everie sound the awn symbol, and everie symbol the awn sound. But as now we sound it in quies and quiesco, the judiciouse ear may discern tuae soundes. But because heer we differ not, I wil acquiess. My purpose is not to deal with impossibilities, nor to mend al crookes, but to conform (if reason wil conform us) the south and north beath in latine and in English.

15. Af this voual ryseth tuae diphthonges, ei and eu, quhilk beath standes wel with the definition, sect. 11.

16. Of the next, i, we differ farder, and the knot harder to louse, for nether syde wantes sum reason. Thei in mihi, tibi, and sik otheres, pronunce it as it soundes in bide, manere; we as it soundes in bid, jubere.

17. Among the ancientes I fynd sum groundes for their sound. Cic. epist. fam. lib. 9, epis. 22, avoues that bini, in latin, and βίνει in Greek, had ane sound. And Varro, with sundrie ancientes, wrytes domineis and serveis, for dominis and servis, quhilk is more lyke the sound of bide then bid. If this argument reached as wel to i short as i lang, and if we wer sure how ει was pronunced in those dayes, this auctoritie wald over-weegh our reason; but seing i, in mihi, etc., in the first is short, and in the last common, and the sound of ei uncertan, I stand at my reason, sect. 9, quhilk is as powerful heer for i as ther for a. They pronunce not i in is and quis, id and quid, in and quin, as they pronunce it in mihi, tibi, sibi, ibi, etc., and therfoer not right.

18. As for o, in latin, we differ not; u, the south pronunces quhen the syllab beginnes or endes at it, as eu, teu for tu, and eunum meunus for unum munus, quhilk, because it is a diphthong sound, and because they them selfes, quhen a consonant followes it, pronunce it other wayes, I hoep I sal not need argumentes to prove it wrang, and not be a pure voual.

OF THE BRITAN VOUALES.
Cap. 3.

1. Of a, in our tongue we have four soundes, al so differing ane from an other, that they distinguish the verie signification of wordes, as, a tal man, a gud tal, a horse tal.

2. Quherfoer in this case I wald commend to our men the imitation of the greek and latin, quho, to mend this crook, devysed diphthongs. Let the simplest of these four soundes, or that quhilk is now in use, stand with the voual, and supplie the rest with diphthonges; as, for exemple, I wald wryte the king’s hal with the voual a; a shour of hael, with ae; hail marie, with ai; and a heal head, as we cal it, quhilk the English cales a whole head, with ea. And so, besydes the voual, we have of this thre diphthonges, tuae with a befoer, ae and ai, and ane with the e befoer, ea. Ad to them au, howbeit of a distinct sound; as, knaulege with us, in the south knowlege.

3. These and al other diphthonges I wald counsel the teacheres not to name be the vouales quherof they are maed, but be the sound quhilk they maek, for learneres wil far maer easelie take the sound from the mouth of the teacher, then maek it them selves of the vouales ingredient.

4. Of e, we have tuae soundes, quhilk it is hard to judge quhilk is simplest; as, an el, ulna; and an el, anguilla; hel, infernus; and an hel, calx pedis. Heer I wald commend to our men quhae confoundes these the imitation of the south, quhilk doth wel distinguish these soundes, wryting the el, ulna, with the voual e, and eel, anguilla, with the diphthong ee. I am not ignorant that sum symbolizes this sound with a diphthong made of ie; eie, oculus; hiel, fiel, miel, etc. Here I am indifferent, and onelie wishes that the ane be used; let the advysed judge make choise of quhilk, for my awne paert I lyke the last best; 1. becaus eie, oculus, can not wel be symbolized ee; 2. because the greekes expresse η be εε, quhilk, as appeares be the Ioneanes and Doreanes, drawes neerar to α, than ε.

5. Of i, also, our idiom receaves tuae soundes, as in a man’s wil, and the wil of a fox. Heer, also, I wald have our men learne of the south, for these soundes they wel distinguish, wryting wil, fil, mil, stil, with i; and wyl, fyl, myl, styl, with y.

6. Heer I see be Barrat, in his Alvearie, that sum wald be at symbolizing these soundes, the ane with the greek diphthong ει, and the other with ᴉ inverted; as, rειd, equitare; bειd, manere; rᴉd, legere; hᴉd, cavere. In this opinion I se an eye of judgement, and therfoer wil not censure it, except I saw the auctour’s whole drift. Onelie for my awn parte I will avoid al novelties, and content my self with the letteres quhilk we have in use. And seeing we have no other use of y distinguished from i, condiscend to the opinion of the south using i for ane, and y for the other.

7. O, we sound al alyk. But of it we have sundrie diphthonges: oa, as to roar, a boar, a boat, a coat; oi, as coin, join, foil, soil; oo, as food, good, blood; ou, as house, mouse, &c. Thus, we commonlie wryt mountan, fountan, quhilk it wer more etymological to wryt montan, fontan, according to the original.

8. In this diphthong we commit a grosse errour, saving better judgement, spelling how, now, and siklyk with w, for if w be (as it sal appear, quhen we cum to the awn place of it) a consonant, it can noe wayes coalesse into a diphthong sound, sik as this out of controversie is.

9. U, the last of this rank, the south, as I have said in the latin sound of it, pronunces eu, we ou, both, in my simple judgement, wrang, for these be diphthong soundes, and the sound of a voual sould be simple. If I sould judge, the frensh sound is neerest the voual sound as we pronunce it in mule and muse.

10. Of it we have a diphthong not yet, to my knawlege, observed of anie; and, for my awn parte, I am not wel resolved neither how to spel it, nor name it. Onelie I see it in this, to bou, a bow. I wait not quhither I sould spel the first buu, or the last boau. As, for exemple, if Roben Hud wer nou leving, he wer not able to buu his aun bou, or to bou his aun boau. And therfoer this with al the rest, hou be it in other I have more for me, I leave to the censure of better judgement.

OF CONSONANTES.
Cap. 4.

1. This for the vouales, and diphthonges made of them without the tuiches of the mouth. Now followe the consonantes.

2. A consonant is a letter symbolizing a sound articulat that is broaken with the tuiches of the mouth.

3. The instrumentes of the mouth, quherbe the vocal soundes be broaken, be in number seven. The nether lip, the upper lip, the outward teeth, the inward teeth, the top of the tongue, the midle tong, and roof of the mouth. Of these, thre be, as it were, hammeres stryking, and the rest stiddies, kepping the strakes of the hammeres.

4. The hammeres are the nether lip, the top of the tongue, and the midle tongue. The stiddies the overlip, the outward teeth, the inward teeth, and the roofe of the mouth.

5. The nether lip stryking on the overlip makes b, m, p, and on the teeth it makes f and v.

6. The top of the tongue stryking on the inward teeth formes d, l, n, r, s, t, and z.

7. The midle tongue stryking on the rouf of the mouth formes the rest, c, g, k, j, q, and x, and so we have 18 consonantes borrowed of the latines.

8. These they borrow al from the greekes, saving j and v, quhilk our age soundes other wayes then it seemes the romanes did; for Plutarch, more then 100 yeeres after Christ, expressing the sound