I9I5.] LYMAN— A PRACTICAL RATIONAL ALPHABET. 367 



written with a single letter. Both these vowels are labially modified, 

 and might be so marked, in the way already indicated, but it is 

 unnecessary so to mark them, because there is no vowel in English 

 with which they could be confounded. In the third degree of open- 

 ness, the unaccented vowels in fulfill, and zvillful, occur; but 

 (written with a single letter) are sufficiently distinguished by the 

 absence of accent. The fourth degree of openness does not occur in 

 good English. 



In group V, the first and second degrees of openness, occur in 

 the German oe, and the French eu (nearly, though not quite, the 

 same) ; but not in English. The second degree of openness without 

 labial modification occurs in English only before r as in mercy, 

 virtue, girl, myrtle, earl, pearl, earth; and may be written with a 

 single letter (oe). In the third degree of openness, likewise short, 

 and to be written with a single letter, occurs the so-called natural 

 vowel, accented, and without r, as in up, but. In the fourth degree 

 (written with a double vowel), long, occurs before r the vowel 

 sound of hurr, occur. 



In group VI, the long sound, with a double letter (provisionally, 

 the single letter repeated, ae se), is heard as the a in parent, ei in 

 their, ai in fair. It is the German ae in Maedchen, and the French 

 e in apres, scene, pere. The second degree of openness, with a 

 single letter, is heard in care, there, prayer, heir, pair; in each case 

 followed by the sound r. Without that sound of r, the third degree 

 of openness gives us, Avith the same letter, the a in at, cat, man, sad, 

 hap. The absence of the r makes it unnecessary for them to dis- 

 tinguish the two slightly different vowels. 



In group VII, the first degree of openness with a double letter, 

 or, provisionally, the single letter repeated, ee, gives us the e in 

 they, grey, and the like sounds in fate, name, great, vein, hail, pay ; 

 the German m,ehr, jeder, ledig. See. The second degree of open- 

 ness, with a single letter, gives us the a of unaccented syllables, as in 

 nitrate, climate. The third degree of openness, with the same 

 single letter, occurs in accented syllables, as in get, egg, red, mend. 

 The fourth degree does not occur in English. 



In group VIII, the first and fourth degree of openness do not 

 occur in English. The first one, to be written with a double letter, 



PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC., LIV, 220 Y, PRINTED FEBRUARY 25, I916. 



