ITALIAN.

XXIII.

1. A, in Italian, is like the English a in far, though its sound varies somewhat in different situations.*

2. E has two sounds: (1.) close, as a in fate; (2.) open, like e in

inet.

3. I is like e in me, or i in fig.

4. O has two sounds; (1.) close, as in note; (2.) open, similar to o in not, but rather broader.

5. U is like oo in English.

6. Ai and au, in Italian, are proper diphthongs. (See XX., 13, Obs.) Accordingly, CAIRO is to be pronounced ki'-ro, and Ausa, ou ́-så, &c.

7. The consonants b, d, f, l, m, n, p, q, s, t, and v, are similar to the English.

OBS. K, w, x, and y, are not used by the Italians, except in spelling foreign names.

8. C and cc, before a, o, and u, are sounded like k; before e, i, and y, like ch or tsh.

OBS. Сc should be pronounced more strongly than a single c. This remark will apply to all double letters, in Italian, as well as in most other languages.

9. As c, when immediately before a, o, or u, is never pronounced like ch, in order to express this sound in such cases, the vowel i is inserted; thus, cia, cio, ciu, are pronounced chả, cho, choo. (See table at the end of this Section.).

10. Ch is employed to express the sound of k before e and i.

11. G, before a, o, and u, is hard, as in the English word get; before e, i, and y, it sounds like the English j; gia, gio, giu, are pronounced ja, jo, joo. (See table at the end of this Section.)

*Of all the European tongues, the Italian has, probably, been brought to the greatest degree of perfection. There are, however, a number of niceties in this language, which, however interesting to a thorough linguist, cannot properly be noticed in a work like the present. The difficulty of giving a brief, and, at the same time, a satisfactory exposition of the principles of Italian pronunciation, is increased by the existence of different dialects in different parts of Italy. It has been deemed sufficient, in this synopsis, merely to explain those principles of pronunciation which appear to be recognized by the Italians generally.

12. Gh is used to express the sound of hard g, before e, and i.

13. Gli has the sound of the liquid l (1), or of li in million; thus, BOGLIO is pronounced bole'-yo.

14. Gn has the same sound as in French; or, in other words, is like the Spanish ñ; e. g. BOLOGNA is pronounced bo-lone'-yå.

15. H is never sounded in Italian.

16. J, at the beginning of a syllable, is like the English y (consonant); at the end of a word, it is equivalent to ii (Italian).

17. R resembles the French, but is trilled somewhat more strongly. (See XIX., 24).

18. Sc, before e, and i, is like the English sh; e. g. Scio is pronounced Shee'-o.

19. Z commonly has the sound of dz in English; zz is pronounced like ts.

The following table will, perhaps, enable the reader more readily to understand the mode in which c and ch, g and gh are employed by the Italians.

OBS. It may be observed, that, in consequence of the position of Italy, and its former extensive and intimate commercial relations with the Levant, a great number of the geographical names of Greece, Syria, and Egypt, as well as many of those along the southern shore of the Mediterranean, are written in the Italian mode, and should be pronounced according to the principles of this language; e. g. CORFU, TRIPOLIZZA, SCIO, JAFFA, CAIRO, &c.

NORWEGIAN.

XXIV.

As a written language, the Norwegian may be said to be identical with the Danish, since not only the grammar, but, with very few excep

tions, the words of both, are precisely the same. In pronunciation, however, the Norwegians differ widely from the Danes, while these again differ considerably among themselves. Under Section XVII., we have given the elements of Danish pronunciation, as the language is spoken by the educated classes in Copenhagen. The principal points of difference between this and the Norwegian, appear to be the following: (1.) d, in the latter tongue, always has its proper sound, while in Danish it is often pronounced like the English th; (2.) g, at the end of a word, in Norwegian, is to be sounded distinctly as g hard in English; (3.) o, ending a syllable, is pronounced like our oo ; (4.) e, at the end of a word, always retains its distinct sound; thus, ODENSE would be pronounced oo'-den-sh, and not o'-den-sch, as in Danish.

POLISH.
XXV.

1. A sounds as a in the English word far.

2. E, without an accent, like e in met; with an accent (é), like a in fate.

3. I as in marine.

4. O, unaccented, as in note; with an accent, like oo, as in good, or ōō.

5. U is like oo in moon.

6. Y resembles e in me, but is more guttural, being similar to i in pin.

7. The consonants b, d, f, g (always hard), h, k, l, m, n, p, s (always sharp), t, and z, are essentially the same as in English.

8. C is like the German c, or ts in English; cz is equivalent to our ch; ch is like the German ch.

9. J is like the German, being equivalent to y (consonant).

10. R is like the German.

11. W is similar to the German, resembling our v.

12. N, with an accent over it (n), sounds like the Spanish ñ.

13. S, marked in a similar manner (s) has a sound blending that of

s and y (consonant). S'c' has a sound which cannot be given in Englist., its nearest approximation in our language is sts.

14. Sz is equivalent to sh in English.

15. Z, with a point over it, is like the French j, or zh in English.

16. Z, with an accent (z), is somewhat similar to the above, but has no equivalent in our language.

OBS. The sounds of the letters in Slavonian, Bohemian, and Illyrian, correspond, with very slight exceptions, to those of the Polish language.

PORTUGUESE.

XXVI.

1. The vowels a, e, i, o, u, and y, and the diphthongs ai, ay, au, ei, and ey, are essentially the same as in Spanish.

2. AO is pronounced almost oung.

3. The consonants b, d, f, l, m, n, p, s, t, v, and z, are similar to the English.

4. C is the same as in French, differing from the English only by sometimes having the cedilla.

5. Ch is the same as in French; or, in other words, is like our sh. 6 G and j are the same as in French. (See XIX, 15 and 17.) 7. H, in Portuguese, is always silent. When, however, it follows l or n, it renders these letters liquid; thus, filho (son), is pronounced feel'-yo; senhora (lady), sane-yo'-rå, &c.

8. M, frequently, and n, sometimes, has a nasal sound. Sam, like são, is pronounced almost soung; alem or alen sounds like å-leng'. 9. Qu is pronounced as in French, the u in this case not being sounded.

10. R is like the French. (See XIX, 24.)

11. X is sounded like ch in Portuguese, or sh in English.

RUSSIAN.

As the Russians neither employ Roman characters, nor those which can be readily converted into corresponding Roman letters, we have, in writing the geographical names of Russia, followed the mode adopted with respect to oriental names. (See XIV and XV.)

SPANISH.
XXVII.

1. The Spanish a sounds as in the English word far; e like a in ale; i like e in mete; o as in English; u like oo; and y like Spanish i.

2. Ai and ay are like long i in English. Au sounds like ou in our. (See XX, 13, Obs.) Ei and ey are pronounced a-c.

3. The consonants ƒ, 1 (single), m, n, p, s, t, and v, are pronounced nearly as in English.

4. B, at the beginning of a word, sounds as in English; but when it occurs between two vowels, its sound resembles that of v, with this difference-v is pronounced with the upper teeth placed against the under lip, while the sound of the Spanish b is formed by bringing the lips loosely or feebly into contact. This sound seems to be between that of v and the English w.

5. C, before a, o, and u, is pronounced as in English; before e and i, it has the sound of th in the word thin. In the Catalan dialect it is the same as in English.

6. Ch has the same sound as in English, except in the dialect of Catalonia, where it is pronounced like k.

7. D, at the beginning of a word, is sounded nearly as in English, but is pronounced with the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth, while in pronouncing the English d, the tongue is made to touch the roof of the mouth. At the end of a syllable, or between two vowels, d, in Spanish, sounds like the English th in this, but is somewhat softer. This sound is usually represented, in the present work, by a small capital D.

8. G, before a, o, and u, is hard, as in English.

9. G, before e and i, and j before every vowel, are pronounced like a strong guttural h, similar to the German ch in ach. This sound is indicated by H distinguished as a small capital.

10. Gua and guo sound somewhat like gwå, gwo, but the g is so soft that it is scarcely perceived; so that in these cases the sound of gu seems to approximate very nearly to that of the English w. Gu, before e and i, is usually sounded like g hard; thus, GUIANA is pronounced gheånå. When, however, the u is marked with a diæresis; thus, güi; these two letters have the same sound as when before a or o, and consequently gui is pronounced gwe or we. (See table at the end of this Section.)

11. H, in Spanish, is never pronounced, except in words beginning with hue, and then very slightly.

12 LI (now sometimes written I), has a sound which combines that of I and y (consonant), and is similar to the liquid in French; e. g. villa or vila is pronounced veel'-yå; Llerena, lyà-rà ́-nå.

13. Ñ, in a similar manner, unites the sounds of n and y, and is like gn in French; thus peña is pronounced pane'-yå.

14. Q, in Spanish, is always followed by u. Qu, before a and o, is