Arrangement of the Consonantal Sounds. 365 



Tenues. Medials. 



K G 



P B 



T D. 



It could not, however, altogether escape notice, that the fol- 

 lowing sounds stood in precisely the same relation to each 

 other : — 



F V 



TH (in tliick) TH (in t/iis) 



CH (German) GH (Gaelic) 



S Z 



SH J (French). 



The complete list of spirants and sonants will then be as 

 follows : — 



In casting our eye over the foregoing table, we can liardly 

 fail to remark that the spirants of each organic class consist 

 of a pair of consonantal sounds, of which the latter is, in every 

 case except the first (in which the K is replaced by an equi- 

 valent C), represented by the same letter with the former, 

 with the addition of an H subjoined; and there is an obvious 

 tendency to the same mode of expression in the sonant 

 column. 



It is evident, then, that in the spirant column at least, a 

 constant relation has been felt between the sounds of the 

 former and latter rank of every organic class, a relation 

 which may pretty accurately be expressed by calling the 

 sounds of the latter rank a thick pronunciation of those of 

 the former rank, although it is not easy to describe the me- 

 chanical arrangement of the organs of speech upon which 

 such a modification depends. There can be no question that 

 the same relation holds good between the consonants of each 

 organic class in the sonant column. It is certain that V bears 

 precisely the same relation to B, or J (French) to Z, that F 

 bears to P, or SH to S. 



In the ordinary arrangement of the mutes under the heads 

 of Tenuesj Medials, and Aspirates, the character of sound 



