HIS TORT of the SOCIETr. 13 



As the perfed vowels may be either prolonged with the ex- 

 pirated breath, or cut fliort by a change in the modifying or- 

 gan, we have the means of adding quantity to the fpecifying 

 founds of fpeech, whereby another diftindion is formed of our 

 vocal founds. 



We have alfo the power of compounding vocal founds for 

 the increafe of the radical alphabet of vowels, which is fo li- 

 mited. 



Diphthongs and confonant-vowels, or rather articulating 

 vowels, are formed in the following manner : The diphthong, 

 by founding both vowels equally in the time of one ; the cou- 

 fonant-vowel again, by an unequal divifion of this time, or by 

 Aiding quickly from the pofition of the two extreme vowels i 

 and It, to the vocal found which is to be thus articulated. 



Having thus fhown that there is in nature a perfedl alpha- 

 -bet as the principles of fpeech, at kaft that there is an alphabet 

 which is perfedly definable in fcience, it is propofed to adhere 

 flri<5lly to this alphabet as the principles of writing, with a. 

 view to perfed fpeech, in having diftindl founds ; and to per- 

 fedt writing, in having fteady principles for the commutation 

 of found and figure. 



To give fome idea of this ; there are juft two pradlicable 

 ways of writing fpeech with any manner of advantage. Thefe 

 are either by figuring fimple founds, which is the alphabetical 

 method, or by figuring compound founds, which is the verbal 

 method. 



The Englifh method, which fliould be alphabetical, is not 

 truly fo, feeing it has departed egregioufly from its principles, 

 in fo far adopting the other method ; this is that of typifying 

 words by means of figns, which are not expreflive of the found, 

 hut of the fenfe ; whereas it fliould employ only thofe figns 

 which have afiixed to them an unalterable expreflion, not of 

 the fenfe, but of the found. We write a word by a combina- 

 tion of letters, not properly expreffive of the fpeech which we 



pronounce, 



