rdingly.

The Roman language had a system of sounds different from the Greek and the
alphabet required modifying accordingly.

This leads us to certain questions concerning the Anglo-Saxon. Had _it_ a
system of sounds different from the Roman? If so, what modifications did
the alphabet require? Were such modifications effected? If so, how?
Sufficiently or insufficiently? The answers are unsatisfactory.

s. 168. The Anglo-Saxon had, even in its earliest stage, the following
sounds, for which the Latin alphabet had no equivalent signs or letters--

1. The sound of the th in _thin_.

2. The sound of the th in _thine_.

It had certainly these: probably others.

s. 169. Expressive of these, two new signs were introduced, viz., th = th
in _thin_, and dh = th in _thine_.

W, also evolved out of u, was either an original improvement of the
Anglo-Saxon orthographists, or a mode of expression borrowed from one of
the allied languages of the Continent. Probably the latter was the case;
since we find the following passage in the Latin dedication of Otfrid's
"Krist:"--"Hujus enim linguae barbaries, ut est inculca et
indisciplinabilis, atque insueta capi regulari freno grammaticae artis, sic
etiam in multis dictis scriptu est difficilis propter literarum aut
congeriem, aut incognitam sonoritatem. Nam interdum tria u u u ut puto
quaerit in sono; priores duo consonantes, ut mihi videtur, tertium vocali
sono manente."

This was, as far as it went, correct, so that the Anglo-Saxon alphabet,
although not originally meant to express a Gothic tongue at all, answered
the purpose to which it was applied tolerably.

s. 170. Change, however, went on; and the orthography which suited the
earlier Anglo-Saxon would not suit the later; at any rate, it would not
suit the language which had become or was becoming, _English_; wherein the
sounds for which the Latin alphabet had no equivalent signs increase. Thus
there is at present--

1. The sound of the sh in _shine_.

2. The sound of the z in _azure_.

How are these to be expressed? The rule has hitherto been to denote simple
single sounds, by simple single signs, and where such signs have no
existence already, to _originate new ones_.

To _combine existing letters_, rather than to coin a new one, has only been
done rarely. The Latin substitution of the combination th for the simple
single [theta], was exceptionable. It was a precedent, however, which now
begins to be followed genera