Herein the consonant of series B comes next to the letter of the vowel series; that of series K follows; and in the last place, comes the letter of series T. After this the order changes; daleth being followed by he of the vowel series.
| 5. He | of the vowel series. |
| 6. Vaw | of series P. |
| 7. Zayn | —— |
| 8. Kheth | of series K. |
| 9. Teth | of series T. |
In this second sequence the relative positions of v, kh, and t', are the same in respect to each other, and the same in respect to the vowel series. The sequence itself is broken by the letter zayn but it is remarkable that the principle of the sequence is the same. Series P follows the vowel and series T is farthest from it. After this the system becomes but fragmentary. Still, even now, pe, of series P, follows ayn; tau, of series T, is farthest from it, and kof, of series K, is intermediate.
If this be the case, and, if the letters, so to say, circulate, the alterations made in their order during the transfer of their alphabet from Greece to Rome, have had the unsatisfactory effect of concealing an interesting arrangement, and of converting a real, though somewhat complex regularity, into apparent hazard and disorder.
QUESTIONS.
1. Explain the terms sharp, explosive, true aspirate, apparent aspirate, broad, dependent.
2. Exhibit the difference between the quantity of syllables and the quantity of vowels.
3. Accentuate the following words,—attribute (adjective), survey (verb), August (the month).
4. Under what conditions is the sound of consonants doubled?
5. Exhibit, in a tabular form, the relations of the a) mutes, b) the vowels, underlining those which do not occur in English.
6. What is the power of ph in Philip? what in haphazard? Illustrate the difference fully.
7. Investigate the changes by which the words picture, nature, derived from the Latin pictura and natura, are sounded pictshur and natshur.
8. How do you sound the combination apd? Why?
9. In what points is the English alphabet insufficient, redundant, and inconsistent?
10. Why is z (zæta), which is the sixth letter in the Greek, the last in the English alphabet?