A number of topics sometimes treated under the head of spelling will be
found discussed in the "Printer's Manual of Style" (No. 41).
PRONUNCIATION
The English language is a difficult one to pronounce as well as to spell.
This arises from two causes. The English language has some sounds not
generally found in other languages, such as _w_ and _th_. As has already
been pointed out, the alphabet fits the language very badly. Careful
lexicographers indicate no less than seven sounds of _a_, five of _e_,
three of _i_, four of _o_ and six of _u_, as shown in the following table:
[=a] as in [=a]le
[Ia] as in sen[Ia]te
[)a] as in [)a]m
a as in ask
[a:] as in [a:]ll
ae as in faether
(a) as in fin(a)l
[=e] as in [=e]ve
[)e] as in [)e]nd
[Ie] as in ev[Ie]nt
[~e] as in f[~e]rn
(e) as in prud(e)nce
[=i] as in [=i]ce
[Ii] as in [Ii]dea
[)i] as in p[)i]n
[=o] as in [=o]ld
[Io] as in [Io]pen
[)o] as in [)o]dd
o as in orb
[=u] as in [=u]se
[Iu] as in [Iu]nite
[)u] as in [)u]p
[u:] as in r[u:]de
[u=] as in f[u=]ll
u as in urn
In addition to these there are diphthongs, combinations of vowel sounds
pronounced as one syllable, such as
_ou_ as in _out_
_oi_ as in _oil_
There are also a number of digraphs or combinations of vowels or consonants
which have but one sound, such as
_ai_ as in _rain_
_eo_ as in _people_
_ou_ as in _soup_
_ou_ as in _soul_
_ph_ as in _phalanx_
_ch_ as in _chorus_ or _chair_
_C_ has two sounds, hard before _a_, _o_, and _u_, as in _cat_, _cot_, and
_cut_, and soft before _e_, _i_, and _y_, as in _cell_, _city_, and
_cycle_.
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