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ORTHOGRAPHY.

1. Orthography teaches the use of letters and the proper method of spelling words.

2. There are twenty six letters belonging to the English Alphabet. These letters are divided into vowels and

consonants.

3. The letters a, e, i, o, u, (and w and y, excepting when at the beginning of a word or syllable) are vowels. All other letters are consonants.

4. The difference between a vowel and a consonant is this. A vowel can be sounded alone, but a consonant cannot be distinctly sounded without being joined with a vowel. A vowel also spells itself, but a consonant cannot be spelled without a vowel. Thus a spells a, e spells e, &c. But to spell the letter b it is necessary to join e. Thus be, spells b.

5. Consonants are divided into mutes and semivowels, which are thus distinguished: in spelling the semi-vowels the vowel generally precedes the letter; but in spelling the mutes, the vowel follows it: thus el spells l, em spells m, but to spell b p t, &c. the e comes last; thus, be spells b, pe spells p, &c. The letters c, g, v and z, are the only exceptions to this remark.

6. The mutes are b, p, t, d, q, k, j, and c and g hard.* The semi-vowels are ƒ, l, m, n, r, v, s, z, x, c, and g soft.

7. The mutes cannot be sounded at all without the aid of a vowel; but the semi-vowels can be sounded imperfectly without the aid of a vowel.

8. Four of the semi-vowels l, m, n, r, are also called liquids from their readily uniting with other consonants and flowing as it were into their sounds.

9. A diphthong is the union of two vowels in one sound; as ea in beat, ou in ounce. It is called a proper diphthong when both vowels are sounded, as oi in voice, and an im

* C is called soft when it is sounded like s, and hard when sounded like k. Thus in the word face the c is soft; but in fiction it is hard. G is hard when sounded in rag and soft in age.

proper diphthong when one of the vowels is silent, as the a in eagle and in boat.

10. A triphthong is the union of three vowels in one sound, as eau in beau, iew in view.

11. The following is a list of the proper diphthongs:

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12. The following is a list of the improper diphthongs:

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14. A has five sounds:

1. The long English a, as in fate.
2. The long Italian a, as in far.
3. The broad German a, as in fall.

4. The short sound of the Italian a, as in fat.
5. The short sound of broad a, as in swallow.

15. E has two sounds:

1. The long e, as in me.

2. The short e, as in met.

16. 1 has two sounds:

1. The long diphthongal* i, as in pine.
2. The short simple i, as in pin.

17. O has five sounds:

1. The long open o, as in note.
2. The long close o, as in move.
3. The long broad o, as in nor.
4. The short broad o, as in not.

5. The short sound of close o, as in wolf.

*In pronouncing the long i, the voice always terminates in the sound of short e; for this reason, the long i is called the diphthongal i.

18. U has four sounds:

1. The long diphthongal* u, as in tube.
The short simple u, as in tub.

2.

3.

The middle or obtuse u, as in full.

4. The long obtuse u, as in true.

Of the sounds of the Consonants.

19. B has but one sound; as heard in babe.

Chas five sounds;-like k, as in came; like s, as in acid; like sh, as in vicious; like z, as in suffice; and like ts, when followed by h, not silent, in the same syllable, as in child.

D has three sounds;-besides that heard in itself, it has the sound of t, as in cracked, mixed, pronounced crackt, mixt; it has also the sound of j, as in soldier, pronounced sol-jur.

F has no variation of sound, except in the word of, pronounced ov.

G has two sounds;-a hard sound, as in get, dagger, and a soft sound, as in gibe, general.

H is no more than a forcible breathing, before the succeeding vowel is pronounced.

Jis uniformly sounded like g soft, except in the word hallelujah, where it is pronounced like y.

K has the sound of c hard; as heard in kind.

L has but one sound; as in lime.

M has but one sound; as in mile.

Nhas two sounds;-one simple and pure, as in man, net; the other a compound sound, like ng, as in thank, pronounced thangk.

P has but one sound; as in pine.

Ph is generally pronounced like f; as in Philip, phantom. Q has but one sound, which is like k: it is always followed by u, which has frequently the sound of w, as in quack, queen, pronounced kwack, kween.

R has but one sound: it is never silent, but is sometimes transposed; as in sabre, pronounced sa-bur.

S has four sounds;-a hissing sound, as in sin, this; a buzzing sound, as in was, his; the sound of sh, as in mission, ensure; and the sound of zl, as in measure, effusion.

T has three sounds;-besides that heard in itself, it has the sound of sh, as in nation, mention; also the sound of tsh; as in nature, bastion, pronounced na-tshure, bastshun.

Th has two sounds ;—a sharp sound, as in thank, thin; and a flat sound, as in than, that.

V has but one sound, like flat f; as heard in vine.

W, when a consonant, has but one sound, as in wave.

* In pronouncing the long u, the voice always commences with the sound of long e; for this reason, the long u, is called the diphthongal u.

W before h, is pronounced as if it were after the h, as in why, when, &c.; pronounced hw-y, hw-en.

X has two sounds; a sharp sound, like ks, as in six: and a flat sound, like gz, as in exact, pronounced egz-act.

Y, when a consonant, has but one sound; as in you.

Z has the sound of flat s, as in size; it has in a few cases the sound of zh, as in glazier; pronounced gla-zhur.

20. The letters of the Alphabet are generally printed in two different forms or shapes; one of which is called the Roman Alphabet, and the other the Italic. The Roman Alphabet is the one generally used. Italic letters are used to distinguish emphatic words, or to direct the attention to something remarkable in the sentence.

21. Both the Roman and Italic Alphabets have two sets of letters, one called capital letters and the other small letters.

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OF THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS.

22. The first word of every book, chapter, letter, note, or any other piece of writing should begin with a capital letter.

23. The first word after a period, should begin with a capital letter.

24. The first word after every interrogation or exclamation should begin with a capital letter; unless a number of interrogative or exclamatory sentences occur together and are not totally independent,

25. The various names or appellations of the Deity should begin with a capital letter, as God, Jehovah, The Almighty, The Supreme Being, The Lord, Providence, The Messiah, The Holy Spirit, &c.

26. All proper names, such as the names of persons, places, streets, mountains, lakes, rivers, ships, &c., and adjectives derived from them, should begin with a capital letter.

27. The first word of a quotation after a colon, or when it is in a direct form, should begin with a capital letter.

28. The first word of an example, every substantive and principal word in the titles of books, and the first word of every line in poetry, should begin with a capital letter. 29. The pronoun I, and the interjection O, are always written in capitals.

30. Any words when remarkably emphatical, or when they are the principal subject of the composition may begin with capitals.

The following sentences in which capital letters are improperly used, may now be corrected by the pupil.

when socrates Was Asked what Man Approached the Nearest to Perfect happiness, He answered, that man who Has The Fewest wants.

addison Has Remarked with Equal piety and truth, that the Creation is a Perpetual feast To the mind of a Good man.

diligence industry and Proper improvement Of time Are Material duties of the Young; but the young Often Neglect These duties.

how often shall my brother sin against me and i forgive him? till Seven Times?

but what Excuse can the englishman Plead? the custom Of duelling?

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