20
DIFFERENT SOUNDS OF THE LETTER I.
i short, cx-
accciit on the .second syllable, as it stands in She*ridan’s Dictionary , but think it ought to have theaccent on the first.—Sec Medicinal.
139. The same diversity and uncertainty in thesound of this letter seem to reign in those finalunaccented syllables which are terminated withthe mute e. Perhaps the best way to give sometolerable idea of the analogy of the language inthis point will be, to show the general rule, andmark the exceptions ; though these are sometimesso numerous as to make us doubt of the rule it-self: therefore the best way will be to give a ca-talogue of both.
140. There is one rule of very great extent, inwords of this termination, which have the accenton the penultimate syllable, and that is, that thei in the final syllable of these words is short:thus servile, hostile, virile, respite, deposite, ada-mantine, amethystine, &c. are pronounced as ifwritten servil, host'll, respit, deposit, See, Theonly exceptions in this numerous class of wordsseem to be the following : Rrile, senile, edile, em-pire, umpire, vampire, finite, feline, j'trine, ar-chives; the substantives cbtfine and sitpine:while the adjectives saline and contrite havesometimes the accent on the first, and sometimeson tiie last syllable; but in either case the % islong. Quagmire and pismire have the i long also;likewise has the i long, but otherwise has it morefrequently, though very improperly, short. Myr-rhine, vulpine, and gentile, though marked withthe i long by Mr. Sheridan, ought, in my opinion,to conform to the general rule, and be pronouncedwith tlie i short. Vulpine , with the i long, isadopted by Mr. Scott; and \V. Johnston, Mr.Scott, and'Buchanan, agree with Mr. Sheridanin the last syllable of gentile; and this seemsagreeable to general usage, though not to analogy.See the word.
141. But when the accent is on the last syllablebut two in words of this termination, the lengthof the vowel is not so easily ascertained.
142. Those ending in ice have the i shecept sacrifice and cockatrice.
143. Those ending in ide have the i long, not-withstanding we sometimes hear suicide absurdlypronounced, as if written stticid.
144. Those ending in ife have the i long, excepthousewife, pronounced huzzwiff, according to thegeneral rule, notwithstanding the i in wife is al-ways long. Midwife is sometimes shortened inthe same manner by the vuluar : and se’nnightfor sevennight is gone irrecoverably into the sameanalogy; though fortnight for fonrteenthnight ismore frequently pronounced with the i long.
145. Those ending in tie have the » short, ex-cept reconcile, chamomile, esfipile. Juvenile,mercantile, ami puerile, have the i long in She-ridan's Dictionary , and short in Kenrick’s. Inmy opinion the latter is the much more prevalentmid polite pronunciation ; but infantile, thoughpronounceable both ways, seems inclinable tolengthen the i in the last syllable.—See Juvenile.
140. ( In the termination ime, pantomime has thei long, rhyming with time ; and maritime has thei short, as if written maritim.
14?. Words in i e, that have the accent higherthan the penultimate, have the quantity of * souncertain, that the only method to give an ideaof it will he to exhibit a caialogue of words whereit is pronounced differently.
148. But first it may not he improper to see thedifferent sounds given to this letter in some of thesame words by different orthoepisls :
Columbine. Sheridan, Nares, W. Johnston.
< 'olumbine. Kenrick, Terry.
•Saccharine . Sheridan, Nares.
Saturnine- Sheridan. Nares, Buchanan.
Saturnine. Kenrtck, Perry.
Metalline. Kent iek.
Metalline. Sheridan, W. Johnston, Perry.
Crystalline. Kenrick.
Crystalline■ Sheridan, Perry.
I 7 ferine. Sheridan, Buchanan, W. Johnston.
Uterine. Kenrick, Scott, Perry.
149. In these words I do not hesitate to pro-nounce that the general rule inclines evidentlyto the long i , which, in doubtful cases, ought al-ways to be followed ; and for which reason Ishall enumerate those words first where I judgethe i ought to be pronounced long : Cannabine ,
carabine, columbine, bizantine, gelatine, legatine,oxyrrhodine, concubine, muscadine, incarnadine,celandine, almandine, sec undine, amygdaline , crys-talline, vituline, calamine, asinine, saturnine,saccharine, adulterine, viperine, uterine, lumen-tine , armentine, serpentine, turpentine, vespertine,belluine, porcupine , countermine, leonine, sapphi-vine, and metalline.
159. The words of this termination, where thei is short, are the following : Jacobine, medicine,discipline, masculine, jessamine, feminine, heroine,nectarine, libertine, genuine, hyaline, palatine.To these, I think, ought to be added alkaline,aquiline, coralline, brigantine, eglantine: and tothis pronunciation of the i the pioper namesValentine and Constantine seem strongly to in-cline ; and oi) the stage Cymbeline has entirelyadopted it. Thus we see how little influence thePalin language has on the quantity of the i in tirefinal syllable of these words. It is a rule in thatlanguage that adjectives ending in His or inus,derived from animated beings or proper names,to the exception of very few, have this i pro-nounced long. It were to be wished this dis-tinction .could be adopted in English words fromthe Latin , as in that case we might be able intime to regularize this very irregular part of ourtongue ; but this alteration would be almost im-possible in adjectives ending in ivc, as relative,vocative, fugitive, See. have the i uniformly shortin English , and long in tiie Latin relutivus, voca-tions, fugitivus, &c.
151. Tiie only word ending in ire, with the ac-cent on the antepenultimate syllable, is acrospire,with the i long, the last syllable sounding likethe spire of a church.
15?. Words ending in ise hove the i short, whenthe accent is on the last syllable butene,ns fran-chise, except the compounds ending in wise, aslikewise, lengthwise, See. as marked by Mr. Scott,Mr. Perry, and Buchanan: but even among thesewords we sometimes hear otherwise pronouncedotherwiz, ns marked by Mr. Sheridan and W.Johnston ; but, I think, improperly.
153. When the aecent is <m the last syllablebut two in these words, they are invariably pro-nounced with the i long, as criticise, equalise.
151. In tiie termination He, when the accent ison it, the i is always long, as requite. When theaccent is on the last syllable but one, it is alwaysshort, as respite, 140, pronounced as if writtenrespit, except contrite; but when the accent ison the last syllable but two, the i is generallylong : the exceptions, however, are so many, thata catalogue of both will be the best rule.
155. The i is long in expedite, recondite, incon-dite, hermaphrodite, carmelite, theodolite, cosmo-polite, chrysolite, eremite, aconite, margarite mar-casite, parasite, appetite, bipartite, tripartitequadripartite , con vert it e, anchorite, pituite, satellile. As the word stands in Kenriek's Dietionary, sa-tUl-it, having the i short, and the ac-cent on the second syllable, it is doubly wrong.The i in the hist syllable is shortened also by W.Johnston and Perry, hut made long, as it oughtto be, by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Scott, and Mr. Nares.—See Recondite.
150. The i is?diort in cucurbite, ingenite, definite,indefinite, infinite, hypocrite , favourite, requisite,pre-nquisite, perquisite, exquisite, apposite, andopposite, lleteroclitc has the i long in Sheridan,but short m Kenrick. The former is, in my opi-nion, the best pronunciation (see the word in theDictionary ); but ite, in what may be called agentile termination, has the i always long, as inllivite, Samnite, cosmopolite, bedlamite, See.
157. The termination ire, when the accent is onit, is always long, as in hire, except in the twoverbs, give, live, ami their compounds, giving,living, &e. ; for the adjective live, as a live ani-mal, has the i long, and rhymes with strive ; sohave the adjective and adverb, lively and lirelily:the noun livelihood follows the same analogy;but the adjective live-long, as the live-long day,lias the i short, as in the verb. When the ac-cent is not on the i in this termination it is al-ways siiort, as sportive, plaintive, &c. rhymingwith give, 150, except the word be a gentile, asArglve.
158. All the other adjectives and substantivesof tliis termination, when the accent is not on it,have the t invariably short, as offensive, defensive,