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GRammer is an ART which Teacheth how to Speak and Write truly.
The Parts thereof are Four, Letters, Syllables, Words, and Sentences.
A Letter is a Character, or Index, of a simple sound. And in the English Tongue there are Twenty four.
The which Letters are distinguished from one another, partly by their shapes and partly by their sounds.
In reference to their shapes, they are di∣stinguished by three different Characters, the Roman, Italick, and black English.
And in each of these Characters there is the great and the small Letter.
In the Roman Character, the Great Letter is thus formed,
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.
The small thus,
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.
The great and small Italick Letters are made thus,
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z,
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.
The great and small black English thus,
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, Z.
a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, r, s, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z.
The great Letters are used in the begin∣ning of proper Names, Emphatical words, Sentences, and Verses. The Letter I when it stands alone, is always written with a great Character.
These Twenty and four Letters are divi∣ded into Vowels and Consonants.
A Vowel is a letter which maketh a full and perfect sound of it self, and they are five, a, e, i, o, u, besides the Greek Vowel y.
A Consonant is a letter which maketh a sound by help of a Vowel, and these are Eighteen, besides the letters j, v, and y, which sometimes are Consonants also.
Of the eighteen Consonants, some are mutes, as these eight, b, c, d, g, k, p, q, and t. Some semi-Vowels, as these eight, f, l, m, n, r, s, x, and z, of which these four, l, m, n, r, are also called Liquids, x, and z, double Consonants, and the other two, h, and w, irregular Letters.
Some of these Letters, as well Vowels as Consonants, have sounds very different from their common names. Thus the let∣ter c, before e, and i, is sounded like f, but before a, o, u, it is sounded like k, as in cat, cot, cut.
The Letter f, is sometimes sounded ac∣cording to its usual name, as when it fol∣lows a Vowel, as in if, of, effeminate, but when it begins a Word or Syllable, it is sounded fee, as in feet, foolish.
The Letter g, before a, o, and u, is soun∣ded hard, thus, ghee, as in gad, God, gut, but before e and i it is sometimes, but not always, sounded according to its usual name gee, as in danger, ginger.
The Letter h, is never sounded according to its name ach, but thus, hee, as in hand, help, him.
The letters j and v, when they come be∣fore themselves, or any other Vowel in the same Syllable, become Consonants, and have different sounds from their usual names, j is pronounced like g soft, thus ji is pronounced like gi, in ginger, v is pronounced vee, or vu, as in vanish, vine; and when they are thus sounded, their shape is also changed, and hence some would have them to be distinct letters, and would have the number of our letters to be not 24 but 26.
The Liquids l, m, n, and r, when they be∣gin a Word or Syllable, are sounded thus, lee, mee, ree, as in light, mind, need, read.
The letter q, hath always u after it, to help its sound, but is not to be sounded accor∣ding to its name eu, but que, as in question.
The letter s, when it begins a word or Syllable is to be sounded thus; see, as in sad, secret, but in the end of a word, or between two Vowels or Dipthongs, it hath for the most part the sound of z, as in easie, bosom.
The letter t before i, if another Vowel fol∣loweth, hath the sound of si, as in Egyptian, patience; but when it followeth s or x, it hath its own proper sound, as in bestial, mixtion.
The letter w, hath its name from its shape, being composed of twice u, it is called dou∣ble u; but is in no case so sounded, but we, as in wall, well, will.
The letter x, when it begins a word or Syllable, is sounded thus, xee, as in Xerxes; in other cases thus, ex, or ecs.
The letter y hath by no means its sound according to its usual name wi, but when it begins a word or Syllable, and so becomes a Consonant, it is sounded yee; when it comes in the middle or end of a word, it is sounded like i Vowel, as in my, thy.
The letter z is to be sounded zee, as in Zeal.
A Syllable is a literal or articulate Voice of one individual sound.
Syllables are of two sorts, improper and proper.
An improper Syllyble is made of one or more Vowels without a Consonant; as a-ny, e-vil, Ae-neas, Oe-dipus.
A Proper Syllable is the comprehension of one or more Consonants, with one or more Vowels, in one sound or breath; as Ge-ne-ra-ti-on, Moun-tain, and in our English Tongue doth sometimes consist of eight let∣ters, as strength.
When two Vowels are joyned together in one sound or breath, they are called Dip∣thongs; of which there are two sorts, Proper and Improper.
Of proper Dipthongs, there are these eight, ai, ei, oi, au, eu, ou, ee, and oo.
The first six are sometimes written thus, ay, ey, oy, aw, ew, ow.
Of improper Dipthongs there are but these three, ea, oa, and ie.
The two Vowels which make a Dipthong, are for the most part to be sounded together, as in Faith, neither, Eunuch, but in these words, Laity, Mosaick work, Deity, Atheist, moity, doing, reenter, reiterate, and such like; and in most Proper Names in the Bible they are to be sounded severally.
The Improper Dipthongs ea, and o••, are sounded together, except in these words, beatitude, Creator, creation, real, theatre, and most proper names of Women, Cities, and Countries; but the two Vowels in this Dip∣thong ei, are usually parted, except in these two words, friend, grief, and when they come in the end of a word, as in mer∣cie, charitie, and such like.
An English syllable, though it may consist of eight letters, yet doth it never begin with more than two Vowels before a Con∣sonant, of three Consonants before a Vowel or Dipthong.
The two Consonants which may begin an English word or syllable, are these thirty, Bl, br, ch, cl, cr, dr, dw, fl, fr, gl, gn, gr, kn, pl, pr, sc, sh, sk, sp, sl, sm, sn, sq, sw, th, tr, tw, wh, and wr.
And the three Consonants that may begin an English word, are these nine, Sch, scr, shr, skr, spl, spr, str, thr, thw.
In the sounding of the Consonants, which
are joyned together in the beginning of a word, there is no difficulty, but in these few, ch, gh, and th.
The letters ch, when they come before a Vowel in a pure English word, they are to be sounded as in chance, cheap; and when they come after a Vowel, they are to be sounded, as in ach, reach, rich. But in words derived from the Greek and Hebrew, they are to be sounded like k, as in character, these few only excepted, Rachel, Cherubin, Tychicus, Arch-Bishop, Arch-Duke, Architect, Arch-enemy, Arch-pirat.
The letters gh, in the beginning of a word, are to be sounded like g hard, as in ghost, ghess, in the midd1e of a word, they are ei∣ther not sounded at all, or but softly, as in might, light, and in the end of a word they have the sound of ff, as cough, tough.
These letters th, in words of one syllable, and in words of more than one, ending in ther, thed, theth, thest, thing, they have the sound of d, in other words the sound of t, or the Greek Theta.
The letters ph, never begin a pure English word, but such only as are derived from the Greek and Hebrew, as Pharisee, Pharez, Epi∣taph, and in these they are sounded like f.
The Liquids, l, m, n, r, when another Consonant doth precede them in the begin∣ning or middle of a word, do retain their own sound, but in the end of a word, though
the Vowel e, ought to be written, yet in the pronounciation, you must stop at the two Consonants, and omit the Vowel; for Ex∣ample, fable, acre, uncle, must be pronoun∣ced as though they were written thus, fabl, acr, uncl.