The simple consonant sounds in English are twenty-two:  they are marked by b, d, f, g hard, h, k, l, m, n, ng, p, r, s, sh, t, th sharp, th flat, v, w, y, z, and zh.  But zh is written only to show the sound of other letters; as of s in pleasure, or z in azure.

All these sounds are heard distinctly in the following words:  buy, die, fie, guy, high, kie, lie, my, nigh, eying, pie, rye, sigh, shy, tie, thigh, thy, vie, we, ye, zebra, seizure.  Again:  most of them may be repeated in the same word, if not in the same syllable; as in bibber, diddle, fifty, giggle, high-hung, cackle, lily, mimic, ninny, singing, pippin, mirror, hissest, flesh-brush, tittle, thinketh, thither, vivid, witwal, union,[97] dizzies, vision.

With us, the consonants J and X represent, not simple, but complex sounds:  hence they are never doubled.  J is equivalent to dzh; and X, either to ks or to gz.  The former ends no English word, and the latter begins none.  To the initial X of foreign words, we always give the simple sound of Z; as in Xerxes, xebec.

The consonants C and Q have no sounds peculiar to themselves.  Q has always the power of k.  C is hard, like k, before a, o, and u; and soft, like s, before e, i, and y:  thus the syllables, ca, ce, ci, co, cu, cy, are pronounced, ka, se, si, ko, ku, sy. S before c preserves the former sound, but coalesces with the latter; hence the syllables, sca, sce, sci, sco, scu, scy, are sounded, ska, se, si, sko, sku, sy. Ce and ci have sometimes the sound of sh; as in ocean, social. Ch commonly represents the compound sound of tsh; as in church.

G, as well as C, has different sounds before different vowels.  G is always hard, or guttural, before a, o, and u; and generally soft, like j, before e, i, or y:  thus the syllables, ga, ge, gi, go, gu, gy, are pronounced ga, je, ji, go, gu, jy.

The possible combinations and mutations of the twenty-six letters of our alphabet, are many millions of millions.  But those clusters which are unpronounceable, are useless.  Of such as may be easily uttered, there are more than enough for all the purposes of useful writing, or the recording of speech.

Thus it is, that from principles so few and simple as about six or seven and thirty plain elementary sounds, represented by characters still fewer, we derive such a variety of oral and written signs, as may suffice to explain or record all the sentiments and transactions of all men in all ages.

OBSERVATIONS.