229. The preterimperfect tense of eat is sometimes written ate, particularly by Lord Bolinbroke, and frequently, and, perhaps, more correctly, pronounced et, especially in Ireland; but eaten always preserves the ea long.
230. Ea in fearful is long when it signifies timorous, and short when it signifies terrible, as if written ferful. See the word.
231. To read, is long in the present tense, and short in the past and participle, which are sometimes written red.
232. Teat, a dug, is marked by Dr. Kenrick, Mr. Elphinston, and Mr. Nares, with short e like tit; but more properly by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, W. Johnston, Mr. Perry, and Mr. Smith, with the long e, rhyming with meat.
233. Beat, the preterimperfect tense, and the participle of to beat, is frequently pronounced in Ireland like bet (a wager) and if utility were the only object of language, this would certainly be the preferable pronunciation, as nothing tends more to obscurity than words which have no different forms for their present and past times; but fashion in this, as in many other cases, triumphs over use and propriety; and bet, for the past time and participle of beat, must be religiously avoided.
234. Ea is pronounced like the short e in the following words: Abreast, ahead, already, bedstead, behead, bespread, besstead, bread, breadth, breakfast, breast, breath, cleanse, cleanly, (adjective) cleanlily, dead, deadly, deaf, deafen, dearth, death, earl, earldom, early, earn, earnest, earth, earthen, earthly, endeavour, feather, head, heady, health, heard, hearse, heaven, heavy, jealous, impearl, instead, lead, leaden, leant, (the past time and participle of to lean) learn, learning, leather, leaven, meadow, meant, measure, pearl, peasant, pheasant, pleasant, pleasantry, pleasure, read, (past time and participle) readily, readiness, ready, realm, rehearsal, rehearse, research, seamstress, scarce, search, spread, stead, steadfast, steady, stealth, stealthy, sweat, sweaty, thread, threaden, threat, threaten, treachery, tread, treadle, treasure, uncleanly, wealth, wealthy, weapon, weather, yearn, zealot, zealous, zealously.
235. I have given the last three words, compounded of zeal, as instances of the short sound of the diphthong, because it is certainly the more usual sound; but some attempts have lately been made in the House of Commons, to pronounce them long, as in the noun. It is a commendable zeal to endeavour to reform the language as well as the constitution; but whether, if these words were altered, it would be a real reformation, may admit of some dispute. See Enclitical Termination, No. 515, and the word Zealot.
236. Heard, the past time and participle of hear, is sometimes corruptly pronounced with the diphthong long, so as to rhyme with rear'd; but this is supposing the verb to be regular; which, from the spelling, is evidently not the case.
237. It is, perhaps, worth observation, than when this diphthong comes before r, it is apt to slide into the short u, which is undoubtedly very near the true sound, but not exactly: thus pronouncing earl, earth, dearth, as if written url, urth, durth, is a slight deviation from the true sound, which is exactly that of i before r, followed by another consonant, in virtue, virgin; and that is the true sound of short e in vermin, vernal, etc. (108)
238. Leant, the past time and participle of to lean, is grown vulgar: the regular form leaned is preferable.
239. The past time and participle of the verb to leap, seems to prefer the irregular form; therefore, though we almost always hear to leap, rhyming with reap, we generally hear leaped written and pronounced leapt, rhyming with wept.
240. Ea is pronounced like long slender a in bare, in the following words: Bear, bearer, break, forbear, forswear, great, pear, steak, swear, to tear, wear.
241. The word great is sometimes pronounced as if written greet, generally by people of education, and almost universally in Ireland; but this is contrary to the fixed and settled practice in England. That this is an affected pronunciation, will be perceived in a moment by pronouncing this word in the phrase, Alexander the Great; for those who pronounce the word greet, in other cases will generally in this rhyme it with fate. It is true the ee is the regular sound of this diphthong; but this slender sound of e has, in all probability, given way to that of a, as deeper and more expressive of the epithet great.
242. The same observations are applicable to the word break; which is much more expressive of the action when pronounced brake than breek, as it is sometimes affectedly pronounced.
243. Ea is pronounced like the long Italian a in father, in the following words: Heart, hearty, hearten, hearth, hearken.
244. Ea, unaccented, has an obscure sound, approaching to short u in vengeance, serjeant, pageant, and pageantry.
EAU.
245. This is a French rather than an English triphthong, being found only in words derived from that language. Its sound is that of long open o, as beau, bureau, flambeau, portmanteau. In beauty, and its compounds, it has the first sound of u, as if written bewty.
EE.
246. This diphthong, in all words except those that end in r, has a squeezed sound of long open e formed by a closer application of the tongue to the roof of the mouth, than in that vowel singly, which is distinguishable to a nice ear, in the different sounds of the verbs to flee and to meet, and the nouns flea and meat. This has always been my opinion: but, upon consulting some good speakers on the occasion, and in particular Mr. Garrick, who could find no difference in the sounds of these words, I am less confident in giving it to the Public. At any rate the difference is but very
