Rules of Pronunciation
Rule I.—The letter u should not be sounded as ōō, except when immediately preceded by the sound of r.
Exceptions: sure and its derivatives, also sumac, tulle, hurrah, pugh.
Pronounce rule, fruit, garrulous, ruin, sure, tūne, mūle, institūte, constitūtion, sūture, dūty, lūcid.
Rule II.—A constituting or ending an unaccented syllable is short Italian a.
Examples: cȧnine´, lȧpel´, ȧgain´, ȧlas´, fȧtal´ity, al´kȧli, or´nȧment, pal´ȧtȧble.
When the a of terminal ary or any is immediately preceded by an accented syllable, it has the sound of short Italian a; thus, pri´mȧry, epiph´ȧny.
Rule III.—E or o constituting or ending a syllable is long.
Examples: ēvent, mēmentō, lōcōmōtion, sōciety, nōtōriety, sōbriety, supērior, infērior, thēōries, cōteriē, lōcō-fōcō.
Rule IV.—I constituting or ending an unaccented syllable not initial, is always short, and is usually short even in initial syllables, if unaccented.
Examples: Dĭvide, dĭrect, fĭnance, phĭlosophy, imĭtate, pĭazza, tĭrade, intĭmate, indĭvisĭble, nobilĭty.
In the initial syllables i, bi, chi, cli, cri, pri, tri, however, i is generally long.
Examples: īdea, īdle, īsothermal, bīology, Chīnese, chīrurgery, clīmatic, crīterion, prīmeval, trīangular, trīpod.
Rule V.—E before terminal n should always be silent in participles, and also in most other words.
Examples: given (giv n), taken (tak n), bitten (bit n), broken, spoken, riven, fallen.
But in the following words e must be sounded:
Aspĕn, chickĕn, glutĕn, kitchĕn, lichĕn, lindĕn, martĕn, mittĕn, suddĕn.
It must also be sounded in any word (not a participle) in which terminal en is immediately preceded by l, m, n, or r.
Examples: womĕn, lĭnen, omĕn, barrĕn, Helĕn, Allĕn, Ellĕn, woolĕn, pollĕn.
Rule VI.—E before terminal l should usually be sounded.
Examples: levĕl, bevĕl, novĕl, nickĕl, cancĕl, vessĕl, chapĕl, gravĕl, hovĕl, camĕl, channĕl, kernĕl, Abĕl, Mabĕl, panĕl, modĕl, funnĕl, flannĕl.
But in the following words the e before terminal l must not be sounded:
Betel (bē´tl), chattel (chat´tl), drivel, easel, grovel, hazel, mantel, mussel, navel, ravel, shekel, shovel, shrivel, snivel, swivel, teasel, weasel, and their derivatives.
Rule VII.—In all but the following words, i before terminal l or n must be sounded: devil, evil, weevil, basin, cousin, raisin.
Pronounce Latĭn, satĭn, matĭn, spavĭn, anvĭl, civĭl, cavĭl, councĭl, perĭl, javelĭn, lentĭl, pistĭl, resĭn, fusĭl, coffĭn, codicĭl, axĭl.
Rule VIII.—The eight words, bath, cloth, lath, moth, mouth, oath, path, wreath, and these only, require sonant ths in the plural.
Pronounce moths, paths, truths, oaths, heaths, cloths, baths, laths, deaths, wreaths, mouths, Sabbaths, sheaths, piths, plinths, lengths, widths, depths, breadths, earths, myths, Goths, fourths, breaths.
Rule IX.—O in a final unaccented syllable ending in a consonant, frequently verges toward the sound of short u; as in custom, felon, bigot, bishop, method, carol, Briton. But it has its regular short sound in pentagon, hexagon, octagon, etc.
When, however, the termination on is immediately preceded by c, ck, s or t, the o is commonly suppressed.
Examples: bacon, beacon, beckon, benison, button, cotton, crimson, damson, deacon, garrison, glutton, lesson, mason, mutton, parson, person, poison, prison, reason, reckon, season.
Rule X.—I accented in most words from the French has the sound of long e.
Examples: pĭque, caprĭce, guillotĭne, quarantĭne, routĭne, suĭte, fatĭgue, valĭse, antĭque, Bastĭle, critĭque, palanquĭn, tambourĭne, regĭme (rā-zheem´), cuĭsĭne (kwe-zeen´), unĭque, intrĭgue, magazĭne.
Rule XI.—Ou in most words from the French has the value of ōō, but in Anglo-Saxon words it has the sound of ow, as in cow.
Examples: bouquet, contour, croup; out, bound, sound.
Note.—Ou has also other values, as in soul, rough, adjourn, could, ought, hough (hŏk), trough.
Rule XII.—X followed by an accented vowel, or by an accented syllable beginning with a silent h, has the sound of gz.
Examples: luxu´rious, exam´ple, exhaust´, exhale´, exhib´it, exam´ine, exalt´, exec´utive.
Rule XIII.—The termination tion is always shun, except when it follows the letter s or x, as in question (kwestyun), bastion, combustion.
Examples: notation, completion, equation, relation, suggestion, transition (tranzish´un).
Rule XIV.—The termination sion immediately preceded by an accented vowel is zhun; when not so preceded it is shun.
Examples: expulsion, immersion, mansion, excursion, diversion, explosion, adhesion, delusion.
Rule XV.—C is soft (s) before e, i and y, and hard (k) in other positions.
Examples: ca, ce, ci, co, cu, cy.
Exceptions: c is hard (k) in sceptic and scirrhus; and in the following words it has the sound of z: sacrifice (fīz), sice, suffice, discern, and their derivatives. It is silent in czar, victuals, indict, and their derivatives, and also in the termination scle, as in muscle, corpuscle.
Rule XVI.—G is generally soft (j) before e, i and y, and always hard (g) before other vowels.
Examples: ga, ge, gi, go, gu, gy.
Note.—The exceptions to the rule that g is usually soft before e, i and y are many; but they are nearly all common Anglo-Saxon words, such as get, give, gild, girl, girdle, giddy, foggy, gimlet, geese, gig, giggle, gift, gills, begin, gimp, beget, gird, gear, gizzard.
Rule XVII.—In an accented syllable of any primitive word, a vowel before r followed by a syllable beginning with a vowel or another r has its short sound.
Examples: Ărab, ărabesque, ărid, Ăristotle, Săracen, bĕryl, pĕril, delĭrious, ĭrritate, mĭracle, delĭrium, abhŏrrence, flŏrid, cŏroner, fŏreign, tŭrret, bŭrrow, cŭrry, coŭrage, fŭrrow, py̆rrhic, empy̆real.
Rule XVIII.—N ending an accented syllable has the sound of ng, if immediately followed by hard g or k, or any equivalent of k (c, q, or x).
Examples: co̱ṉ´gress, ga̱ṉ´grene, co̱ṉ´cord, tra̱ṉ´quil, u̱ṉ´cle, a̱ṉ´ger, hu̱ṉ´ger, mo̱ṉ´key, sa̱ṉ´guine, si̱ṉ´gle, cla̱ṉ´gor, exti̱ṉ´guish, bla̱ṉ´ket, twi̱ṉ´kle, co̱ṉ´course, Li̱ṉ´coln.
Exceptions: concrete, penguin, mangrove, Mongol, pancreas, and some others.
Rule XIX.—C, s, or t, when immediately preceded by an accented syllable and followed by e, i or u, has usually the force of sh, and is said to be “aspirated,” as in ocean, nauseate, Asiatic, negotiation.
Rule XX.—In pronouncing the terminal syllables, ble, cle, dle, fle, gle, kle, ple, stle, tle, and zle, no vowel sound is heard. Terminal cre, however, is pronounced kẽr. The combination of any of these terminations with ing forms but one syllable.
Examples: quibbling, doubling, circling, meddling, huddling, ruffling, shuffling, giggling, struggling, pickling, trickling, coupling, rippling, battling, whittling, whistling, jostling, puzzling, muzzling, massacring.