ut by a mere modification of t; viz., th.

s. 146. A third element in the faultiness of an alphabet is the fault of
erroneous representation. The best illustration of this we get from the
Hebrew alphabet, where the sounds of [Hebrew: T] and [Hebrew: T`], mere
_varieties_ of each other, are represented by distinct and dissimilar
signs, whilst [Hebrew: T] and [Hebrew: T], sounds _specifically_ distinct,
are expressed by a mere modification of the same sign, or letter.

s. 147. _The right application of an alphabet._--An alphabet may be both
sufficient and consistent, accurate in its representation of the alliances
between articulate sounds, and in no wise redundant; and yet, withal, it
may be so wrongly applied as to be defective. Of defect in the use or
application of the letters of an alphabet, the three main causes are the
following:--

a. _Unsteadiness in the power of letters._--Of this there are two kinds. In
the first, there is one sound with two (or more) ways of expressing it.
Such is the sound of the letter f in English. In words of Anglo-Saxon
origin it is spelt with a single simple sign, as in _fill_; whilst in Greek
words it is denoted by a combination, as in _Philip_. The reverse of this
takes place with the letter g; here a single sign has a double power; in
_gibbet_ it is sounded as j, and in _gibberish_ as g in _got_.

b. _The aim at secondary objects._--The natural aim of orthography, of
spelling, or of writing, is to express the _sounds_ of a language.
Syllables and words it takes as they meet the ear, it translates them by
appropriate signs, and so paints them, as it were, to the eye. That this is
the natural and primary object is self-evident; but beyond this natural and
primary object there is, with the orthographical systems of most languages,
a secondary one, viz., the attempt to combine with the representation of
the sound of a given word, the representation of its history and origin.

The sound of the c, in _city_, is the sound that we naturally spell with
the letter s, and if the expression of this sound was the _only_ object of
our orthographists, the word would be spelt accordingly (_sity_). The
following facts, however, traverse this simple view of the matter. The word
is a derived word; it is transplanted into our own language from the Latin,
where it is spelt with a c (_civitas_); and to change this c into s
conceals the origin and history of the word. For this reason the c is
retained, a