The principles of Latin grammar; comprising the ... - Essan.org

;2*LETTERS. § 16.—A Proper Diphthong is one in which both the vowels are sounded.The Proper Diphthongs in Latin are three, viz : au, eu, ci ; as, aurum,eitge, hex.7.—An Improper Diphthong is one in which only one of the vowels issounded. The Improper Diphthongs in Latin are ae and os, often writtentogether, ce, ce ;as, tceda, poena.8.—OBSERVATIONS.1. Ai and oi are found as diphthongs in proper names from the Greekas Maia, Troia.2. After g and q, and sometimes after s, u before another vowel inthe same syllable, does not form a diphthong with it, but is to be regardedas an' appendage of the preceding consonant, having nearly the force of w,as in the English words, linguist, quick, persuade ; thus, lingua, sanguis,qui, quo3, quod, quum, suadeo, are pronounced as if written lingwa, sanguis,kwi, kivce, kwod, kwum, swadeo. So also after c and h in cui and huic, pronouncedin one syllable, as if written cwi or kwi, and hwic ; also ui aftera consonant, in such words from the Greek as Harpuia.3. Two vowels standing together in different syllables, pronounced inquick succession, resemble the diphthong in sound, and, among the poets,are often run together into one syllable ; ttius de-in, de-inde, pro-inde, x, z. Of these, eight, viz, p, b, t, d, c, k, q, and g, are called mutes, becausethey interrupt or stop the sound of the voice, as 6 in sub ; —four, viz, »\ m,n, r, are called liquids, because of their fluency, or the ease with whichthey flow into other sounds, or, in combiniug with other consonants, arechanged one for another ;—two are called double consonants, viz, x and z>because they are each equivalent to two other consonants ; namely, x tocs or gs, and z to ds. The letter j, likewise, is sounded by us as a doubleconsonant, equivalent to dg, and in prosody is so considered, because, exceptin compounds of jugum, it uniformly makes the vowel before it long.The ietter s represents a sibilant or hissing sound. The h is only anaspirate, and denotes a rough breathing : in prosody, it is not regarded as