ell.
This arises from two causes. The English language has some sounds not
generally found in other languages, such as _w_ and _th_. As has already
been pointed out, the alphabet fits the language very badly. Careful
lexicographers indicate no less than seven sounds of _a_, five of _e_,
three of _i_, four of _o_ and six of _u_, as shown in the following table:

[=a] as in [=a]le
[Ia] as in sen[Ia]te
[)a] as in [)a]m
a as in ask
[a:] as in [a:]ll
ae as in faether
(a) as in fin(a)l

[=e] as in [=e]ve
[)e] as in [)e]nd
[Ie] as in ev[Ie]nt
[~e] as in f[~e]rn
(e) as in prud(e)nce

[=i] as in [=i]ce
[Ii] as in [Ii]dea
[)i] as in p[)i]n

[=o] as in [=o]ld
[Io] as in [Io]pen
[)o] as in [)o]dd
o as in orb

[=u] as in [=u]se
[Iu] as in [Iu]nite
[)u] as in [)u]p
[u:] as in r[u:]de
[u=] as in f[u=]ll
u as in urn

In addition to these there are diphthongs, combinations of vowel sounds
pronounced as one syllable, such as

_ou_ as in _out_
_oi_ as in _oil_

There are also a number of digraphs or combinations of vowels or consonants
which have but one sound, such as

_ai_ as in _rain_
_eo_ as in _people_
_ou_ as in _soup_
_ou_ as in _soul_
_ph_ as in _phalanx_
_ch_ as in _chorus_ or _chair_

_C_ has two sounds, hard before _a_, _o_, and _u_, as in _cat_, _cot_, and
_cut_, and soft before _e_, _i_, and _y_, as in _cell_, _city_, and
_cycle_.

_G_ has two sounds, hard before _a_, _o_, and _u_, as in _gate_, _gone_,
and _gun_, soft before _e_, _i_, and _y_, as in _gem_, _gin_, and _gyve_,
although it is sometimes hard before _i_ as in _girl_.

_Ch_ is sometimes soft as in _chair_ and _arch_, and sometimes hard as in
_choir_.

_Th_ has two sounds, soft, or surd, as in _thin_ and _death_, and hard, or
sonant, as in _then_ and _smooth_.

_S_ has two sounds, soft, or surd, as in _soft_ and _this_, and hard, or
sonant, as in _has_ and _wise_.

We have, therefore, twenty-six letters with which to express fifty or more
sounds, not counting the digraphs and diphthongs.

Correct pronunciation depends upon three things, correct sounding of the
letters, correct division into syllables, and correct placing of the
accent.

A syllable is the smallest separately articulated, or pronounced, element
in speech, or one of the parts into which speech is broken. It consists of
a vowel alone or accompanied by one or more consonants and separated by
them, or by a pause, from a preceding or following vowel. This divisio