredly, advisedly, composedly, dispersedly, diffusedly, confusedly, unperceivedly, resolvedly, deservedly, undeservedly, reservedly, unreservedly, avowedly, perplexedly, fixedly, amazedly, forkedly.

When you

is to be pronounced like ye; and my like me, &c.

ANOTHER very common errour in reading arises from pronouncing the personal pronoun you in the same manner, whether it is in the nominative or the oblique case; or, in other words, whether it is the principal or the subordinate word in a sentence. It is certain that the pronouns you and my, when they are contradistin