It also plays an important part in determining the nature of the English metres—See Prosody.
Thirdly (the subject of the present section), it plays an important part in all systems of orthography.
The quotation from Professor Lee's Hebrew Grammar, in p. [149], is referred to; and a particular attention to a somewhat difficult subject is requisite.
The u in the word monument is what a classic would call short.
The second syllable in the word monument is what a classical scholar would call short. The vowel is short, and the syllable taken altogether is short. Herein it agrees with the first syllable mon-. It differs, however, from the syllable mon- in being destitute of an accent, mónument. With the third syllable -ment, it agrees in the eyes of an Englishman, but differs in the eyes of a scholar. The vowels u and e are equally short, and, as the Englishman measures by the vowel
the syllables -u and -ment are both short. Not so, however, with the scholar. He measures by the syllable and determines that the e, although naturally a short vowel, is made long by position. However, in being each destitute of an accent the syllables -u and -ment agree. Be it remarked a second time that the accent in mónument lies on the first syllable.
Now the -u in mónument although short, is not dependent.
If, however, the syllable -nu take an accent; that is, if the place of the accent be removed from the first to the second syllable, the vowel u still being kept short, we have a word which we spell thus, monumment. Now the u in monumment is not only short, but dependent. It is upon this effect of an accent that the quotation from Lee's Hebrew Grammar, p. [149], especially bears.
And now two questions arise:—1. How is it that the accent has the effect of rendering such a syllable as the u in monumment dependent? 2. Why do we in spelling such a syllable double the consonant?
An accent falling upon a syllable must, of necessity, do one of two things: it must affect the vowel, or it must affect the consonant. If it affect the vowel, the vowel becomes the predominant part of the syllable, as in mónooment; but, if it affect the consonant, the consonant becomes the predominant part of the syllable, as monum´ment.