168 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



no distinction between the short vowel in mutter and the long one in 

 murder, chiefly because it would be inconvenient in phonography.* 

 He places the vowel o^ fall in the first syllable of authority, although, 

 water, fortune, short. The vowel in not is placed in quarter, god, 

 John, hog, horse, wrong, long, bei/ond, swan. The inconsistency is 

 obvious which demands a different vowel in for and not, and an 

 identical one in fur and 7iut ; a different one in conclude and good ; 

 but the same one in endure and dicty. In some cases Pitman and 

 Ellis have used at different times both of the vowels in fall, not, in 

 the same words, as in talk, George, cross. 



" The vowel in pool, smooth, is placed in to (as in to do), into, truth, 

 ride, conclude, Lucian. In most of these examples, the vowel is 

 neither long nor short, but medial, and the aperture is both close and 

 open. The vowel in rule is closer and less labial than that in pool 

 (which is short in loat), and when short it occurs in pull. It is pre- 

 ceded by English y in endure, duty, when not pronounced with the 

 Welsh diphthong iw. 



" The discrepancies here noticed arise in some degree from an em- 

 pirical rule,t (p. 101,) requiring the orthography to represent the 

 ' emphatic utterance of each word as it would be pronounced inde- 

 pendently of all other words.' I This mode of pronouncing English 

 is common with foreigners. But if to, as in the verb to do, or in 

 heretofore, {Phon. Journal, 1847, p. 283,) is pronounced indepen- 

 dently, like too, as when a child spells it, it is a different word, 

 and of no more account for its legitimate purpose than a broken link 

 detached from a chain. Mr. Ellis takes a different view of his own 

 vernacular on page 110, where he states that French syllables upon 

 which no stress is laid ' are not to be hurriedly or indistinctly pro- 

 nounced, as in English.'' 



* This name is applied to a beautiful and useful system of stenography, which, 

 however, is not as philosophical as is generally supposed. The vowels in food, 

 feed, should both have been "first place," and those in far, fall, "third place," 

 so as to form the vocal circle properly. The diphthong in aisle should have been 

 " third place " by its vowel. The vowel-dots, when placed in an angle, cannot 

 be read with certainty. The to and ij should each have had an independent 

 character for syllables like the old English wray, or the German glauhen when 

 pronounced jZttwin. The character for r (in the labial position) would have been 

 better as m ; s as n; tsh as s, &c. 



t Those least skilled in analysis will insist most upon this rule. 



X Adelung, quite as good an authority, gives a diflerent rule : — " Schreib wie du 



spricli.st, ist das hochste und vornehmste auch das einzige Grundgesetz 



filr die Schrift in alien Sprachen." 



