NOMENCLATURE AND PRONUNCIATION. 179" 



"W has the same sound as in English, — that is, the sound of oo in 

 hoot. It has HO place between consonants, no value as a final letter. 



437. The Diphthdngs are but two, — £e and oe ; they have the sound 

 of e. AU other vowels coming together — ei, ie, oi, io, etc. — have their 

 separate values ; they are uttered rather rapidly, making a liquid 

 sound. 



438. The Consonants are as in English, with the following excep- 

 tions, which are rules : 



I. Ch always has the sound of k. Bichardia (from Kichard, name 

 of a French botanist) is pronounced Eikardia. Initial ch, when soft in 

 the radical word, as in China, is sometimes changed to s ; as Thea. 

 Sinensis. 



II. C and g are always hard (as in cat, got, gun) before a, u, u ; and 

 soft before e, i, j, y. The soft c has the sound of ch in cheese; the soft 

 g the sound of g in gem. Gn before vowels and diphthongs has the 

 sound of ng in king. 



III. Cc in the middle of a word before e, i, j, y, has the sound of eh 

 in achieve; 



IV. Gg similarly placed has the sound of dj in adjust. 

 v. H is always silent. J is always a vowel. 



VI. T in the middle of a word, before ia, ie, io, is sounded like ts. 

 It is equivalent to z in these cases and interchangeable with z. 



VII. Z, or zz, has the sound of ts or ds. It has the sound of ts 

 when preceded by e or o, and when followed by a word beginning 

 with z. 



VIII. Pinal lettei-s, whether vowels or consonants, are always 

 sounded ; with the exception of w and h. 



IX. Accent, or stress of voice, is 



1. In words of two syllables always on the first: Acer. 



2. With more than two syllables, on the penultimate (last but one) 

 when its vowel is long : Agave. 



3. On the antepenultimate (last but two) when the penultimate is 

 short: Triticum. 



4. An additional accent is given to every second syllable before the 

 primary accent : americana. 



The signs used here and in the Manual (^ ') indicate not only accent, 

 but also quantity (long or short vowel sound). 



