Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue | Page 9

and (excep my memorie fael me) in these wordes: +kyriakê+ ut +basilikê+ suppresso substantivo +oikia+ domus domini est. Unde nostrum derivatur, quod Scoti et Angli boreales recte, pronu_n_ciant a kyrk, nos corrupte a church.
7. Yet, notwithstanding that it is barbarouse, seing it is more usual in our tongue then can be mended befoer the voual, as chance, and behind the voual, as such, let it be symbolized, as it is symbolized with ch, hou beit nether the c nor the h hath anie affinitie with that sound; 1, because it hath bene lang soe used; and 2, because we have no other mean to symbolize it, except it wer with a new symbol, q_uhi_lk it will be hard to bring in use.
8. Now, quheras ch in nature is c asperat, as it soundes in charus and chorus; and seing we have that sound also in use, as licht, micht; if I had bene at the first counsel, my vote wald have bene to have geven ch the awn sound. But as now the case standes, ne quid novandum sit, quod non sit necesse, I not onlie consent, but also com_m_end the wisdom of the south, quho, for distinction, wrytes light, might, with gh and referres ch to the other sound, how be it improperlie, and this distinction I com_m_end to our men, quho yet hes not satis attente observed it.
9. Next cumes g, howbe it not so deformed as c; for, althogh we see it evin in latin, and that, in one word (as is said cap. 5, sect. 2), distorted to tuo sonndes, yet both may stand with the nature of the symbol and differ not in the instrumentes of the mouth, but in the form of the tuich, as the judiciouse ear may mark in ago, agis; agam, ages.
10. This consonant, in latin, never followes the voual; befoer a, o, u, it keepes alwayes the awn sound, and befoer e and i breakes it.
11. But with us it may both begin and end the syllab; as, gang; it may, both behind and befoer, have either sound; as, get, gist, gin, giant.
12. These the south hath providentlie minted to distinguish tuo wayes, but hes in deed distinguished noe way, for the first sum hath used tuo gg; as, egg, legg, bigg, bagg; for the other dg; as, hedge, edge, bridge; but these ar not +kata pantos+. Gyles, nomen viri, can not be written dgiles; nor giles doli, ggiles; nether behind the voual ar they general; age, rage, suage, are never wrytten with dg. Quherfoer I conclud that, seeing nether the sound nor the symbol hath anie reason to be sundrie, without greater auctoritie, nor the reach of a privat wit, this falt is incorrigible.
13. Here I am not ignorant quhat a doe the learned make about the symboles of c, g, k and q, that they be al symboles, but of one sound; but I wil not medle in that question, being besyde my purpose, q_uhi_lk is not to correct the latin symboles, but to fynd the best use of them in our idiom.
14. T, the last of these misused souldioures, keepes alwayes it's aun nature, excep it be befoer tio; as, oration, declamation, narration; for we pronunce not tia and tiu as it is in latin. Onelie let it be heer observed that if an s preceed tio, the t keepes the awn nature, as in question, suggestion, _et_c.
15. Thus have I breeflie handled the letteres and their soundes, quhilk, to end this parte, I wald wish the printeres, in their a, b, c, to expresse thus:--a, ae, ai, au, ea, b, c, d, e, ee, ei, eu, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, oa, oo, ou, p, q, r, s, t, u, ui, v, w, x, y, z, and the masteres teaching their puples to sound the diphthonges, not be the vouales quharof they be made, but be the sound quhilk they mak in speaking; lykwayes I wald have them name w, not duble u nor v, singl u, as now they doe; but the last, vau or ve, and the first, wau or we; and j, for difference of the voual i, written with a long tail, I wald wish to to be called jod or je.

OF THE SYLLAB.
Cap. 6.
1. Now followes the syllab, quhilk is a ful sound symbolized with convenient letteres, and consistes of ane or moe.
2. A syllab of ane letter is symbolized with a voual onelie; as, a in able, e in ever, i in idle, o in over, u in unitie, for a consonant can make no syllab alane.
3. A syllab of moe letteres is made of vouales onelie, or els of vouales and consonantes. Of onlie vouales the syllab is called a diphthong, of quhilk we