THE COMPOUND CONSONANT CH (TSH).

This is a compound consonant consisting of the whispered sounds t and sh. This combination of sounds is common in English, Italian and Spanish, but is altogether absent from the French, and is not frequent in the German. It is always represented by the digraph ch, but after a short vowel the letter t is generally prefixed, as in match, clutch, except a consonant intervene, and then by ch only, as bench, filch.

A few common words are exceptions to the -tch rule, as such, much, rich, which, &c.

THE COMPOUND CONSONANT J (DZH).

This is the vocal power of the preceding ch, and is composed of the sounds d and z in azure. At the beginning of words it is represented by j before a, o and u, and by g (soft) before e, i and y, as jam, jot, jump,-gem, gist, gyrate. When this sound immediately succeeds a short accented vowel it is represented by dg, the d being for the purpose of showing

that the vowel is short, as edge, dodge, judge; but if a consonant intervene, by g only, as cringe, bulge. After long vowels or diphthongs ge only is written, as rāge, hūge.

When final in two or more syllable words, -ge and not -dge is used, whether the short vowel be accented or not, as savage,

courage.

In adding the syllable -ment to words ending in -dge, the silent e is now cancelled, as judgment, lodgment, abridgment,

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SHORT VOWEL SOUND I (PITY).

This sound is not exactly the short power of ee in meet, but may be considered so practically for teaching reading and spelling. It is almost always represented by the letter i in any part of a word but the end, when y is used as a finishing letter, as iniquity, sillily, privity. The letter i is sometimes silent, as in evil, basin, devil, raisin. The letter y is used in the interior of a word instead of i in a small number of words

derived from the Greek, as syntax, of which a list is given below; but the rule is so nearly absolute about y being a finishing letter only, that the pupil, when in doubt, should always write i in the interior of a word.

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SHORT VOWEL E (PET).

This is the short sound of a in mate, and being almost invariably written with the letter e, it occasions but little difficulty in spelling. A few words are irregular, as dead, deaf, lead (metal), breath, &c., in which ea is pronounced as ĕ. Sometimes the letter has to be written when silent, as in revel, weasel, navel, and it has always to be written in that large class of words ending in -ple, -ble, -tle, -dle, -cle, and -gle. The letter e is extensively used at the end of words to lengthen the previous vowel, as gave, mēre, hīve, bōne, tūne, lyre.

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SHORT VOWEL A (PAT).

This sound is not exactly the short vowel of a in märk, but may be considered so practically for teaching reading and spelling. It is always written with the letter a, and consequently occasions little difficulty in spelling. A as a single letter is never silent.

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SHORT VOWEL O (POT).

The writing of the preceding short vowel sounds, Ĭ, è and (Rules 27, 28 and 29), is, as we have shown, attended with little difficulty; but the remaining short vowel sounds, ŏ and ò, ü and u, in the words not, òmit, büll and but, are subjected to greater irregularity, and are not so amenable to rules.

The sound of o in not is the short power of the au in

Paul, and is almost always, when accented, written o, as in upon', non'sense, pon'tiff; the few exceptions occur when the sound ŏ is preceded by the consonant sound w, and the letter a is then used instead of o, as in wan'ton, wal'low, want, wash, wart, &c.

The letter o has sometimes to be written when silent, as in reason, prison, and also in unaccented syllables to represent the sound of u in but, as labor, interior, acrimony, territory. The phonic principle of writing words as they are pronounced is not sufficient in these cases, and observation and memory must come to its assistance.

THE REPRESENTATION OF THE SHORT O (OMIT).

This sound is the short power of the vowel ō in bōne. It is a less frequent sound than any of the other short vowels, and differs from them in this, that it never occurs in accented syllables. In the beginning or interior of a word it is always written o, but at the end of words it is written by o and by ow in about equal numbers, and as a final sound the memory must assist the phonic principle.

With careless speakers this sound is often uttered indistinctly, or like the sound of u in but.