1861.1 371 [Syllabification. 



roots' , me-chan'-ic, e-pis'-tle, ce-Ies'-tial, me-mo'-ricdy de-cim'-eter, me- 

 dic'-i-nal, pe-nhi'-su-la, &c. It will be remembered that the reduced 

 vowels occur in unaccented syllables, whether before or after the ac- 

 cented syllables. As soon as the reduced vowels are removed two 

 syllables from the accented one, and receive the secondary accent, 

 and, by virtue of this accent, from reduced are made short, they ex- 

 ercise their power of attraction over the following continuants and 

 explodents, and draw them into the same joints with themselves, e.g.j 

 hec'-a-fi'-coj ec'-o-nom'-ic, ed'-i-to'-rialy el'-o-cit-tion, cer'-e-mo'-nious, 

 cat'-e-chet'-icj ct'-y-moV-o-gy, mer' -i-to' -rious, cin'-e-rit'-ious, ref'-or- 

 ma'-ticni, res' -odu' -Hon. When reduced vowels follow the accented 

 syllables, the case is the same. They have no power to draw the fol- 

 lowing continuants or explodents into their own syllables, e. g., ap'- 

 pe-tite, com'-e-dy, se'-cre-cy, su'-re-fy, hid'de-tin, ar'-se-nal, cal'-cedon ; 

 but as soon as they receive the secondary accent, the initial overcomes 

 the final element, e. g., cem'-e-ter'-ij, cac'-o-chum'-y, pal'-i-nod'-y, ceV- 

 i-has'^o)-}/, del'-i-cac'-y, am' -a-tor' -y j moii' -i-tor' -y . When the vowel, 

 in an unaccented syllable, is followed by two consonants or semi- 

 vowels, it does not become reduced to the same degree as when it 

 is followed by a single consonant, and sufficient power remains to 

 it to attract one of the two consonants, as in ver-hosd, es-carjf, ad'- 

 ver-tise' , gcs-ta'-tion, ser-pi'-go, sen-ten' -tious, ten-trW-o-qvy, and, also, 

 in trav'-es-ty, UU-er-ty, cal'-en-der, an'-ec-dote. Still, when the two 

 consonants k and s are expressed by the letter x, the preceding un- 

 accented vowel has no power to appropriate it, e. y., an'-nexa'-tion, 

 cach'-e-xy. 



§ 42. When two continuants or explodents are medial, they present 

 one of the following combinations : 1, two explodents; 2, one explo- 

 dent followed by a continuant ; 3, a continuant followed by an explo- 

 dent; and 4, two continuants. The combination of two explodents, 

 as in 2^f, kt, is equivalent to that of a double mute ; for, as in icag- 

 gon, the first ^ represents the initial, and the second the final element, 

 so also in actor, baptist, k and p are pronounced by the closing, and t 

 by the opening of the articulating stations, as has been shown above in 

 the article on consonantal diphthongs. (The same division applies to 

 those words where the semi-vowels r and I furnish the vowel element 

 of the second syllables, as in sceptre, spectre, where the break occurs 

 between the two mutes, viz., scep-tre, spec-tre. In subtle, b is quies- 

 cent, and the vowel, in pronunciation, combines immediately with 

 t ; this word, therefore, is divided thus, subtde.) This is still more 

 the case when these combinations occur in compound words, where 



