bā, i.e., followed by a consonant, or accompanied by an accent." For further remarks on this subject, see the chapter on accent.
[§ 210]. Before i, e, and y of the English alphabet, and before ü and ö German, the letters c and g have the tendency to assume the sound and power of s or z, of sh or zh, of ch or j;
in other words, of becoming either s or some sound allied to s. Compared with a, o, and u (as in gat, got, gun), which are full, i, e, y, are small vowels.
It not every vowel that is susceptible of every modification. I (ee) and u (oo) are incapable of becoming broad. E in bed (as I have convinced myself), although both broad and slender, is incapable of becoming independent. For the u in but, and for the ö of certain foreign languages, I have no satisfactory systematic position.
[§ 211]. Vowel System.
| Broad. | Slender. | |
| Independent. | Independent. | Dependent. |
| a, in father | a, in fate | a, in fat. |
| e fermé, long | e fermé, short. | |
| e, in meine, Germ. | e, in bed. | |
| ee, in feet | i, in pit. | |
| ü, of the German, long | the same, short. | |
| oo, in book | ou, in could. | |
| o chiuso | the same, short. | |
| aw, in bawl | o, in note | o, in note. |
From these, the semivowels w and y make a transition to the consonants v and the so-called aspirate of g (γ, not being in English), respectively.
[§ 212]. System of Consonants.
| Liquids. | Mutes. | Semivowels. | |||
| Lene. | Aspirate. | ||||
| Sharp. | Flat. | Sharp. | Flat. | ||
| m | p | b | f | v | w |
| n | t | d | þ | ð | |
| l | k | g | κ | γ | y |
| r | s | z | σ | ζ | |
[§ 213]. Concerning the vowel system I venture no assertion. The consonantal system I conceive to have been exhibited above in its whole fulness. The number of mutes, specifically distinct, I consider to be sixteen and no more: the number of liquids, four. What then are the powers of the numerous letters in alphabets like those of Arabia and Armenia? What