(and they may be almost infinite) are modifications of the three original vowels (a, i, u.)

The Consonants are closer sounds than the vowels and less musical. They are produced by the contact of one or other of the organs of speech, whereby the stream of breath is wholly or partially stopped. In the oldest Indo-European speech there were only twelve consonant sounds, b, p, d, t, g, k, s, m, n, 1, r; and h in combination with b, d, g, forming the aspirates bh, dh, gh (cp. Gr. 4, 0, x).

53. Classification of Consonants.-The consonants can be arranged according to the organ by which they are sounded: Guttural (g, k): Dental (d, t, th), Labial (b, p, v, ƒ,) &c. They can also be classified according as the breath is wholly or partially stopped in its exit. Stopped sounds are called mutes or checks, as g, k, d, t, b, p.

In the sounds m, n, ng, the breath passes through the nose, and they are called nasals.

Partially stopped sounds are termed Spirants, as, h, th, f, s, z, &c.; 1 and r are called Trills.

54. In comparing b and p &c., d and t &c., we shall find that b and d are pronounced with less effort than p and t; hence b and d, &c. are said to be soft or flat, while p and t, &c. are called hard or sharp consonants.

j

56. Ch and j (in English) are compounds : ch = t + sh (sure); dzh (azure).

Zh and sh are connected with the palatals, while z and s are allied to the dental, or lingual series of sounds.

57. From this table of consonants we have omitted

(1) c; because it can be represented by k before a, o, u, and by s (in rice) before e, i, y.

(2) q; because it is equivalent to kw.

(3) x; because it is a compound of ks, as in fox.

Number of Elementary Sounds in the English spoken Alphabet.

58. In addition to the twenty-four consonants contained in the above table, we have fourteen vowels and five diphthongs, making altogether forty-three sounds.

Imperfections of the English Alphabet.

59. A perfect alphabet must be based upon phonetic principles, and (1) every simple sound must be represented by a distinct symbol; (2) no sound must be represented by more than one sign.

a. The spoken alphabet contains forty-three sounds, but the written alphabet has only twenty-six letters or symbols to represent them; therefore in the first point necessary to a perfect system of orthography the English alphabet is found wanting.

The alphabet, as we have seen, is redundant, containing three superfluous letters, c, q, x, so that it contains only twenty-three letters wherewith to represent forty-three sounds. Again, the five vowels, a, e, i, o, u, have to represent thirteen sounds (see § 58). It is thus both imperfect and redundant.

The same combinations of letters, too, have distinct sounds, as ough in bough, borough, cough, chough, hough, hiccough, though, trough, through, Sc. sough; ea in beat, bear, heard, &c.

b. In regard to the second point, that no sound should be represented by more than one sign, we again find that the English alphabet fails. The letter ō (in note) may be represented by oa (boat), oe (toe), eo (yeoman), ou (soul), ow (sow), ew (sew), au (hautboy), eau (beau), owe (owe), oo (floor), oh (oh!). The alphabet is therefore inconsistent as well as imperfect.

Many letters are silent as in psalm, calf, could, gnat, know, &c.

c. The English alphabet is supplemented by a number of double letters called digraphs (oa, 00, &c.)

which are as inconsistently employed as the simple characters themselves.

d. Other expedients for remedying the defects of the alphabet are recognised—

(1) The use of a final e to denote a long vowel, as bite, note, &c.1 But even with regard to this the orthography is not consistent; it will not allow a word to end in v, although the preceding vowel is short, hence an e is retained in live, give, &c.

(2) The doubling of consonants to indicate a short vowel, as folly, hotter, &c.2

It must be recollected that the letters a, e, i, o, u, were originally devised and intended to represent the vowel sounds heard in father, prey, pique, pole, rule, respectively. In other languages that employ them they still have this value.

During the written period of our language the pronunciation of the vowels has undergone great and extensive changes at different periods, while the spelling has not kept pace with these changes, so that there has arisen a great dislocation of our orthographical system, a divorcement of our written from our spoken alphabet. The introduction of foreign elements into the English language during its written period has brought into use different, and often discordant, systems of orthography (cp. ch in church, chivalry, Christian, &c.). In addition to this there are peculiarities arising out of the orthographical usages of the Old-English dialects.

This came about because the final e was kept in writing after the sound was dropped. The i in bite was long while the word was dissyllabic.

2 This arose through the short vowel causing the doubling of the consonant.