Division of Words | Page 5

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 ô as in ôrb
[=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 û as in ûrn
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.
G has two sounds, hard before a, o, and u, as in gate, gone, and gun,
soft before e, i, and y, as in gem, gin, and gyve, although it is sometimes
hard before i as in girl.
Ch is sometimes soft as in chair and arch, and sometimes hard as in
choir.
Th has two sounds, soft, or surd, as in thin and death, and hard, or
sonant, as in then and smooth.
S has two sounds, soft, or surd, as in soft and this, and hard, or sonant,
as in has and wise.
We have, therefore, twenty-six letters with which to express fifty or
more sounds, not counting the digraphs and diphthongs.
Correct pronunciation depends upon three things, correct sounding of
the letters, correct division into syllables, and correct placing of the
accent.
A syllable is the smallest separately articulated, or pronounced, element
in speech, or one of the parts into which speech is broken. It consists of
a vowel alone or accompanied by one or more consonants and
separated by them, or by a pause, from a preceding or following vowel.
This division of words into syllables is indicated in dictionaries by the
use of the hyphen thus: _sub-trac-tion_, _co-or-din-ate_. It will be
observed that in the first of these examples the vowels are all separated
by consonants, while in the second two of them are separated by a
pause only.
The English language has the further peculiarity of using l and n as

vowels in syllabication, as in middle (_mid-dl_) and _reck-on_
(_reck-n_).
The division of words into syllables for pronunciation is generally, but
not always, the same as that which should be followed in case the word
has to be divided typographically. As these text-books are intended to
help the apprentice as a speaker and writer of English as well as a
printer, it is worth while to give some attention to syllabication for
pronunciation before proceeding to discuss typographical division.[The
illustrations from this point to the end of this section on page 16 are not
typographic divisions. They concern pronunciation only.]
Two letters forming a diphthong or digraph are not to be separated.
_Coin-age_ (oi diphthong) but _co-in-ci-dence_ (oi not a diphthong).
Excess (ss digraph, pronounced practically like a single s) gives
_ex-cess-es_, _ex-cess-ive_, etc. Whether or not the letters thus
occurring together form a diphthong or digraph will depend on the
derivation of the word, thus in _cat-head_ (verb), a nautical term, th is
not a digraph but in _ca-the-dral_ th is a digraph, as is usually the case
with these two letters. You would not say _cat-hed-ral_.
Two vowels, or a vowel and a diphthong, coming together but sounded
separately belong to separate syllables.
_A-or-ta_, _co-op-er-ate_, but _coop-er-age_, _moi-e-ty_.
Do not end a syllable with
(_a_) c or g when soft, _en-ti-cing_, but _dic-tion_, _wa-ges_ but
_wag-on_.
(_b_) t, s, z, c, sc, g, and d, when followed by i or e giving the sound of
_sh_; _ra-tion-al_, _o-cean_, _re-gion_, _as-cen-sion_.
(_c_) d, s, t, and z when followed by u giving the sound of ch, sh, zh, or
j, _cen-sure_, _sei-zure_, _na-ture_, _ver-dure_.
Do not begin a syllable with

(_a_) x with the sound of ks or gs, _anx-ious_, _ex-act-ly_.
(_b_) r preceded by a or _e_; _par-ent_, _av-er-age_, but by exception,
_pa-rent-al_.
(_c_) Single l, n, or v, followed by i with the sound of y consonant;
_fol-io_ (_fol-yo_), _gen-ius_ (_gen-yus_), _sav-ior_ (_sav-yor_).
Prefixes and suffixes are generally separated, _yel-low-ish_, _eat-able_,
_pre-lude_. This last word is sometimes pronounced _prel-ude_ and
this pronunciation has some dictionary support, but it is objectionable.
A consonant or digraph between two sounded vowels usually joins the
following vowel, _rea-son_, _no-ti-fy_, _mo-ther_.
When two or three consonants capable of beginning a syllable come
between two sounded vowels they may all be joined to the following
vowel.
(_a_) When the preceding vowel