CHAPTER XII. 81 mate, liope; all other syllables are short; as mat, hop, bank, string, punch. 4 Q. What do you mean by accent ? A. The accent is a particular stress or force of sound that the voice lays upon any syllable, whether the syllable be long or short, as 6 in o-pen, pi in pb-ny. 5 Q. Doth not the accent then always belong to the long syllable ? A. Though the accent it laid much more frequently ona long syllable, than a short one, yet not always; for in these words, méney, b6rrow, the last syllable is long, and the first short, yet the accent belongs to the first. Yahere let it be noted, That though in reading Verse, the accent must been the same syllables as is is in Prose, and the words most have the same pronunciation i yet a syllable in Verse is called Long or Short, not according to the long or short vowel, but according to the accent. 8 Q. Is the accent always the same in the same words? A. It is for the most part the saine ; yet there are two cases wherein, sometimes the accent differs. First, The same word when it signifies an action, is accent- ed upon the last syllable, as to contráct, to rebel : when it signi- fies a thing, the accent is sometimes transferred to the first, as a c6ntract a rébel. Secondly, Though compound words and derivatives are most times accented like their primitives, yet not always ; as milker has a strong accent on the first syllable, which is lost in shoe-maker; prefer has the accent on the last syllable; but pré- ference and preferable on the first :' Finite has its accent on the fi, but infinite on the syllable in ; and infinity, has it restored to the syllable fi, again. 7 Q. both the accent change the sound of letters ? A. Wheresoever the accent is laid on a short vowel beforea single consonant, it makes the consonant be pronounced dou- ble, as malice, séven, body, must be sounded like mal-lice, setl- verc, hod-dy. 8 Q. Have any words more accents than one? A. Yes, Some long words have two accents, as únivérsal, 6mniprésent, both which are accentedon the first and third syl- lables : Tránsubstácitiátion has three ; but generally one ofthose accents is much stronger than the other. 9 Q. Are there any certain directions where to place the accent in words of several syllables ? A. Though there can no certain rules be given where to place the accent, but custom must entirely determine : yet there is this general observation, which may be of some use, namely, That it is the custom of the English, in most words, to remove the accentfurfrom the last syllable ; whence these particular re- marks follow :
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