Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1862 edition. Excerpt: ... class of words ending in /, ft, ss, st, and sh, in which o is marked with the short sound in most pronouncing dictionaries, though some orthoepists give it the sound of the broad a, as in fall. Mr. Nares gives the sound of broad a to o in the following words: off, often, offer, coffee, scoff, aloft, loft, soft, cross, loss, toss, cost, frost, lost, tost, broth, cloth, froth, cough, and trough. To these others might with equal propriety, be added, as offspring, dross, gloss, moss, moth, wroth. Mr. Smart remarks, 'that before ss, st, and th, the letter o is frequently sounded aw; as in moss, gloss, &c., lost, cost, &c., broth, cloth, &c. This practice is analogous to the broad utterance which the letter a in fast is liable to receive before certain consonants; and the same remarks will apply in the present case, as to the one referred to, namely, that though the broad sound is vulgar ?, there is an affectation in a palpable effort to avoid it in words where its use seems at one time to have been general. In such cases, a medium between the extremes is the practice of the best speakers.' The sound of o is also somewhat prolonged in gone and begone, and in some words ending in ng; as long, prong, song, strong, thong, throng, wrong." From these remarks it may be seen 1, that the existence of the long sound of o in off, &c, is admitted by the orthoepists; 2, that they regard it as identical with the sound of a in all, but think it different from o in not, just as they think a in fast different from a in fat. I hold that these two sounds, viz., o in not, and in off, are the same in quality, but differ in quantity; and in order to convince the reader of this fact, I propose to him our old expedient, viz., to pronounce not half-way, and then to...
