foe-tus, and short e in foet-id and assafoet-ida: in doe, foe, sloe, toe, throe, boe, (to dig) and bilboes, it is sounded exactly like long open o: in canoe and shoe, like oo, as if written canoo and shoo; and in the verb does, like short u, as if written duz.
OEI.
297. There is but one word where this triphthong occurs, and that is in Shakespeare's King Lear, in the word oeiliads, (glances) and, in my opinion, it ought to be sounded as if written e-il-yads.
OEU.
298. This diphthong is from the French, in the word manoeuvre; a word, within these few years, of very general use in our language. It is not in Johnson, and the oeu is generally pronounced, by those who can pronounce French, in the French manner; but this is such a sound of the u as does not exist in English, and therefore it cannot be described. The nearest sound is oo; with which, if this word is pronounced by and English speaker, as if written manoovre, it may, except with very nice French ears, escape criticism.
OI.
299. The general and almost universal sound of this, diphthong, is that of a in water, and the first e in me-tre. This double sound is very distinguishable in boil, toil, spoil, joint, point, anoint, etc. which sound ought to be carefully preserved, as there is a very prevalent practice among the vulgar of dropping the o, and pronouncing these words as if written bile, tile, spile, etc.
300. The only instance which admits of a doubt in the sound of this diphthong, when under the accent, is in the word choir; but this word is now so much more frequently written quire, that uniformity strongly inclines us to pronounce the oi in choir, like long i, and which, by the common orthography, seems fixed beyond recovery. But it may be observed, that either the spelling or the pronunciation of Chorister, commonly pronounced Quirister, ought to be altered. See the words.
301. When this diphthong is not under the accent, it is variously pronounced. Dr. Kenrick places the accent on the first syllable of turcois, and, for I know not what reason, pronounces it as if written turkiz; and turkois, with the oi broad, as in boys. Mr. Sheridan places the accent on the second syllable, and gives the diphthong the French sound as if the word was written turkaze. In my opinion the best orthography is turquoise, and the best pronunciation with the accent on the last syllable, and the oi sounded like long e, as if written turkees; as we pronounce tortoise, with the accent on the first syllable, and the oi like short i, as if written tortiz.
302. In avoirdupoise, the first diphthong is pronounced like short e, as if written averdupoise.
303. In connoisseur, the same sound of e is substituted, as if written connesseur.
304. In shamois, or chamois, a species of leather, the oi is pronounced like long e, as if written shammee.
305. Adroit and devoir, two scarcely naturalized French words, have the oi regular, though the latter word, in polite pronunciation, retains its French sound, as if written devwor.
OO.
306. The sound of this diphthong is regular, except in a few words: it is pronounced long in moon, soon, fool, rood, food, mood, etc. This is its regular sound.
307. It has a shorter sound corresponding to the u in bull, in the words wool, wood, good, hood, foot, stood, understood, withstood; and these are the only words where this diphthong has this middle sound.
308. It has the sound of short u, in the two words blood and flood, rhyming with mud.
309. Soot is vulgarly pronounced so as to rhyme with but, hut, etc. but ought to have its long, regular sound, rhyming with boot, as we always hear it in the compound sooty. See the word.
310. Door and floor are universally pronounced by the English as if written dore and flore; but in Ireland they preserve the regular sound of oo. See the word Door.
311. Moor, a black man, is regular in polite pronunciation, and like more in vulgar. Moor, a marsh, is sometimes heard rhyming with store; but more correct speakers pronounce it regularly, rhyming with poor.
OU.
312. This is the most irregular assemblage of vowels in our language: its most common sound is that heard in bound, found, ground, etc. and this may be called its proper sound; but its deviations are so many and so various, that the best idea of it will be conveyed by giving the simples of all its different sounds.
313. The first or proper sound of this diphthong is composed of the a in ball, and the oo, in woo, or rather the u in bull, and is equivalent to the ow in down, frown, etc. This sound is heard in abound, about, account, acoustics, aground, aloud, amount, around, arouse, astound, avouch, bough, bounce, bound, bounty, bounteous, bout, carouse, chouse, cloud, clough, clout, clouterly, compound, couch, couchant, crouch, grouse, deflour, devour, devout, doubt, doubtful, drought, doughty, douse, encounter, espouse, expound, flout, foul, flounder, found, foundling, fountain, frousy, glout, gout, (a disease) ground, grout, hound, hour, house, impound, loud, lounge, louse, lout, mound, mountain, mountebank, mouse, mouth, noun, ounce, our, oust, out, outer,
