Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue | Page 9

the
idle e, nor the sound of the s, have we anie reason; nether daer I, with al

the oares of reason, row against so strang a tyde. I hald it better to erre
with al, then to stryve with al and mend none.
6. This consonant, evin quher in the original it hes the awne sound, we
turn into the chirt we spak of, cap. 4, sect. 14, quhilk, indeed, can be
symbolized with none, neither greek nor latin letteres; as, from cano,
chant; from canon, chanon; from castus, chast; from +kyriakê+, a
church, of q_uhi_lk I hard doctour Laurence, the greek professour in
Oxfoord, a man bothe of great learni_n_g and judgement, utter his
opinion to this sense, and (excep my memorie fael me) in these wordes:
+kyriakê+ ut +basilikê+ suppresso substantivo +oikia+ domus domini
est. Unde nostrum derivatur, quod Scoti et Angli boreales recte,
pronu_n_ciant a kyrk, nos corrupte a church.
7. Yet, notwithstanding that it is barbarouse, seing it is more usual in
our tongue then can be mended befoer the voual, as chance, and behind
the voual, as such, let it be symbolized, as it is symbolized with ch, hou
beit nether the c nor the h hath anie affinitie with that sound; 1, because
it hath bene lang soe used; and 2, because we have no other mean to
symbolize it, except it wer with a new symbol, q_uhi_lk it will be hard
to bring in use.
8. Now, quheras ch in nature is c asperat, as it soundes in charus and
chorus; and seing we have that sound also in use, as licht, micht; if I
had bene at the first counsel, my vote wald have bene to have geven ch
the awn sound. But as now the case standes, ne quid novandum sit,
quod non sit necesse, I not onlie consent, but also com_m_end the
wisdom of the south, quho, for distinction, wrytes light, might, with gh
and referres ch to the other sound, how be it improperlie, and this
distinction I com_m_end to our men, quho yet hes not satis attente
observed it.
9. Next cumes g, howbe it not so deformed as c; for, althogh we see it
evin in latin, and that, in one word (as is said cap. 5, sect. 2), distorted
to tuo sonndes, yet both may stand with the nature of the symbol and
differ not in the instrumentes of the mouth, but in the form of the tuich,
as the judiciouse ear may mark in ago, agis; agam, ages.

10. This consonant, in latin, never followes the voual; befoer a, o, u, it
keepes alwayes the awn sound, and befoer e and i breakes it.
11. But with us it may both begin and end the syllab; as, gang; it may,
both behind and befoer, have either sound; as, get, gist, gin, giant.
12. These the south hath providentlie minted to distinguish tuo wayes,
but hes in deed distinguished noe way, for the first sum hath used tuo
gg; as, egg, legg, bigg, bagg; for the other dg; as, hedge, edge, bridge;
but these ar not +kata pantos+. Gyles, nomen viri, can not be written
dgiles; nor giles doli, ggiles; nether behind the voual ar they general;
age, rage, suage, are never wrytten with dg. Quherfoer I conclud that,
seeing nether the sound nor the symbol hath anie reason to be sundrie,
without greater auctoritie, nor the reach of a privat wit, this falt is
incorrigible.
13. Here I am not ignorant quhat a doe the learned make about the
symboles of c, g, k and q, that they be al symboles, but of one sound;
but I wil not medle in that question, being besyde my purpose, q_uhi_lk
is not to correct the latin symboles, but to fynd the best use of them in
our idiom.
14. T, the last of these misused souldioures, keepes alwayes it's aun
nature, excep it be befoer tio; as, oration, declamation, narration; for we
pronunce not tia and tiu as it is in latin. Onelie let it be heer observed
that if an s preceed tio, the t keepes the awn nature, as in question,
suggestion, _et_c.
15. Thus have I breeflie handled the letteres and their soundes, quhilk,
to end this parte, I wald wish the printeres, in their a, b, c, to expresse
thus:--a, ae, ai, au, ea, b, c, d, e, ee, ei, eu, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, oa,
oo, ou, p, q, r, s, t, u, ui, v, w, x, y, z, and the masteres teaching their
puples to sound the diphthonges, not be the vouales quharof they be
made, but be the sound quhilk they mak in speaking; lykwayes I wald
have them name w, not duble u nor