9. The letters equivalent to o in not are a, eo, ou; as in what, George, cough.

10. The letters equivalent to u in bull are oo, o, ou, ue; as in wool, wolf, would, construe.

11. The letters equivalent to oo in fool are o, oe, ou, œu, wo; as in move, shoe, tour, manœuvre, two.

12. The letters equivalent to u in but are e, ea, i, o, oo, ou, ve; as in her, hearth, sir, won, flood, rough, does.

13. The letters equivalent to i in pine are ai, ei, eye, ie, oi, ui, wy, ye; as in aisle, height, eye, die, choir, guide, why, rye. 14. The letters equivalent to u in rude are eau, eu, ew, ewe, ieu, iew, ue, ou, ui; as in beauty, feud, new, ewe, adieu, view, true, you, suit.

An equivalent of oi in voice is oy, as in boy. An equivaalent of ou in house is ow, as in now.

Having, in this chapter, collated the phonetic elements with the literal elements which are employed to represent them, we are now prepared to estimate the defects of the English Alphabet.

QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER II.

1. What elementary sounds does the letter a represent normally, and what sound abnormally?

2. What sound does a final represent?

3. What elementary sounds does the letter e represent normally, and what sounds abnormally?

4. What sounds does the letter i represent normally, and what sounds abnormally?

5. What elementary sounds does the letter o represent normally, and what abnormally?

6. What sounds does the letter u represent normally, and what abnormally? 7. What is w called, and what elementary sound does it represent? 8. How is it pronounced before h?

9. What is y called, and what elementary sounds does it represent normally, and what sounds abnormally?

10. What elementary sounds do b and c, and the other consonants in the alphabet, severally represent?

11. What do you understand by equivalent letters ?

12. What letters are equivalent to a in father?

13. What letters are equivalent to a in fat?

14. What letters are equivalent to a in hate?

CHAPTER III.

DEFECTS OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET.

IT IS

DEFICIENT.

210. Ir the letter a be considered as the appropriate sign of the sound of a in father, then neither the sound of a in fate, nor the sound of a in fat, nor the sound of a in all, has either of them a separate single sign. Thus one sign is used for four different sounds. In like manner, one sign, namely, the letter o, is used to represent the two vowel sounds in note and not. So the two sounds of th in thin and in thine have but one sign, namely, th, and that sign is not simple. So the sound of sh in shine, of z in azure, and ng in song, have no corresponding simple signs. The English Alphabet is thus deficient in respect to the first condition mentioned in § 179.

211. The letter c, in words like city, may be replaced by s and in words like cat, by k; ch, in words like chest, is equivalent to tsh; in words like mechanic, to k. In like manner, x is superfluous, ks, gz, or being its equivalent. Q is superfluous, cw or kw being its equivalent. The English Alphabet is thus redundant, and does not meet the second condition in § 179.

z

§ 212. Fin for resembles in sound v in van, but the letter f has no resemblance to the letter v. Th in thin, and th in thine, sh in shine, have a relationship in sound, respectively, to t, d, and 2, but not in form. The compound sibilant sound of j in just is spelled with the simple sign, j, while the compound sibilant sound in chest is spelled with the combination ch. The English Alphabet is thus inconsistent. It does not meet the third condition in § 179.

§ 213. The letter c represents two sounds, as in city and in cat. G represents two sounds, as in gin aud in gun. X represents three sounds, as in exert, apoplexy, Xenophon. The English Alphabet is thus unsteady. It does not meet the second condition in $

The defects of the English system of literal notation, in its application to elementary sounds, are strikingly seen in § 209, on equivalent letters.

While it is true that no alphabet was ever invented which expresses all the powers of articulation common to mankind in general, or even the sounds of any one language according to the theory of a perfect notation, still it is believed that the English Alphabet is the worst in its practical application.

IT IS INCONVENIENT IN LEARNING OTHER TONGUES.

$214. "Compared with other languages, the use of many letters in the English alphabet is singular. The letter i (when long or independent) is generally sounded as ce. With Englishmen it has a diphthongal power. The inconvenience of this is the necessity it imposes upon us, in studying foreign languages, of unlearning the sound which we give it in our own, and of learning the sound which it bears in the language studied. So it is (among many others) with the letter j. In English, this has the sound of dzh; in French, of zh; and in German, of y. From singularity in the use of letters arises inconvenience in the study of foreign tongues. In using jas dzh, there is a second objection. It is not only inconvenient, but it is theoretically incorrect. The letter j was originally a modification of the voweli. The Germans, who use it as the semi-vowel y, have perverted it from its original power less than the English have done, who sound it dzh.

"The sound given to a in fate is singular. Other nations sound it as a in father. The sound given to the e long (or independent) is singular. Other nations sound it either as a in fate or as ê ferme. The sound given to the i in bite is singular. Other nations sound it as ce in feet. The sound given to the oo in foot is singular. Other nations sound it as the o in note, or as the ó chiuso. The sound given to the u in duck is singular. Other nations sound it as the u in bull. The sound given to the ou in house is singular. Other nations, more 'correctly, represent it by au or aw. The sound given to the w in 'wet is somewhat singular, but is also correct and convenient. With many nations it is not found at all, while with those where it occurs it has the sound (there or thereabouts) of v. The sound given to y is somewhat singular. In Danish it has a vowel power. The sound given to z is not the sound which it has in German and Italian; but its power in English is convenient and correct. The sound given to ch in chest is singular. In other languages it generally has a guttural sound; in French, that of sh. The English usage is more correct

than the French, but less correct than the German." See LATHAM'S English Language, p. 84.

Having, in this chapter, seen what are the defects of the English Alphabet for the purpose of noting sounds in the language, we are now prepared to examine, in the next chapter, the origin of these defects, and thus historically to account for them.

QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER III.

1. What are the six principal defects of the English Alphabet?

2. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is deficient?

3. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is redundant?

4. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is inconsistent ?

5. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is unsteady?

6. What facts can you mention to show that the English Alphabet is inconvenient in learning other languages?

CHAPTER IV.

THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET ACCOUNTS FOR ITS DEFECTS.

§ 215. THE English Alphabet was not invented to express the phonetic elements and combinations of the English language. It was derived from the Phoenician Alphabet, of which the Hebrew is a type, modified to express the sounds of the Greek language, thus becoming the Greek Alphabet. This, in turn, was modified to express the sounds of the Latin language, and thus became the Roman Alphabet. This, in turn, was modified to express the sounds of the Anglo-Saxon language, and thus became the Anglo-Saxon Alphabet. This was modified to express the sounds of the English language, and thus became the English Alphabet, with all its defects.

In the stages of progress from oral communication to letters, PICTURE WRITING probably came first. In this way the ancient Mexicans transmitted the memory of the most important transactions of their empire.

The next in order were HIEROGLYPHICS, which, like pictures, were the signs of things, or Ideographic signs, though some of them were signs of the spoken language. Thus ingratitude was indicated by a viper, wisdom by an ant, and impudence by a fly.

The next step in the progress was the use of SYLLABIC CHARACTERS, which were employed as signs of sounds, and not as signs of things.

THE INVENTION OF LETTERS.

§ 216. LETTERS representing the elementary sounds in the language constitute the last stage of improvement in the communication of thought by visible signs. These are called the Alphabet, from Alpha, Beta, the two first letters in the list in the Greek language. When and where letters took their origin is not known. The Egyptians paid divine honors to the inventor of letters under the name of THEUTH. By the Greeks he was