438. Sy and sey, at the end of words, have the s pronounced like z, if it has a vowel before it, with the accent on it, as easy, greasy, queasy, cheesy, daisy, misy, rosy, causy, noisy; but if the accent is on the antepenultimate syllable, the s is sharp, as heresy, poesy, etc. if a sharp mute precede, the s is sharp, as triksy, tipsy; if a liquid precede, and the accent is on the penultimate syllable, the s is flat, as palsy, flimsy, clumsy, pansy, tansy, phrensy, quinsy, tolsey, whimsey, malmsey, jersey, kersey. Pursey has the s sharp and hissing from its relation to purse, and minstrelsey and controversy have the antepenultimate and preantepenultimate accent: thus we see why busy, bousy, lousy, and drowsy, have the s like z, and jealousy, the sharp hissing s.
439. S, in the termination sible, when preceded by a vowel, is pronounced like z, as persuasible, risible, visible, divisible, infusible, conclusible; but if a liquid consonant precede the s, the s then becomes sharp and hissing, as sensible, responsible, tensible, reversible, etc.
440. S, in the terminations sary and sory, is sharp and hissing, as dispensary, adversary, suasory, persuasory, decisory, incisory, derisory, depulsory, compulsory, incensory, compensory, suspensory, sensory, responsory, cursory, discursory, lusory, elusory, delusory, illusory, collusory. Rosary and misery, which have the s like z, are the only exceptions.
441. S, in the termination ise, is pronouced like z, except in the adjectives before mentioned, and a few substantive, such as paradise, anise, rise, grise, verdigrise, mortise, travise.
442. S, in the termination sal and sel, when preceded by a vowel, is pronounced like z, as nasal, ousal, housal, nousal, reprisal, proposal, refusal, and sharp and hissing when preceded by a consonant, as mensal, universal, etc.
443. S, in the termination son, sen, and sin, is pronounced like z, as reason, season, treason, cargason, diapason, orison, benison, venison, denison, foison, poison, prison, damson, crimson, chosen, resin, rosin, raisin, cousin. But the s in mason, bason, garrison, caparison, comparison, parson, and person is sharp and hissing. (170)
444. S, after the inseparable prepositions pre and pro, is sharp, as in presage, preside, presidial, preseance, presension, prosecute, prosecution, prosody, prosopopeia, but flat like z in presence, president, presidency, presume, presumptive, presumption, but where the pre is prefixed to a word which is significant when alone, the s is always sharp, as pre-suppose, pre-surmise, etc.
445. S, after the inseparable preposition re, is almost always pronounced like z, as resemble, resent, resentment, reserve, reservation, reservoir, residue, resident, residentiary, reside, resign, resignment, resignation, resilience, resiliency, resilition, resin, resist, resistance, resolve, resolution, resolute, result, resume, resumption, resurrection.
446. S is sharp after re in resuscitation, resupination, etc. and when the word added to it is significant by itself, as research, resiege, reseat, resurvey. Thus to resign, with the s like z, signifies to yield up; but to re-sign, to sign again, has the s sharp, as in sign: so to resound, to reverberate, has the s like z; but to re-sound, to sound again, has the s sharp and hissing.
447. Thus we see, after pursuing this letter through all its combinations, how difficult it often is to decide by analogy, when we are to pronounce it sharp and hissing, and when flat like z. In many cases it is of no great importance: in others, it is the distinctive mark of a vulgar or a polite pronunciation. Thus design is never heard with the s like z, but among the lowest order of the people; and yet there is not the least reason from analogy why we should not pronounce it in this manner, as well as in resign: the same may be observed of preside and desist, which have the s sharp and hissing; and reside and resist, where the same letter is pronounced like z. It may, however, be remarked, that re has the s like z after it more regularly than any other of the prefixes.
448. It may, perhaps, be worthy of observation, that though s becomes sharp or flat, as it is followed by a sharp or flat consonant, or a liquid, as cosmetic, dismal, disband, disturb, etc. yet if it follows a liquid or a flat consonant, except in the same syllable, it is generally sharp. Thus the s in tubs, suds, etc. is like z; but in subserve, subside, subsist, it is sharp and hissing: and though it is flat in absolve, it is sharp in absolute and absolution; but if a sharp consonant precede, the s is always sharp and hissing, as tipsy, tricksy: thus in the pronunciation of the word Glasgow, as the s is always sharp and hissing, we find the g invariably slide into its sharp sound k; and this word is always heard as if written Glaskow. We see, therefore, that a preceding sharp consonant makes the succeeding s sharp, but not inversely.
449. S is always sharp and hissing when followed by c, except in the word discern.
S aspirated, or sounding like sh or zh.
450. S, like its fellow dental t, becomes aspirated, and goes either into the sharp sound sh, or the flat sound zh, when the accent is on the preceding vowel, and it is followed by a semi-consonant diphthong, as nauseate, or a diphthongal vowel, as pleasure, pronounced nausheate and plezhure. (195)
451. S, in the termination sion, preceded by a vowel, goes into the flat aspiration zh, as evasion, cohesion, decision, confusion, pronounced evazhion, etc. but when it is preceded by a liquid or another s, it has the sharp aspiration sh, as expulsion, dimension, reversion, pronounced expulshion, etc.
452. The same may be observed of s before u; when a vowel precedes the s, with the accent on it, the s goes into the flat aspiration, as pleasure, measure, treasure, rasure,
