herefore, of the primitive and simple
letters, is useless, almost alike to those who know their sound, and
those who know it not.

OF VOWELS

A.

A has three sounds, the slender, open, and broad.

A slender is found in most words, as face, mane, and in words ending in
ation, as creation, salvation, generation.

The a slender is the proper English a, called very justly by Erpenius,
in his Arabick Grammar, a Anglicum cum e mistum, as having a middle
sound between the open a and the e. The French have a similar sound in
the word pais, and in their e masculine.

A open is the a of the Italian, or nearly resembles it; as father, rather,
congratulate, fancy, glass.

A broad resembles the a of the German; as all, wall, call.

Many words pronounced with a broad were anciently written with au; as
sault, mault; and we still say, fault, vault. This was probably the
Saxon sound, for it is yet retained in the northern dialects, and in
the rustick pronunciation; as maun for man, haund for hand.

The short a approaches to the a open, as grass.

The long a, if prolonged by e at the end of the word, is always slender, as
graze, fame.

A forms a diphthong only with i or y, and u or w. Ai or ay, as in plain,
wain, gay, clay, has only the sound of the long and slender a, and differs
not in the pronunciation from plane, wane.

Au or aw has the sound of the German a, as raw, naughty.

Ae is sometimes found in Latin words not completely naturalized or
assimilated, but is no English diphthong; and is more properly
expressed by single e, as Cesar, Eneas.

E.

E is the letter which occurs most frequently in the English language.

E is long, as in sc[=e]ne; or short, as in c[)e]llar, s[)e]parate,
c[)e]lebrate, m[)e]n, th[)e]n.

It is always short before a double consonant, or two consonants, as in
v[)e]x, p[)e]rplexity, rel[)e]nt, m[)e]dlar, r[)e]ptile, s[)e]rpent,
c[)e]llar, c[)e]ssation, bl[)e]ssing, f[)e]ll, f[)e]lling, d[)e]bt.

E is always mute at the end of a word, except in monosyllables that have no
other vowel, as the; or proper names, as Penelope, Phebe, Derbe; being used
to modify the foregoing consonants, as since, once, hedge, oblige; or to
lengthen the preceding vowel, as b[)a]n, b[=a]ne; c[)a]n, c[=a]ne; p[)i]n,
p[=i]ne; t[)u]n, t[=u]ne; r[)u]b, r[=u]be; p[)o]p, p[=o]pe; f[)i]r,
f[=i]re; c[)u]r, c[=u]re; t[)u]b, t[=u]be.

Almost all words which now