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Chap. XIII.
Concerning Natural Grammar.
371

2. They may be ſubjoyned to each of the other; as in theſe Inſtances:

ɑɩ boy
Ay



ỿɩ our Engliſh (i) in bite
ɑȣ aw

hew


ỿȣ owr, owle.

3. They may be both prepoſed and ſubjoyned to themſelves and to one another.

ɩɩ yee
ȣȣ woo
ɩȣ you
ɩȣ wee

As for the other intermediate Vowels being prepoſed before one another, they will not afford any coaleſcing ſounds that are eaſily diſtinguiſhable. E being prepoſed before ɑ, a, o, ỿ, will ſcarce be diſtnguiſhed from ɩɑ, ɩa, ɩo, ɩỿ. A, before E, will be but as ā, before ɑ, o, u, it will not coaleſce into a plain ſound. The ſame likewiſe may be ſaid of the other Vowels, ɑ, o. So that of this kind the whole number is twenty four. And this I conceive to be a ſufficient enumeration of the natural Dipthongs.

I cannot deny but that other Dipthongs may be made by the mixture of the Vowel (ỿ) which were perhaps in uſe amongſt the Jews, and expreſt by (ע) But being now, as I think, generally diſuſed amongſt other Nations, and for that reaſon very difficult to be pronounced, I ſhall not therefore take any further notice of them.

When two Vowels are put together by way of Dipthoug, ſo as to coaleſce in one Syllable, ’tis neceſſary that there ſhould be ſome Note or Mark in their Characters, to ſignifie their conjunction, as is uſual in ſome of the Greek and Latin Dipthongs; as (Symbol missingGreek characters) — œ, æ, Otherwiſe there can be no certainty, whether the word be to be pronounced as a Monoſyllable, or Diſſyllable, as in D-u-el, Duel. Sw-et, Swet.

’Tis a common Aſſertion amongſt Grammarians, Priſcian, Quintilian, and others, That no one ſyllable can conſiſt of three Vowels, and conſequently that there can be no Tripthongs; which I conceive to be founded upon the former miſtake; namely, that ɩ and ȣ are to be uſed as Conſonants: For ’tis evident, that each of theſe may coaleſce with every one of the firſt Dipthongs, as ɩaȣ, yaw, ȣaɩ, way, ɩeȣ yew, ȣỿɩ, in wile, wight, qui, &c.

The compound Conſonants are uſually diſtinguiſhed into ſuch as are

Aſperated.
Double.
1. Thoſe are ſtiled aſpirated, which ſeem to be mixed with (H) and are uſually ſo written; as θ, φ, χ, שׁ. But in propriety of ſpeech, if aſpiration be defined to be an impetus of Breathing, then theſe Conſonants cannot ſo fitly be ſaid to be aſpirated, but rather incraſſated by

com-