second sound, rhyming with froward; and Grosvenor, as if written Gravenor. Snowdon is frequently pronounced with the first sound of ow; but the second sound seems preferable; as it is not improbable that these mountains had their name, like the Alps, from the snow on their tops.
327. When this diphthong is in a final unaccented syllable, it has always the second sound, like long o, in borrow, sorrow, fellow, willow, etc. The vulgar shorten this sound, and pronounce the o obscurely, and sometimes as if followed by r, as winder and feller, for window and fellow; but this is almost too despicable for notice. Good speakers preserve the diphthong in this situation, and give it the full sound of open o, rhyming with no, so, etc. though it should seem in Ben Jonson's time, the o in this situation was almost suppressed. See his Grammar, page 149.
328. This diphthong, in the word knowledge, has of late years undergone a considerable revolution. Some speakers, who had the regularity of their language at heart, were grieved to see the compound depart so far from the sound of the simple, and with heroic fortitude have opposed the multitude by pronouncing the first syllable of this word as it is heard in the verb to know. The Pulpit and the Bar have for some years given a sanction to this pronunciation; but the Senate and the Stage hold out inflexibly against it; and the Nation at large seem insensible of the improvement. They still continue to pronounce, as in the old ludicrous rhymes
"Among the mighty men of knowledge,
That are professors at Gresham College."
But if ever this word should have the good fortune to be restored to its rights, it would be but charity to endeavour the restoration of a great number of words in a similar situation, such as breakfast, vineyard, bewilder, meadow, hearken, pleasure, whitster, shepherd, windward, and a long catalogue of fellow sufferers. (515) But, before we endeavour this restoration, we should consider, that contracting the sound of the simple, when it acquires an additional syllable, is an idiom of pronunciation to which our language is extremely prone; nor is it certain that crossing this tendency would produce any real advantage; at least, not sufficient to counterbalance the diversity of pronunciation which must for a long time prevail, and which must necessarily call off our attention from things to words. See Enclitical Termination. (No. 514)
OY.
329. This diphthong is but another form for oi, and is pronounced exactly like it. When alloy is written with this diphthong, it ought never to be pronounced allay. Custom seems to have appropriated the former word to the noun, and the latter to the verb; for the sake of consistency, it were to be wished it were always written allay; but it is not to be expected that poets will give up so good a rhyme to joy, cloy, and destroy.
330. The only word in which this diphthong is not under the accent, is the proper name Savoy; for savoy, a plant, has the accent on the second syllable; but the diphthong in both is pronounced in the same manner.
UA.
331. When the a in this diphthong is pronounced, the u has the power of w, which unites both into one syllable: thus antiquate, antiquary, assuage, persuade, equal, language, etc. are pronounced antikwate, antikwary, asswage, etc.
332. The u in this diphthong is silent, in guard, guardian, guarantee, and piquant; pronounced gard, gardian, garantee, and pickant. (92)
333. In Mantua, the town of Italy, both vowels are heard distinctly. The same may be observed of the habit so called: but in mantuamaker, vulgarity has sunk the a, and made it mantumaker. The same vulgarity at first, but now sanctioned by universal custom, has sunk both letters in victuals, and its compounds victualling and victualler, pronounced vittles, vittling, and vittler. See Mantua.
UE.
334. This diphthong, like ua, when it forms only one syllable, and both letters are pronounced, has the a sounded like w; as consuetude, desuetude, and mansuetude, which are pronounced conswetude, deswetude, and manswetude. Thus conquest is pronounced according to the general rule, as if written conkwest; but the verb to conquer has unaccountably deviated into conker, particularly upon the stage. This error, however, seems not to be so rooted in the general ear as to be above correction; and analogy undoubtedly demands conkwer.
335. This diphthong, when in a final syllable, sinks the e, as clue, cue, due, blue, glue, hue, flue, rue, sue, true, mue, accrue, ensue, endue, imbue, imbrue, pursue, subdue, perdue, argue, residue, avenue, revenue, continue, retinue, construe, statue, tissue, issue, virtue, value, ague; in all these words, whether the accent be on the diphthong ue or not, it is pronounced like long open u, except in words where the r comes before u; in this case it is sounded like oo. When the accent is not on this diphthong as in the latter portion of these words from argue, it is apt to be feebly and indistinctly pronounced, and therefore care ought to be taken to sound it as if these words were written argew, residew, etc. In Tuesday, ue, the diphthong, is pronounced in the same manner.
336. In some words the u is silent, and the e pronounced short, as in guess, guest, guerkin, guerdon, where the u acts as a servile to preserve the g hard.
337. In some words both the vowels are sunk, as in antique, oblique, league, feague, teague, colleague, plague, vague, intrigue, fatigue, harangue, tongue, disembogue, collogue, rogue, prorogue, brogue, fugue; in all which the ue
