1862.] 39 [TaM. 



The following Chapter in Professor Tafel's communication, 

 entitled " Investigations into the Laws of English Orthogra- 

 phy and Pronunciation," Avas not received in time for publi- 

 cation in its proper place, following page 376 of Vol. VIII. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



The Elementary Sounds of the English Language, repre- 

 sented IN Writing. 



§ 47. I HAVE now examined the mode in which the elementary 

 sounds of the English language are formed by the organs of speech, 

 I have investigated the manner in which they combine with one 

 another in the formation of syllables j and I have finally shown the 

 process by which the syllables are connected so as to form words. 

 The only subject that yet remains for discussion in connection with 

 the physiological part of the English language is accent ; for by ac- 

 cent the words are imbued, as it were, with living breath, or are 

 individualized, and by it they are prepared for their work of ex- 

 pressing the human thought. English accent, however, is such an 

 extensive subject that I reserve its discussion for a future part of my 

 investigations. Meanwhile, I shall exhibit the various methods 

 resorted to in the English language for the expression of the several 

 elementary sounds of speech. In the preparation of this chapter I 

 have been assisted very much by the works of the phoneticists, 

 such as Ellis, Comstock, etc., who have taken particular pains in 

 collecting all those instances, in which the English language, accord- 

 ing to their ideas, has sinned against the rules of sound spelling. 



The elementary vowel-sounds of the English language have been 

 collected in § 6, in the following table : 



long. short. long. short. 



1, father, . . . . . <S. sJieej), . 9. sht'j), 



2. fast, . . o. faf, . . . \0. pool,fiuie, . 11. pnU, 

 4. a(/e, Lane, . 5. end, . . . 12. 7iote, . . 



6. fare, . . 7. fell, let, . 13. off, all, . 14. not, u-Iiat. 



15. he7', bird, either long or short. 



16. love, but, always short. 



[Rem. — The only departure I allowed myself in the present table. 



