s. 



* 



§90 s Mr, Pickering on the Pronunciation 



A. 



The pronuaciation of the letter a is undisputed. All scholars 



agree, that it was sounded by the ancient Greeks as it is by their 

 descendants, and by all the nations of Europe at this day, except 



^ 



the English ; that is, like what v/e call the Italian a, in our 

 word father, &c. which soiind, hy itself, we should express in 

 English by ah. It will not be uninteresting to see how minutely 

 it is described by Bionysius of Halicarnassus : 'Avtuv h\ rajp 



l/,ccK^M¥ iv<pmorarov to a, otccv Ixritvijrar xiyirm yap kvoiyouuivov 



I 



TOV ov 



u^uvov : Of the long £vovvels1 



a is the most sonorous, when 

 it is prolonged (or a stress is laid upon it ;) for it is uttered with 

 the mouth wide open, the breath being at the same time impel- 

 led upwards towards the roof of the mouth.* 



B. 



The ancient pronunciation of the letter Beta has been the 

 subject of much controversy. The Modern Greeks pronounce it 

 like our V, and call its name (Br^ru, veetah ; the followers of Eras- 

 mus on the other hand assert, that it should be pronounced like 

 the Roman B, which, they at the same time contend, was anciently 

 sounded in Latin, just as it is in Italian and other modern lan- 

 guages ; but the correctness of this latter opinion, we shall find, 

 there are many strong reasons for doubting. 



The first, and principal argument of Erasmus (who indeed did 

 not support his opiuions on this subject with such an array of au- 

 thorities as some of his followers) is founded upon a well known 



+ 



• Dionjs. Hal. de Structura Orattoais, sect. 14. edit. Upton, p. 94. 



