The same analogy is obvious in satiate and satiety; and is perfectly agreeable to that difference made by accent in the sound of other letters. (71) See Satiety.
461. As the diphthongs ia, ie, io, or iu, when coming after the accent, have the power of drawing the t into sh, so the diphthongal vowel u, in the same situation, has a similar power. If we analyse the u, we shall find it commence with the squeezed sound of e, equivalent to the consonant y. (39) This letter produces the small hiss before taken notice of, (459) and which may be observed in the pronunciation of nature, and borders so closely on natshur, that it is no wonder Mr. Sheridan adopted this latter mode of spelling the word to express its sound. The only fault of Mr. Sheridan in depicting the sound of this word, seems to be that of making the u short, as in bur, cur, etc. as every correct ear must perceive an elegance in lengthening the sound of the u, and a vulgarity in shortening it. The true pronunciation seems to lie between both.
462. But Mr. Sheridan's greatest fault seems to lie in not attending to the nature and influence of the accent: and because nature, creature, feature, fortune, misfortune, etc. have the t pronounced like ch, or tsh, as if written crea-chure, fea-tshure, etc. he has extended this change of t into tch, or tsh, to the word tune, and its compounds, tutor, tutoress, tutorage, tutelage, tutelar, tutelary, etc. tumult, tumour, etc. which he spells tshoon, tshoon-eble, etc. tshoo-tur, tshoo-triss, tshoo-tur-idzh, tshoo-tel-idzh, tshoo-tel-er, tshoo-tel-er-y, etc. tshoo-mult, tshoo-mur, etc. Though it is evident, from the foregoing observations, that as the u is under the accent, the preceding t is preserved pure, and that the words ought to be pronounced as if written tewtor, tewmult, tewmour, etc. and neither tshootur, tshoomult, tshoomour, as Mr. Sheridan writes them, nor tootor, toomult, toomour, as they are often pronounced by vulgar speakers. See Superable.
463. Here, then, the line is drawn by analogy. Whenever t comes before these vowels, and the accent immediately follows it, the t preserves its simple sound, as in Miltiades, elephantiasis, satiety, etc. but when the accent precedes the t, it then goes into sh, tch, or tsh, as natshure or natchure, na-shion, vir-tshue or virtchue, patient, etc. or nashion, pashent, etc. (464) In similar circumstances, the same may be observed of d, as arduous, hideous, etc. (293) (294) (376) Nor is this tendency of t before long u found only when the accent immediately precedes; for we hear the same aspiration of this letter in spiritual, spirituous, signature, ligature, forfeiture, as if written spiritshual, spiritshuous, signatshure, ligatshure, forfeitshure, etc. where the accent is two syllables before these letters; and the only termination which seems to refuse this tendency of the t to aspiration, is that in tude, as latitude, longitude, multitude, etc.
464. This pronunciation of t extends to every word where the diphthong or diphthongal sound commences with i or e, except in the terminations of verbs and adjectives, which preserve the simple in the augment, without suffering the t to go into the hissing sound, as I pity, thou pitiest, he pities, or pitied; mightier, worthier, twentieth, thirtieth, etc. This is agreeable to the general rule, which forbids the adjectives or verbal terminations to alter the sound of the primitive verb or noun. See No. 381. But in the words bestial, celestial, frontier, admixtion, etc. where the s, x, or n precedes the t, this letter is pronounced like tch or tsh, instead of sh, (291) as bes-tchial, celes-tchiat, fron-tcheer, admix-tchion, etc. as also when the t is followed by eou, whatever letter precede, as righteous, piteous, plenteous, etc. pronounced righ-tcheous, pit-cheous, plen-tcheous, etc. The same may be observed of t when succeeded by, uou, as unctuous, presumptuous, etc. pronounced ung-tchuous, presump-tchuous, etc. See the words.
TH.
465. This lisping sound, as it may be called, is almost peculiar to the English. (41} (50) (469) The Greek Θ was certainly not the sound we give it: like its principal letter, it has a sharp and a flat sound; but these are so little subject to rule, that a catalogue will, perhaps, be the best guide.
466. Th, at the beginning of words, is sharp, as in thank, think, etc. except in the following words: This, that, than, the, thee, their, them, then, thence, there, these, they, thine, thither, those, thou, though, thus, thy, and their compounds.
467. Th, at the end of words, is sharp, as death, breath, etc. except in beneath, booth, with; and the verbs to wreath, to loath, to uncloath, to seeth, to smooth, to sooth, to mouth: all which ought to be written with the e final; not only to distinguish some of them from the nouns, but to show that th is soft; for though th, when final, is sometimes pronounced soft, as in to loath, to mouth, etc. yet the at the end of words is never pronounced hard. There is as obvious an analogy for this sound of the th in these verbs, as for the z sound of s in verbs ending in se; (437) and why we should write some verbs with e, and others without it, is inconceivable. The best way to shew the absurdity of our orthography in this particular, will be to draw out the nouns and verbs as they stand in Johnson's Dictionary.
| Adjectives and Nouns. | Verbs. |
| breath, | to breathe. |
| wreath, | to wreath, to inwreathe. |
| loath, | to loathe. |
| cloth, | to cloathe, to uncloath. |
| bath, | to bathe. |
| smooth, | to smooth. |
| mouth, | to mouth. |
