Orthography

ous = having, consisting of, full of, pertaining to.

ulent = full of.

ure = act or state of, that which.

y = state of being, full of, consisting or made of.

tort, tors = twist, wring, wrest.

tract = draw.

ven, vent = come.

vers, vert = turn.

EIGHTH MONTH.

ic = pertaining to.

ise, (ize) = make, do, cause.

ist = one who.

oid = having the form of, shaped like.

meter, metr = measure.

phon = sound.

polis = city.

scop = view.

PART TWO

The ASPIRATES or ATONICS are those elementary sounds made by merely breathing modified by the organs of speech; sometimes called breath sounds; as p, t, s.

TABLE OF ELEMENTARY SOUNDS.
[From Swett's Normal Word Book.]

I. Vocals.

II. Subvocals.

III. Aspirates.

Note.—The foregoing forty-four sounds are those most employed in the English language. Some of these sounds are represented by other letters, as shown in the following:

IV.—Table of Equivalents.
[Dictionary Work—Metcalf & DeGarmo.]

Cognate sounds are such as are produced by the same organs of speech in a similar position. The cognates are in pairs, as follows: Vowels: ā ĕ, ē ĭ, â ă, ä ȧ, a̤ ŏ, û ŭ, ōō o͝o; consonants: g´ k, b p, d t, j ch, th th, v f, z s.

[Second Month.]
LETTERS.

A LETTER is a mark or character used to represent a sound,—usually an elementary sound.

An ALPHABET is an orderly arrangement of all the letters of a language.

The NUMBER OF LETTERS in the different alphabets vary, as follows: English 26, Arabic 28, French 25, German 26, Greek 24, Hebrew 22, Italian 21, Russian 33, Spanish 27, Sanskrit 49. The Chinese have no alphabet, but about 20,000 syllabic characters.

The POWER OF A LETTER is the elementary sound for which it stands.

Letters as to form are either script or print.

There are many different STYLES OF LETTERS; as, Roman, Italic, Old English, and Script.

As to SIZE letters are both capital and lower case.

[Third Month.]
VOWELS.

A VOWEL sound is a free and uninterrupted sound of the voice. The vowel sounds are formed by the voice modified, but not interrupted, by the various positions of the tongue and lips.

A CONSONANT sound is an articulate sound made by the obstructed voice, and which in utterance is usually combined with a vowel sound.

There is no absolute division between vowels and consonants. Certain vowels are so open as to be only vowels, certain consonants are so close as to be only consonants; but there are yet others which have the value now of vowels and now of consonants; as, i, u, w, and y.

“Y as a vowel is a substitute for i, and i is a consonant as a substitute for y. W and y are vowels: (1) When they end words or syllables, (2) when they are not followed by a vowel in the same syllable, (3) when they are followed by a silent vowel in the same syllable. W and y are consonants when they begin words or syllables and are immediately followed by a vowel. I is a consonant when it represents the consonant y, as in alien. U is a consonant when it represents the consonant w, as in quick, language.”—Irish's Orthography.

A DIPHTHONG is produced by running together two vowel sounds in the same syllable.

A diphthong is PROPER if both the vowels are sounded; as o and i in boil.

An IMPROPER DIPHTHONG or DIGRAPH is merely a collection of two vowels in the same syllable, of which only one is sounded; as in rain, teach.

The diphthongs in the following words are all that are in common use, viz.: toil, toy, sound, cow, peal, oil, audible, awning, say, seine, people, feud, obey, eschew, believe, loan, hoe, hue, juice. Of these oi, oy, ou, and ow are the only proper diphthongs.

A TRIPHTHONG is produced by running together three vowel sounds in the same syllable.

A triphthong is PROPER if all three of the vowels are sounded. (But there are no proper triphthongs that I know of.)

A triphthong is IMPROPER or is called a TRIGRAPH if one or two of the three vowels is silent; as in adieu, beauty.

[Fourth Month.]
CONSONANTS.

Consonants are divided on three different bases; as follows:

I. Mutes and SEMIVOWELS.

The mutes represent an explosive sound, and are so called because the mouth organs are closed just before the sound is uttered and the voice is momentarily mute.

The four subvocals b, d, j, g, and their cognates, p, t, ch, and k, are generally classed as mutes. Pronounce them and see if they do not represent explosive sounds.

All other consonants are semivowels, and are pronounced with a continuous sound. The sound may be continued so long as the breath lasts; but in the case of mutes the sound must stop with the explosive utterance.

II. The SUBVOCALS and ASPIRATES are shown in the vertical columns of the table below. The subvocals are sometimes called voice consonants and the aspirates breath consonants. These are fit terms, for they indicate the basis of classification.

III. Labials, LINGUA-DENTALS, and PALATALS constitute a classification of the consonants with respect to the place of formation. Bead the table from left to right. The lips have most to do with making the labial sounds; the lingua-dentals are formed at the point of the tongue in contact with the teeth, the palatals between the tongue and hard and soft palate.

Consonant Table.

EIGHTH YEAR.

[First Month.]
SYLLABLES.

Syllable literally means taken together.

A SPOKEN SYLLABLE is an elementary sound, or a combination of elementary sounds, uttered together, or with a single impulse of the voice. It constitutes a word or a part of a word.

A WRITTEN or printed syllable is a part of a word separated from the rest, and capable of pronunciation by a single impulse of the voice.

As to where a word shall be divided in making it into syllables depends upon the PURPOSE OF SYLLABICATION. When the purpose is to show the derivation the division is made with reference to the component parts (roots, prefixes, and suffixes); but if the purpose is to indicate correct pronunciation, the result may be very different. For illustration, the following words are divided, first, to show derivation: abs-tract, bene-vol-ent, pre-de-cess-or, e-duc-ate, phon-o-typ-y, pro-gress, e-lig-ible; and, second, to indicate correct pronunciation: ab-stract, be-nev-o-lent, pred-e-ces-sor, ed-u-cate, pho-not-y-py, prog-ress, el-i-gi-ble.

While in the illustrations here given the syllables formed for one purpose are very different from those formed for the other, yet in the majority of words the resulting syllables are the same whether divided for one purpose or for the other.

In the United States the prevailing purpose of syllabication is to indicate pronunciation.

The ULTIMATE syllable of a word is the last (ultimus = last); the PENULTIMATE is next to the last (pen = almost); the ANTEPENULTIMATE is the third from the last (literally, before almost the last); the PREANTEPENULTIMATE is the fourth from the last (literally, before the one that is before the one almost last).

[Second Month.]
ACCENT.

Accent is stress of voice on a particular syllable in pronouncing a word.

In long words two, and sometimes three, syllables are accented. But one syllable is always accented more strongly than the others are. The stronger accent is called the PRIMARY accent, the weaker is called the SECONDARY. Thus, in am´ mu ni´ tion the primary accent falls on the third syllable and the secondary on the first.

The “PRINCIPLES” which govern the placing of accent are complicated. The International Dictionary says there are no principles by which to determine the accent in English. Another high authority says: “All attempts to assign rules for the place of the accent in English only serve to render the subject hopelessly intricate and confounded.”

There are, however, certain tendencies which mature pupils might profitably consider, but the limited scope of this book will not permit me to attempt to set them forth.

In the words of the following list the accent changes with a change of meaning. When nouns or adjectives these words are accented on the first syllable; when verbs, on the second:

[Third Month.]
WORDS.

A WORD is a sign of an idea. It may be either spoken or written.

A PRIMITIVE, OR ROOT, word is one not derived from any other word of the language; as, fix, strike, man.

A DERIVATIVE is a word formed from a primitive by changing it internally, or by adding a prefix or suffix; as, men, suffix, strikers.

A SIMPLE WORD is a single word. It may be either primitive or derivative.

A COMPOUND WORD is a combination of two or more simple words; as, buck-saw, well-behaved, school-room.

A word of one syllable is a monosyllable (mono = one); of two syllables, a dissyllable (dis = two); of three syllables, a trisyllable (tri = three); of three or more syllables, a polysyllable (poly = many).

The ROOT of a word is its fundamental or elementary part which carries the primitive notion or significance with it, without prefix or suffix; as, ge (earth), graph (write), vol (wish).

A PREFIX is a significant syllable joined to the beginning of a word; as, autograph, circumvent, amphitheater.

A SUFFIX is a significant syllable joined to the end of a word; as, man ly, fert ile, ment ion.

AFFIX is a general term for prefixes and suffixes; it may be applied to either or to both together.

SEVENTH YEAR.

[Fifth Month.]
SILENT LETTERS.

Silent letters have at least four uses:

1. To modify sounds of other letters in the same syllable.

Drop final silent e from such words as the following and note the effect on the sound of the other vowel in the same syllable: bare, pure, ripe, lame.

2. To indicate pronunciation.

In the four words last given, for illustration, the pronunciation changes when the final silent e is dropped.

Another class of words ending in ce and ge retain the final silent e on adding a suffix beginning with a or o to preserve the soft sound of c and g, and with it the correct pronunciation of the word; as, serviceable, noticeable, changeable, courageous.

3. To show the meaning of words.

Illustrations: clime, climb, plumb, belle, butt, dyeing, singeing, guilt, damn.

4. To show the derivation of words.

Numerous illustrations are found in words derived from the Greek. In chronic, and chronology, the h is silent, but serves to indicate that the root of those words is identical with the Greek root chron, which means time. Similarly the g in gnostic, the e in eulogy, p in pneumonia, the h in chromatic.

In honour and favour u is silent, and therefore a useless letter, so far as sound is concerned. The u signifies that the word came to us through the French, instead of directly from the Latin. The question is, whether we shall go to the trouble of writing the extra letter in a large class of such words for the sake of the historical association. Perhaps one in a thousand would choose to do so, but others of us are more intent on saving time and ink. When the spelling reform idea becomes operative with English speaking people, a great many silent letters will go the way of the u in labour, favour, and the like.

The following are some of the numerous classes of silent letters together with the principle found to be operative through them.

[Sixth Month.]

“E final is silent when preceded by another vowel in the same syllable.”

[Seventh Month.]

“B is usually silent before t or after m in the same syllable.”

[Eighth Month.]

“C is silent before k in the same syllable. C is silent in czar, victuals, muscle, corpuscle, indict, and Connecticut.”

EIGHTH YEAR.

[First Month.]

“D is silent before g in the same syllable.”

[Second Month.]

“G is silent before m or n in the same syllable.”

[Third Month.]

“H is silent when it follows g or r in the same syllable.”

[Fourth Month.]

“K is silent before n in the same syllable.”

[Fifth Month.]

“N final after l or m is silent.”

[Sixth Month.]

“T is silent before ch in the same syllable.”

[Seventh Month.]

“W is silent before r in the same syllable.”

[Eighth Month.]

“Gh is always silent after i and, when not a substitute for f or k, is also silent after au and ou.”

SEVENTH YEAR.
PRINCIPLES OF PRONUNCIATION WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

[Sixth Month.]

“A constituting or ending an unaccented syllable is short Italian a.”

[Seventh Month.]

“E constituting or ending a syllable is long.”

[Eighth Month.]

“O constituting or ending a syllable is long.”

EIGHTH YEAR.

[Fourth Month.]

“I constituting or ending an unaccented syllable, not initial, is always short, and is usually short even in initial syllables, if unaccented.”

In the initial syllables i, bi, chi, cli, cri, pri, tri, however, i is generally long.

[Fifth Month.]

E before terminal n should always be silent in participles, and also in most other words.

also

But in the following words e should be sounded:

E should also be sounded in any word (not a participle) in which terminal en is immediately preceded by l, m, n, or r.

[Sixth Month.]

“E before terminal l should usually be sounded.”

But in the following words and in their derivatives e before terminal l should not be sounded:

[Seventh Month.]

“In most words i before terminal l or n should be sounded.”

In the following words i should not be sounded:

[Eighth Month.]

“I accented in most words from the French has the sound of long e.”

SEVENTH YEAR.
RULES OF SPELLING.

Many people think that rules of spelling are of no value, because they are hard to remember and because of numerous exceptions. This is certainly true of a great many such rules (and there are a great many); but three or four of these rules apply to so many words difficult to spell, and they have such a small number of exceptions that they are well worth while. Several hundred words are spelled according to the first rule given below. The rule itself is short, and all of the exceptions could be learned “for keeps” by a pupil in an hour. But pupils must have drill in applying the rules or they may be able to repeat the rules perfectly and glibly and not be able to spell the words coming under them.

Since the rule given for the work of the first month, seventh year, and that given for the second month, are counterparts, each of the other, I prefer to take them together. Knowing that “silent final e is dropped when a suffix beginning with a vowel is added”, we naturally infer its counterpart, viz.: “Silent final e is retained when a suffix beginning with a consonant is added.”

To bring about the necessary drill and insure attention to the application of the rule, I suggest that a class of pupils, reciting by turns, spell at least twenty-five words according to the following model. [The words are on the board in this form: love + able, care + less.]

“The suffix able begins with the vowel a; therefore when it is added to the word love the final silent e is dropped, and the word is spelled lovable.” Or,

“The suffix less begins with the consonant l; therefore, when it is added to the word care the final silent e is not dropped, and the word is spelled careless.”

Words to be spelled according to this model should be mixed,—those in which the suffix to be added begins with a vowel mixed with those in which the suffix begins with a consonant. Exceptions ought to be thrown into the mixture, and when a pupil comes to an exception, he can proceed according to the model, concluding with, “but this word is an exception to the rule”.

Fifty words are here given to illustrate this rule, but pupils who want to do thorough work should spell several such fifties.

[First Month.]

EXCEPTIONS.

Words ending in ce and ge retain the e when a suffix beginning with a or o is added.

OTHER EXCEPTIONS.

Five other exceptions, to be remembered together: argument, judgment, lodgment, abridgment, acknowledgment.

The exceptions here given, which are practically all of the exceptions to this rule, should be reviewed until they cannot be forgotten. The value of the rule depends much on a thorough committal of the exceptions.

[Third Month.]

Rule II: “When a suffix is added to a word ending in y, preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i, unless the suffix begins with i.”