Gc A DM U Ss 203 
As all future improvement in orthography, depends 
upon a perfe& knowledge of the found of every letter, it 
is neceflary to obtain them with great precifion, and to fix 
them in the memory ; for on remembering, and being capa- 
ble of repeating with propriety, thefe thirty founds, depends 
the whole art of reading ; which confifts in reading /e¢ters, 
not words, for we only fpeak letters, and* never more 
than one at a time; but when they are rapidly conneéted, 
the general found of a word varies as much from another, 
though it poffeffes feveral of the fame letters, as one word 
varies in appearance from another in fhort hand. If then 
we fix a certain character to each found, there will be no 
more difficulty in writing with a corre& orthography than 
in {peaking with one, as we {peak letters, which form 
words, that make fentences; and I muft repeat that thus 
ought we, in reading fentences, to read words, by reading 
letters ; and thus will the tongue and pen exprefs every 
idea with perfe&t uniformity. 
Some letters are formed by the glottis being more or 
lefs dilated — while the mouth ferves as the chamber of 
found, or body of the wind inftrument ; and is expanded 
or contracted, by its own action or that of the tongue, pro- 
ducing fharper or graver tones, by a wider or narrower 
external aperture through either the teeth or lips; others 
are produced by permitting thefound to efcape only by the 
nofe, the paflage through the mouth being ftopt by the 
middle of the tongue, the tip of it or the lips; and fome 
are made by {fo forcible a vocal found, as to produce tremor 
either inthe throat or mouth. Afpirates are formed in the 
fame manner as their vocals, with refpe& to pofition of the 
organs, but are produced only by the breath, whence the 
derivation of their name: fome afpirates depend upon fo 
violent an effort of the breath that a hiffing noife is pro- 
duced. From 
* See Digraphs and diphthongs-+-feq : 
+ See the theory of language, by my worthy and very ingenious friend Doétor Beattie. 
