REMARKS,

BUT few remarks are deemed necessary in order to render the above Key, or system of notation, well understood. The words which are used as examples for illustration, when pronounced by correct speakers, exhibit accurately the different sounds of the several vowels.

Some distinctions are here made, which are not found in other systems; but they are not intended to introduce any new sounds, but merely to discriminate such as are now heard from all who speak the language with propriety.

The peculiar sound of the letter a which is indicated by this mark (å), is never heard, except when it precedes the letter r, and is the sound which we daily hear in the words care, fair, pair, share, differing plainly from the long, slender sound of a in fate, pain, payer, player, slayer.

The letter a, with this mark (4), has an intermediate sound between the shor sound of a, as in fat, man, and the Italian a, as in far, father. The a in the words to which this sound is given in this Dictionary, is generally marked, by Perry, Jones, and some other orthoepists, as having the same sound as a in far father; and by Walker, Jameson, and some others, as having the proper short sound of a, as in fat, man.

The peculiar sounds of the letters e, i, u, and y, which are indicated when marked thus (8, I, u, y), occur only when these vowels are succeeded by r final, or by r followed by some other consonant, as in the words her, herd, sir, bird, cur, curd, myrrh. The sound is as short as these vowels, thus situated, readily or naturally receive; yet it differs from their proper short sound, in met, merry, pin, mirror, hut, hurry, lyric, in a manner analogous to the difference between the sound of a and o in far and for, and the proper short sound of these vowels, as in fat, not.

Vowels marked with the dot underneath (thus, a, e, i, o, u), are found only in syllables which are not accented, and over which the organs of speech pass slightly and hastily in pronouncing them. This mark is employed rather to indicate a slight stress of voice than to mark a particular quality of sound. If the syllables on which the primary and secondary accents fall are uttered with a proper stress of voice, these comparatively indistinct syllables will naturally be pronounced right.

When the pronunciation is prefixed to the words in their proper orthography, without recourse to respelling, the vowels which are not marked, with the exception of y (and, in some cases, of words in Italics), are silent: thus a in bēat, fear, e in able, give, härden, i in päin, hĕifer, o in mäson, famous, and w in

This mark (†), prefixed to a word or definition, shows that it is obsolete, or not now in use.

The asterisk (*) is prefixed, in many instances, to two or more words of the same class or family, to show that their pronunciation is governed by the same general rule. In cases of this sort, the different modes in which orthoepists pronounce the leading word are inclosed in brackets; or the leading word is respelled for pronunciation; and the others follow the same rule. The pronunciation of acceptable, for example, determines the pronunciation of acceptably and acceptableness.

With respect to words of doubtful or disputed pronunciation, the different modes of different orthoepists are exhibited after the words in brackets, the name, or an abbreviation of the name, of the orthoepist, following his pronunciation. Thus it may be seen, for example, that the word decorous is pronounced de-kō'rus by Sheridan, Walker, Jones, Fulton and Knight, Jameson, Johnson, Dyche, Barclay, and Rees; and děk'ọ-rus by Perry, Enfield, Webster, and Ash.

Words printed in Italics belong to foreign languages, and are not properly anglicized. A *

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THE Compiler of this Dictionary, some time since, performed the task of editing "Johnson's Dictionary, as improved by Todd, and abridged by Chalmers, with Walker's Pronouncing Dictionary combined;" and while executing that labor, he formed the plan of this work. The small dictionaries in use seemed to him to be too defective, with respect to the number of words which they contained, and also with regard to definition and pronunciation, to answer the common wants of schools; and likewise to be insufficient for other uses, for which a large octavo would be too expensive. But he delayed the execution of his design, in consequence of undertaking to abridge Dr. Webster's "American Dictionary of the English Language,” a work of vast learning and research, containing far the most complete vocabulary of the language that has yet appeared, and comprising numerous and great improvements upon all works of the kind which preceded it, with respect to the etymology and definition of words. To his abridgment of that Dictionary, the Compiler prefixed a "Synopsis of Words differently pronounced by different Orthoepists," which he originally designed for his own work; and when he agreed to insert it in that abridgment, he reserved to himself the right of using it as he had at first intended. He has not, however, used the Synopsis in the manner originally purposed; but instead of it, the authorities, with respect to words of various, doubtful, or disputed pronunciation, have been inserted in this Dictionary where such words occur, in their alphabetical order. This course was preferred, because it was thought more convenient for use, and because various other authorities might be brought forward in this manner, which could not be used in the Synopsis; and the system might also be applied to many more words.

This Dictionary contains about 43,000 words, as many as 6,000 more than Walker's Critical Pronouncing Dictionary; and with respect to those