A Handbook of the English Language, Robert Gordon Latham [some good books to read txt] 📗
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§ 108. The primary division of our articulate sounds is into vowels and consonants. The latter are again divided into liquids (l, m, n, r) and mutes (p, b, f, v, t, d, k, g, s, z, &c.).
§ 109. Sharp and flat.—Take the sounds of p, f, t, k, s. Isolate them from their vowels, and pronounce them. The sound is the sound of a whisper.
Let b, v, d, g, z, be similarly treated. The sound is no whisper, but one at the natural tone of our voice.
Now p, f, t, k, s (with some others that will be brought forward anon) are sharp, whilst b, v, &c., are flat. Instead of sharp, some say hard, and instead of flat, some say soft. The terms sonant and surd are, in a scientific point of view, the least exceptionable. They have, however, the disadvantage of being pedantic. The tenues of the classics (as far as they go) are sharp, the mediæ flat.
§ 110. Continuous and explosive.—Isolate the sounds of b, p, t, d, k, g. Pronounce them. You have no power of prolonging the sounds, or of resting upon them. They escape with the breath, and they escape at once.
It is not so with f, v, sh, zh. Here the breath is transmitted by degrees, and the sound can be drawn out and prolonged for an indefinite space of time. Now b, p, t, &c., are explosive, f, v, &c., continuous.
§ 111. Concerning the vowels, we may predicate a) that they are all continuous, b) that they are all flat.
Concerning the liquids, we may predicate a) that they are all continuous, b) that they are all flat.
Concerning the mutes, we may predicate a) that one half of them is flat, and the other half sharp, and b) that some are continuous, and that others are explosive.
§ 112.—The letter h is no articulate sound, but only a breathing.
CHAPTER II.SYSTEM OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS.
§ 113.—The attention of the reader is now directed to the following foreign vowel sounds.
1. The é fermé, of the French.—This is a sound allied to, but different from, the a in fate, and the ee in feet. It is intermediate to the two.
2. The u of the French, ü of the Germans, y of the Danes.—This sound is intermediate to the ee in feet, and the oo in book.
3. The o chiuso, of the Italians.—Intermediate to the o in note, and the oo in book.
For these sounds we have the following sequences: a in fate, é fermé, ee in feet, ü in übel (German), oo in book, o chiuso, o in note. And this is the true order of alliance among the vowels; a in fate, and o in note, being the extremes; the other sounds being transitional or intermediate. As the English orthography is at once singular and faulty, it exhibits the relationship but imperfectly.
§ 114. The system of the mutes.—Preliminary to the consideration of the system of the mutes, let it be observed:—
1. that the th in thin is a simple single sound, different from the th in thine, and that it may be expressed by the sign þ.
2. That the th in thine is a simple single sound, different from the th in thin, and that it may be expressed by the sign ð.
3. That the sh in shine is a simple single sound, and that it may be expressed by the sign σ[42] (Greek σῖγμα).
4. That the z in azure, glazier (French j) is a simple single sound, and that it may be expressed by the sign ζ[42] (Greek ζῆτα).
5. That in the Laplandic, and possibly in many other languages, there are two peculiar sounds, different from any in English, German, and French, &c., and that they may respectively be expressed by the sign κ and the sign γ[42] (Greek κάππα and γάμμα).
§ 115. With these preliminary notices we may exhibit the system of the sixteen mutes; having previously determined the meaning of two fresh terms, and bearing in mind what was said concerning the words sharp and flat, continuous and explosive.
Lene and aspirate.—From the sound of p in pat, the sound of f in fat differs in a certain degree. This difference is not owing to a difference in their sharpness or flatness. Each is sharp. Neither is it owing to a difference in their continuity or explosiveness; although f is continuous, whilst p is explosive. This we may ascertain by considering the position of s. The sound of s is continuous; yet s, in respect to the difference under consideration, is classed not with f the continuous sound but with p the explosive one. This difference, which has yet to be properly elucidated, is expressed by a particular term; and p is called lene, f is called aspirate.
As f is to p so is v to b.
As v is to b so is þ to t.
As þ is to t so is ð to d.
As ð is to d so is κ to k.
As κ is to k so is γ to g.
As γ is to g so is σ to s.
As σ is to s so is ζ to z.
Hence p, b, t, d, k, g, s, z, are lene; f, v, þ, ð, κ, γ, σ, ζ, are aspirate. Also p, f, t, þ, k, κ, s, σ, are sharp, whilst b, v, d, ð, g, γ, z, ζ, are flat; so that there is a double series of relationship capable of being expressed as follows:—
Lene. Aspirate. Sharp. Flat. Sharp. Flat. Sharp. Flat. Lene. Aspirate. Lene. Aspirate. p b f v p f b v t d þ ð t þ d ð k g κ γ k κ g γ s z σ ζ s σ z ζAll the so-called aspirates are continuous; and, with the exception of s and z, all the lenes are explosive.
§ 116. I believe that in the fact of each mute appearing in a four-fold form (i.e., sharp, or flat, lene, or aspirate), lies the essential character of the mutes as opposed to the liquids.
§ 117. Y and w.—These sounds, respectively intermediate to γ and i (the ee in feet), and to v and u (oo in book), form a transition from the vowels to the consonants.
§ 118. The French word roi, and the English words oil, house, are specimens of a fresh class of articulations; viz., of compound vowel sounds or diphthongs. The diphthong oi is the vowel o + the semivowel y. The diphthongal sound in roi is the vowel o + the semivowel w. In roi the semivowel element precedes, in oil it follows.
§ 119. The words quoted indicate the nature of the diphthongal system.
1. Diphthongs with the semivowel w, a) preceding, as in the French word roi, b) following, as in the English word new.
2. Diphthongs with the semivowel y, a) preceding, as is common in the languages of the Lithuanic and Slavonic stocks, b) following, as in the word oil.
3. Triphthongs with a semivowel both preceding and following.
The diphthongs in English are four; ow as in house, ew as in new, oi as in oil, i as in bite, fight.
§ 120. Chest, jest.—Here we have compound consonantal sounds. The ch in chest = t + sh; the j in jest = d + zh. I believe that in these combinations one or both the elements, viz., t and sh, d and zh, are modified; but I am unable to state the exact nature of this modification.
§ 121. Ng.—The sound of the ng in sing, king, throng, when at the end of a word, or of singer, ringing, &c., in the middle of a word, is not the natural sound of the combination n and g, each letter retaining its natural power and sound; but a simple single sound, for which the combination ng is a conventional mode of expression.
§ 122. Compared with a in fate, and the o in note, a in father, and the aw in bawl, are broad; the vowels of note and fate being slender.
§ 123. In fat, the vowel is, according to common parlance, short; in fate, it is long. Here we have the introduction of two fresh terms. For the words long and short, I substitute independent and dependent. If from the word fate I separate the final consonantal sound, the syllable fa remains. In this syllable the a has precisely the sound that it had before. It remains unaltered. The removal of the consonant has in nowise modified its sound or power. It is not so, however, with the vowel in the word fat. If from this I remove the consonant following, and so leave the a at the end of the syllable, instead of in the middle, I must do one of two things: I must sound it either as the a in fate, or else as the a in father. Its (so-called) short sound it cannot retain, unless it be supported by a consonant following. For this reason it is dependent. The same is the case with all the so-called short sounds, viz., the e in bed, i in fit, u in bull, o in not, u in but.
§ 124. It is not every vowel that is susceptible of every modification. I (ee) and u (oo) are incapable of becoming broad. The e in bed, although both broad and slender, is incapable of becoming independent. For the u in but, and for the ö of certain foreign languages, I have no satisfactory systematic position.
§ 125. Vowel System.
Broad. Slender. Independent. Independent. Dependent. a, in father a, in fate a, in fat. é in fermé, long é, in fermé, short. e, in meine, Germ. e, in bed. ee, in feet i, pit. ü, of the German, long the same, short. oo, in book ou, in could. o in chiuso the same, short. aw, in bawl o, in note o, in not.From these the semivowels w and y make a transition to the consonants v and the so-called aspirate of g, respectively.
§ 126. System of Consonants.
Liquids. Mutes. Semivowels. Lene. Aspirate. Sharp. Flat. Sharp. Flat. m p v
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