are words of but two syllables which some proof-readers make indivisible in the ordinary measure.
| crooked | given | moisten | soften |
| browned | heaven | often | striven |
| eleven | horses | prayer | voices |
| fasten | listen | proved | verses |
It should be noted that the alleged indivisibility of these words is controlled by pronunciation, for although of two distinct syllables, they are pronounced as words of one syllable, the last e being nearly silent. For this reason it is unusual, and in many printing-houses improper, in a measure of eighteen ems wide to divide a noun of one syllable in the plural when this plural is made by the addition of the final s. In very narrow measures this rule cannot be maintained. Divisions of two letters are always to be deplored, and those of one letter only are rated as very unworkmanlike in a measure of eighteen ems or more; but in pocket editions of the Bible and other classics, divisions like A-men, o-ver, a-ble, a-vow, have to be allowed, for they are unavoidable. The preference of the writer is for the divisions that indicate pronunciation, but the author who insists on dividing a word by another system has the right of choice.[1]
9
- ↑ The best and easiest rule for dividing the syllables in spelling is to divide them as they are naturally divided in a right pronunciation, without regard to the derivation of words, or to the possible combination of consonants at the beginning of a syllable. Lowth, Grammar, p. 5, as quoted by Goold Brown, p. 181.
