; and, as the multiplication of needless
distinctions should be avoided, I do not approve of adding an other sound
to a vowel which has already quite too many. Worcester, however, in his new
Dictionary, and Wells, in his new Grammar, give to the vowel A _six_ or
_seven_ sounds in lieu of _four_; and Dr. Mandeville, in his Course of
Reading, says, "_A_ has _eight_ sounds."--P. 9.

OBS. 8.--Sheridan made the elements of his oratory _twenty-eight_. Jones
followed him implicitly, and adopted the same number.[100] Walker
recognized several more, but I know not whether he has anywhere told us
_how many there are_. Lindley Murray enumerates _thirty-six_, and the same
thirty-six that are given in the main text above. The eight sounds not
counted by Sheridan are these: 1. The Italian _a_, as in _far, father_,
which he reckoned but a lengthening of the _a_ in _hat_; 2. The short _o_,
as in _hot_, which he supposed to be but a shortening of the _a_ in _hall_;
3. The diphthongal _i_, as in _isle_, which he thought but a quicker union
of the sounds of the diphthong _oi_, but which, in my opinion, is rather a
very quick union of the sounds _ah_ and _ee_ into _ay, I_;[101] 4. The long
_u_, which is acknowledged to be equal to _yu_ or _yew_, though perhaps a
little different from _you_ or _yoo_,[102] the sound given it by Walker; 5.
The _u_ heard in _pull_, which he considered but a shortening of _oo_; 6.
The consonant _w_, which he conceived to be always a vowel, and equivalent
to _oo_; 7. The consonant _y_, which he made equal to a short _ee_; 8. The
consonant _h_, which he declared to be no letter, but a mere breathing, In
all other respects, his scheme of the alphabetic elements agrees with that
which is adopted in this work, and which is now most commonly taught.

OBS. 9.--The effect of _Quantity_ in the prolation of the vowels, is a
matter with which every reader ought to be experimentally acquainted.
_Quantity_ is simply the _time_ of utterance, whether long or short. It is
commonly spoken of with reference to _syllables_, because it belongs
severally to all the distinct or numerable impulses of the voice, and to
these only; but, as vowels or diphthongs may be uttered alone, the notion
of quantity is of course as applicable to them, as to any of the more
complex sounds in which consonants are joined with them. All sounds imply
time; because they are the transient effects of certain percussions which
temporarily agitate the air, a