A Minniature ov Inglish 
Orthoggraphy 
 
Project Gutenberg's A Minniature ov Inglish Orthoggraphy, by James 
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Title: A Minniature ov Inglish Orthoggraphy 
Author: James Elphinston 
Release Date: May 25, 2005 [EBook #15901] 
Language: English 
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INGLISH 
ORTHOGGRAPHY *** 
 
Produced by David Starner, Keith Edkins and the Online Distributed 
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A MINNIATURE OV INGLISH ORTHOGGRAPHY. 
* * * * * 
TO' DHEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES, DHE PRINCE AND PRINCES 
_OV WALES_; DHE DUKE AND DUTCHES _OV YORK_: 
ONNORED AZ UNDOUTED PATRONS AND PATTERNS OV 
EVVERY PROPRIETY: DHIS MINNIATURE 
Ov Inglish Orthoggraphy, 
_UMBLY HOPES UNIVERSAL ACCEPTANCE;_ FROM DHE
BENIGN PERMISSION OV BEING SO INSCRIBED, BY DHEIR 
ROYAL HIGHNESSES DEVOTED SERVANT, James Elphinston. 
* * * * * 
A MINNIATURE OV 
Inglish Orthoggraphy: 
DEDDICATED TO' DHE PRINCE AND PRINCES OF WALES, DHE 
DUKE AND DUTCHES OV YORK: 
* * * * * 
BY JAMES ELPHINSTON. 
* * * * * 
_LONDON_: 
SOLD (Price 1 Shilling and 6 Pence) BY W. RITCHARDSON, 
ROYAL EXCHAINGE; T. BOOSEY, N. 4, BRAUD-STREET, 
DHARE; F. AND C. RIVVINGTON, N. 62; ST. PAULS 
CHURCHYARD; J. DEIGHTON, N. 325, HOLBORN; W. CLARK, N. 
38, BOND-STREET. 
* * * * * 
1795. 
* * * * * 
CONTENTS. 
1. Introduccion 2. _Orthoggraphy ascertained in dhe vowels, and dheir 
serviles_ 3. _Vocal substitucion, licenced and licencious_ 4. Ov open 
and shut vowels 5. Ov dhe aspirates and dheir insertives 6. Ov 
redundant serviles 7. Ov impracticabel articulacion 8. Ov false 
aspiracion 9. _Dhe guttural aspirate lost, or transmuted by moddern 
organs_ 10. _Old R aspirate_ 11. Oddher antiquated idellers 12. _Final 
fantoms, or dubblers ov final forms_ 13. _Oddher falsifiers, medial or 
final; licquids or sibbilants; particcularly TI for a sibbilacion_ 14. Dhe 
orthoggraphy ov propper names 15. Dhe fundamental principel ov 
orthoggraphy 16. The orthographic riddle * * * * * 
A MINNIATURE OV _INGLISH ORTHOGGRAPHY._ 
1. INTRODUCTION. 
Hwen evvery oddher language, and at last our own, haz been reduced 
to' science; rendered accountabel to' natives, and accessibel to' 
straingers; hwence iz it, dhat our practice, growing daily more a 
contrast dhan an exemplificacion ov our theory, tempts ignorance to' 
speak, az blind habbit spels; raddher dhan to' dream ov spelling, az
propriety exhibbits her unremitted harmony, hweddher in word or 
writing? For propriety, hwarevver herd, can be seen onely in her picture: 
nor can dhis be duly drawn, but from dhe oridginal; or dhe likenes long 
prezerved, in dhe coppies ov vulgarrity. 
Scarce creddibel doz it seem, to' dhe anallogists ov oddher diccions, 
dhat hiddherto', in Inglish exhibiscion, evvery vowel and evvery 
consonant ar almoast az often falsifiers az immages ov dhe truith. 
Hetteroggraphy indeed, or false litterary picture, can arize onely from 
won, or a combinacion, ov foar cauzes: redundance, defiscience; 
mischoice, or misarraingement. 
* * * * * 
2. ORTHOGGRAPHY ASCERTAINED IN DHE VOWELS, AND 
DHEIR SERVILES. 
It iz not now new, dhat evvery Inglish vowel haz, not onely a longuer 
and shorter, but even a different sound, az open or shut by a consonant; 
dho A braud, open and shut, differ but in quantity. Nor iz it yet a secret, 
dhat certain mutes, or silent letters, (espescially vocal quiescents,) ar 
named _serviles_; rendering essencial az vizzibel service, boath to' 
vowels and consonants. Hware such gards ar wanted, dhey doutles wil 
attend; and, hwen dhey proov superfluous, az reddily widhdraw. Dhus 
dhe open vowel ov dhe simpel shuts, and dhe serviles vannish, in dhe 
penultimate ov dhe compound: shake, _Shakspear_; chear, _cherfool_; 
vine, vinyard, and dhe like. So formatives: stare and stair, _starling_; 
steer, _sterling_; shere, _sherrif_; child, _children_; kind, _kindred_; 
know, _knollege_; and dhe rest. 
Evvery open ear must allow dhe aspiracion (_h_) to' articculate 
iniscially dhe braud vocal licquid (_w_); nor longuer imadgine dhat wh, 
apparent, can becom hw real; or dhat what, whale, wheels, can 
rascionally paint dhe power ov hwat, hwale, hweels. Dhe braud licquid 
(_w_) haz no place in hoal, total; or in hore, prostitute; distinct alike, 
to' dhe eye, from hole and hoar. But wh, iniscial, may wel prommise 
_hw_; if le and re, boath final, may picture el and _er_: az we admire, 
not onely on dhe little theatre, but in dhe centre ov dhe battle! Dho a 
tutch ov Rezons wand wil restore dhe buty ov truith; at wonce to' dhe 
littel theater, and to' dhe center ov dhe _battel_; az such buty beamed 
in dhe former century. 
Dhe French table, chambre, ancien, danger, ar dhe unexcepcionabel
parents ov dhe Inglilh tabel, chaimber, aincient, _dainger_; hoo ar    
    
		
	
	
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