HisroRr of the societk 7 



Orthography being thus a mofl fcientific art, it is of much 

 importance, for the educating of a people in this art, to con- 

 form the pradlce ftridlly to the rules of fcience, and to have 

 the rules of that fcience comprifed in the knowledge of the 

 alphabet. The alphabet is therefore now made the fubjedl of 

 a fcientifical difcuffion. 



An alphabet being nothing but the figured elements of 

 fpeech, and fpeech confifting of articulated founds, we are to 

 examine thofe diftindl founds which man has it in iiis power to 

 form for the purpofe of his fpeech, and alfo all the pradlicable 

 articulations proper for modifying his vocal founds. 



The vocal power of' man is, from experience, found to be 

 divided into feven diftin<fl notes, and this power is reprefented 

 by a line divided into fix equal parts, which forms feven equal 

 diftindlions of his perfedl founds. 



The letter i is here affixed to the moft acute or higheft of 

 thofe notes of vocal found, and ?/ is the written fign affixed to 

 the loweft, or the note which is naturally moft grave. In a 

 middle place between thofe two extremes, in this vocal capacity 

 of man, is placed, the found, which is confidered as correfpond- 

 ing to the letter a. 



Thus, we have the radical alphabet, of the perfedl vocal 

 found in the letters i, a, u. All the other founds are then ne- 

 ceflarily comprehended between that middle vowel and the two 

 extremes. This determined fpace of vocal found is then fub- 

 divided, the upper half, or higheft fpace, into the vowels e and 

 5j, the lower, again, into thofe of o and v. 



Thus we complete the feven perfedl notes of human voice 

 or vocal founds ; and thefe are all defined or diftinguifhed, in 

 defcribing the gradual change or regular modification of the 

 organ, which is neceffiiry in founding each. 



But befides the feven perfedl vowels which compofe what 

 may be termed the radical alphabet of human fpeech, there are 

 two femitones, placed fomewhere between the middle note, 



and 



