HIS TORT of the SOCIETY, 13 



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

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

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

 founds of fpeech, whereby another diftinction 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 con- 

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

 Aiding quickly from the pofition of the two extreme vowels i 

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



Having thus Ihown that there is in nature a perfect alpha- 

 bet as the principles of fpeech, at leaf! that there is an alphabet 

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

 ftrictly to this alphabet as the principles of writing, with a 

 view to perfect fpeech, in having diftinct founds ; and to per- 

 fect writing, in having fteady principles for the commutation 

 of found and figure. 



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

 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 'En glim method, which fhould 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, 

 but of the fenfe ; whereas it mould employ only thofe figns 

 which have affixed 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, 



