37 o SCIENCE PROGRESS 



I propose then that we should first lay down a general, but 

 somewhat arbitrary, rule regarding English vowels, and then 

 mark only those vowels which do not conform to it. 



The vowel symbols a, e, i, o, u may have in English when 

 stressed no less than five different groups of values, which I 

 classify as follows : 



(i) Long idiomatic values, as in mate, mete, mite, mote, mute. 



(2) Short idiomatic values, as in bat, bet, bit, bot, but. 



(3) Orthoepic values, as in far, father; great, vein, bear, fete ; 

 priest, field, police ; bought, broad, born ; full, push ; rude, truth. 



(4) Degraded values, which are numerous and irregular. 

 The commonest occur, especially after w and qu, when orthoepic 

 a degenerates into some value of o, as in was, what, yacht, want, 

 wander, war, all, dzvl, caught; when o degenerates into some 

 value of u, as in mother, one, flood, dost, word, who, to, woman, 

 tomb, good, food ; and when er, ir, ur take nearly the same value, 

 as in her, fir, fur. 



(5) Silent values, as in head, made, receive, people, guard. 

 Now let us assume the following general Rule : 



Stressed vowels should have long. idiomatic values when final, 

 before other vowels, and in the last sounded syllable of words 

 ending in e mute and their derivatives 1 : otherwise they should 

 have short idiomatic values. 



If this Rule is obeyed, the accent is not marked : if it is 

 infringed, the accent is marked on the offending letter. 



Thus the accent should be marked on all orthoepic and 

 degraded values ; on short idiomatic values before vowels, or 

 in the penultimate of words ending in e mute and their de- 

 rivatives ; and on long idiomatic values placed otherwise — that 

 is, in the exceptions to the Rule. 



This serves to indicate both stress and length of vowel in 

 a vast number of words, such as nature, natural, nation, national, 

 future, futurity, study, studious ; dunce, flange, revenge, askance, 

 sconce; mild, mind, gold, most, etc., especially if subsidiary rules 

 are adopted regarding the effect of suffixes (which I have no 

 space to deal with here). 



It also fixes the pronunciation of most of the numerous 

 irregular vowel-digraphs which at present cause such confusion 



1 It may be better to lay down that vowels shall be long before a single 

 consonant followed by any vowel. This will serve to indicate the accentuation 

 on a greater number of words. 



