A Grammar of the English Tongue

G before i is hard, as give, except in giant, gigantick, gibbet, gibe, giblets, Giles, gill, gilliflower, gin, ginger, gingle, to which may be added Egypt and gypsy.

Gh in the beginning of a word has the sound of the hard g, as ghostly; in the middle, and sometimes at the end, it is quite silent, as though, right, sought, spoken tho', rite, soute.

It has often at the end the sound of f, as laugh; whence laughter retains the same sound in the middle; cough, trough, sough, tough, enough, slough.

It is not to be doubted, but that in the original pronunciation gh has the force of a consonant deeply guttural, which is still continued among the Scotch.

G is used before h, l, and r.

H

H is a note of aspiration, and shows that the following vowel must be pronounced with a strong emission of breath, as hat, horse.

It seldom begins any but the first syllable, in which it is always sounded with a full breath, except in heir, herb, hostler, honour, humble, honest, humour and their derivatives.

It sometimes begins middle or final syllables in words compounded, as blockhead; or derived from the Latin, as comprehend.

J

J consonant sounds uniformly like the soft g, and is therefore a letter useless, except in etymology, as ejaculation, jester, jocund, juice.

K

K has the sound of hard c, and is used before e and i, where, according to English analogy, c would be soft, as kept, king, skirt, skeptick, for so it should be written, not sceptick, because sc is sounded like s, as in scene.

It is used before n, as knell, knot, but totally loses its sound in modern pronunciation.

K is never doubled; but c is used before it to shorten the vowel by a double consonant, as cockle, pickle.

L

L has in English the same liquid sound as in other languages.

The custom is to double the l at the end of monosyllables, as kill, will, full. These words were originally written kille, wille, fulle; and when the e first grew silent, and was afterward omitted, the ll was retained, to give force, according to the analogy of our language, to the foregoing vowel.

L, is sometimes mute, as in calf, half, halves, calves, could, would, should, psalm, talk, salmon, falcon.

The Saxons, who delighted in guttural sounds, sometimes aspirated the l at the beginning of words, as hlaf, a loaf, or bread; hlaford, a lord; but this pronunciation is now disused.

Le at the end of words is pronounced like a weak el, in which the e is almost mute, as table, shuttle.

M

M has always the same sound, as murmur, monumental.

N

N has always, the same sound, as noble, manners.

N is sometimes mute after m, as damn, condemn, hymn.

P

P has always the same sound which the Welsh and Germans confound with b.

P is sometimes mute, as in psalm, and between m and t, as tempt.

Ph is used for f in words derived from the Greek, as philosopher, philanthropy, Philip.

Q

Q, as in other languages, is always followed by u, and has a sound which our Saxon ancestors well expressed by cw, as quadrant, queen, equestrian, quilt, inquiry, quire, quotidian. Qu is never followed by u.

Qu is sometimes sounded, in words derived from the French, like k, as conquer, liquor, risque, chequer.

R

R has the same rough snarling sound as in the other tongues.

The Saxons used often to put h before it, as before l at the beginning of words.

Rh is used in words derived from the Greek, as myrrh, myrrhine, catarrhous, rheum, rheumatick, rhyme.

Re, at the end of some words derived from the Latin or French, is pronounced like a weak er, as theatre, sepulchre.

S

S has a hissing sound, as sibilation, sister.

A single s seldom ends any word, except in the third person of verbs, as loves, grows; and the plurals of nouns, as trees, bushes, distresses; the pronouns this, his, ours, yours, us; the adverb thus; and words derived from Latin, as rebus, surplus; the close being always either in se, as house, horse, or in ss, as grass, dress, bliss, less, anciently grasse, dresse.

S, single at the end of words, has a grosser sound, like that of z, as trees, eyes, except this, thus, us, rebus, surplus.

It sounds like z before ion, if a vowel goes before it, as intrusion; and like s, if it follows a consonant, as conversion.

It sounds like z before e mute, as refuse, and before y final, as rosy; and in those words, bosom, desire, wisdom, prison, prisoner, present, present, damsel, casement.

It is the peculiar quality of s, that it may be sounded before all consonants, except x and z, in which s is comprised, x being only ks, and z a hard or gross s. This s is therefore termed by grammarians suæ potestatis litera; the reason of which the learned Dr. Clarke erroneously supposed to be, that in some words it might be doubled at pleasure. Thus we find in several languages.

Σβεννυμι, scatter, sdegno, sdrucciolo, sfavellare, σφιγξ, sgombrare, sgranare, shake, slumber, smell, snipe, space, splendour, spring, squeeze, shrew, step, strength, stramen, stripe, sventura, swell.

S is mute in isle, island, demesne, viscount.

T

T has its customary sound; as take, temptation.

Ti before a vowel has the sound of si as salvation, except an s goes before, as question; excepting likewise derivatives from words ending in ty, as mighty, mightier.