RULE I.--The letter _u_ should not be sounded as _ōō_, except when
immediately preceded by the sound of _r_.
Exceptions: sure and its derivatives, also sumac, tulle, hurrah, pugh.
Pronounce rule, fruit, garrulous, ruin, sure, tūne, mūle, institūte,
constitūtion, sūture, dūty, lūcid.
RULE II.--_A_ constituting or ending an unaccented syllable is short
Italian _a_.
Examples: cȧnine´, lȧpel´, ȧgain´, ȧlas´, fȧtal´ity, al´kȧli, or´nȧment,
pal´ȧtȧble.
When the _a_ of terminal _ary_ or _any_ is immediately preceded by an
accented syllable, it has the sound of short Italian _a_; thus,
pri´mȧry, epiph´ȧny.
RULE III.--_E_ or _o_ constituting or ending a syllable is long.
Examples: ēvent, mēmentō, lōcōmōtion, sōciety, nōtōriety, sōbriety,
supērior, infērior, thēōries, cōteriē, lōcō-fōcō.
RULE IV.--_I_ constituting or ending an unaccented syllable not initial,
is always short, and is usually short even in initial syllables, if
unaccented.
Examples: Dĭvide, dĭrect, fĭnance, phĭlosophy, imĭtate, pĭazza, tĭrade,
intĭmate, indĭvisĭble, nobilĭty.
In the _initial_ syllables _i_, _bi_, _chi_, _cli_, _cri_, _pri_, _tri_,
however, _i_ is generally _long_.
Examples: īdea, īdle, īsothermal, bīology, Chīnese, chīrurgery,
clīmatic, crīterion, prīmeval, trīangular, trīpod.
RULE V.--_E_ before terminal _n_ should always be silent in participles,
and also in most other words.
Examples: given (giv n), taken (tak n), bitten (bit n), broken, spoken,
riven, fallen.
But in the following words _e_ must be sounded:
Aspĕn, chickĕn, glutĕn, kitchĕn, lichĕn, lindĕn, martĕn, mittĕn, suddĕn.
It must also be sounded in any word (not a participle) in which terminal
_en_ is immediately preceded by _l_, _m_, _n_, or _r_.
Examples: womĕn, lĭnen, omĕn, barrĕn, Helĕn, Allĕn, Ellĕn, woolĕn,
pollĕn.
RULE VI.--_E_ before terminal _l_ should usually be sounded.
Examples: levĕl, bevĕl, novĕl, nickĕl, cancĕl, vessĕl, chapĕl, gravĕl,
hovĕl, camĕl, channĕl, kernĕl, Abĕl, Mabĕl, panĕl, modĕl, funnĕl,
flannĕl.
But in the following words the _e_ before terminal _l_ must not be
sounded:
Betel (bē´tl), chattel (chat´tl), drivel, easel, grovel, hazel, mantel,
mussel, navel, ravel, shekel, shovel, shrivel, snivel, swivel, teasel,
weasel, and their derivatives.
RULE VII.--In all but the following words, _i_ before terminal _l_ or
_n_ must be sounded: devil, evil, weevil, basin, cousin, raisin.
Pronounce Latĭn, satĭn, matĭn, spavĭn, anvĭl, civĭl, cavĭl, councĭl,
perĭl, javelĭn, lentĭl, pistĭl, resĭn, fusĭl, coffĭn, codicĭl, axĭl.
RULE VIII.--The eight words, bath, cloth, lath, moth, mouth, oath, path,
wreath, and these only, require sonant _ths_ in the plural.
Pronounce m_oth_s, p_ath_s, truths, o_ath_s, heaths, cl_oth_s, b_ath_s,
l_ath_s, deaths, wr_eath_s, mo_uths_, Sabbaths, sheaths, piths, plinths,
lengths, widths, depths, breadths, earths, myths, Goths, fourths,
breaths.
RULE IX.--_O_ in a final unaccented syllable ending in a consonant,
frequently verges toward the sound of short _u_; as in custom, felon,
bigot, bishop, method, carol, Briton. But it has its regular short sound
in pentagon, hexagon, octagon, etc.
When, however, the termination _on_ is immediately preceded by _c_,
_ck_, _s_ or _t_, the _o_ is commonly suppressed.
Examples: bacon, beacon, beckon, benison, button, cotton, crimson,
damson, deacon, garrison, glutton, lesson, mason, mutton, parson,
person, poison, prison, reason, reckon, season.
RULE X.--_I_ accented in most words from the French has the sound of
long _e_.
Examples: pĭque, caprĭce, guillotĭne, quarantĭne, routĭne, suĭte,
fatĭgue, valĭse, antĭque, Bastĭle, critĭque, palanquĭn, tambourĭne,
regĭme (rā-zheem´), cuĭsĭne (kwe-zeen´), unĭque, intrĭgue, magazĭne.
RULE XI.--_Ou_ in most words from the French has the value of _ōō_, but
in Anglo-Saxon words it has the sound of _ow_, as in _cow_.
Examples: bouquet, contour, croup; out, bound, sound.
Note.--_Ou_ has also other values, as in soul, rough, adjourn, could,
ought, hough (hŏk), trough.
RULE XII.--_X_ followed by an accented vowel, or by an accented syllable
beginning with a silent _h_, has the sound of _gz_.
Examples: luxu´rious, exam´ple, exhaust´, exhale´, exhib´it, exam´ine,
exalt´, exec´utive.
RULE XIII.--The termination _tion_ is always _shun_, except when it
follows the letter _s_ or _x_, as in question (kwestyun), bastion,
combustion.
Examples: notation, completion, equation, relation, suggestion,
transition (tranzish´un).
RULE XIV.--The termination _sion_ immediately preceded by an accented
vowel is _zhun_; when not so preceded it is _shun_.
Examples: expulsion, immersion, mansion, excursion, diversion,
explosion, adhesion, delusion.
RULE XV.--_C_ is soft (_s_) before _e_, _i_ and _y_, and hard (_k_) in
other positions.
Examples: _ca_, _ce_, _ci_, _co_, _cu_, _cy_.
Exceptions: _c_ is hard (_k_) in sceptic and scirrhus; and in the
following words it has the sound of _z_: sacrifice (fīz), sice, suffice,
discern, and their derivatives. It is silent in czar, victuals, indict,
and their derivatives, and also in the termination _scle_, as in
_muscle_, _corpuscle_.
RULE XVI.--_G_ is generally soft (_j_) before _e_, _i_ and _y_, and
always hard (_g_) before other vowels.
Examples: _ga_, _ge_, _gi_, _go_, _gu_, _gy_.
Note.--The exceptions to the rule that _g_ is usually soft before _e_,
_i_ and _y_ are many; but they are nearly all common Anglo-Saxon words,
such as get, give, gild, girl, girdle, giddy, foggy, gimlet, geese, gig,
giggle, gift, gills, begin, gimp, beget, gird, gear, gizzard.
RULE XVII.--In an accented syllable of any primitive word, a vowel
before _r_ followed by a syllable beginning with a vowel or another _r_
has its short sound.
Examples: Ărab, ărabesque, ărid, Ăristotle, Săracen, bĕryl, pĕril,
delĭrious, ĭrritate, mĭracle, delĭrium, abhŏrrence, flŏrid, cŏroner,
fŏreign, tŭrret, bŭrrow, cŭrry, coŭrage, fŭrrow, py̆rrhic, empy̆real.
RULE XVIII.--_N_ ending an accented syllable has the sound of _ng_, if
immediately followed by hard _g_ or _k_, or any equivalent of _k_ (_c_,
_q_, or _x_).
Examples: co̱ṉ´gress, ga̱ṉ´grene, co̱ṉ´cord, tra̱ṉ´quil, u̱ṉ´cle,
a̱ṉ´ger, hu̱ṉ´ger, mo̱ṉ´key, sa̱ṉ´guine, si̱ṉ´gle, cla̱ṉ´gor,
exti̱ṉ´guish, bla̱ṉ´ket, twi̱ṉ´kle, co̱ṉ´course, Li̱ṉ´coln.
Exceptions: concrete, penguin, mangrove, Mongol, pancreas, and some
others.
RULE XIX.--_C_, _s_, or _t_, when immediately preceded by an accented
syllable and followed by _e_, _i_ or _u_, has usually the force of _sh_,
and is said to be “aspirated,” as in ocean, nauseate, Asiatic,
negotiation.
RULE XX.--In pronouncing the terminal syllables, _ble_, _cle_, _dle_,
_fle_, _gle_, _kle_, _ple_, _stle_, _tle_, and _zle_, no vowel sound is
heard. Terminal _cre_, however, is pronounced _kẽr_. The combination of
any of these terminations with _ing_ forms but one syllable.
Examples: quibbling, doubling, circling, meddling, huddling, ruffling,
shuffling, giggling, struggling, pickling, trickling, coupling,
rippling, battling, whittling, whistling, jostling, puzzling, muzzling,
massacring.