Scott has only the word propugner, which he very properly as well as consistently, spells propuner. Mr. Perry has propunner and impunner, and Barclay impunner only.—The inconsistency here remarked arises from not attending to the analogy of pronunciation, which requires every verbal noun to be pronounced exactly like the verb, with the mere addition of the termination: thus singer is only adding er to the verb sing, without suffering the g to articulate the e as it does in finger and linger, etc. The same may be observed of a signer, one who signs: and as a corroboration of this doctrine, we may take notice that the additional er and est, in the comparatives and superlatives of adjectives, make no alteration in the sound of the radical word; this is obvious in the words benigner, benignest, etc. except younger, longer, and stronger. See No. 381.
387. But in every other compound where these letters occur, the n articulates the latter syllable, and g is heard distinctly in the former, as sig-nify, malig-nity, assig-nation, etc. Some affected speakers, either ignorant of the rules for pronouncing English, or over-complaisant to the French, pronounce physiognomy, cognizance, and recognizance, without the g; but this is a gross violation of the first principles of spelling. The only words to keep these speakers in countenance are, poignant and champignon, not long ago imported from France, and pronounced poiniant, champinion. The first of these words will probably be hereafter written without the g; while the latter, confined to the kitchen, may be looked upon as technical, and allowed an exclusive privilege. See Cognizance.
388. Bagnio, seignior, seraglio, intaglio, and oglio, pronounced ban-yo, seen-yar, seral-yo, intal-yo, and ole-yo, may be considered as foreign coxcombs, and treated with civility, by omitting the g, while they do not pervert the pronunciation of our native English words.
GM in the same Syllable.
389. What has been said of gn is applicable to gm. We have but one word in the language where these letters end a word with the accent on it, and that is phlegm; in this the g is always mute, and the e, according to analogy, ought to be pronounced long, as if the word were written fleme; but a short pronunciation of the e has generally obtained, and we commonly hear it flem: it is highly probable Pope pronounced it properly, where he says,
"Our Critics take a contrary extreme;
They judge with fury, but they write with phlegm."
Perhaps it would not be difficult to reduce this word to analogy, as some speakers still pronounce the e long: but in the compounds of this word, as in those where gn occur, the vowel is shortened, and the g pronounced as in phleg-mon, phleg-monous, phleg-matic, and phleg-magogues; though Mr. Sheridan, for no reason I can conceive, sinks the g in the last word. When these letters end a syllable not under the accent, the g is silent, but the preceding vowel is shortened: thus paradigm, parapegm, diaphragm, apophthegm, are pronounced paradim, parapem, diaphram, apothem.
GH.
390. This combination, at the beginning of a word, drops the h, as in ghost, ghastly, aghast, gherkin, pronounced gost, rhyming with most; ghastly, agast, guerkin: but when these letters come at the end of a word, they form some of the greatest anomalies in our language; gh, at the end of words, is generally silent, and consequently the preceding vowel or diphthong is long, as high, nigh, thigh, neigh, weigh, inveigh, eugh, (the obsolete way of spelling yew, a tree) bough, dough, though, although, clough, (a cliff) plough, furlough, slough, (a miry place) through, throughout, thorough, borough, usquebaugh, pugh!
391. Gh is frequently pronounced like f, as laugh, laughter, cough, chough, clough, (an allowance in weight) slough, (the cast skin of a snake or sore) enough, rough, tough, trough.
392. Gh is sometimes changed into ck, as hough, shough, lough, pronounced hock, shock, lock; sometimes we hear only the g sounded, as in burgh, burgher, and burghership.
GHT.
393. Gh, in this termination, is always silent, as fight, night, bought, fought, etc. The only exception is draught; which, in poetry, is most frequently rhymed with caught, taught, etc. but, in prose, is so universally pronounced as if written draft, that the poetical sound of it grows uncouth, and is becoming obsolete. Draughts, the game, is also pronounced drafts. Drought (dryness) is vulgarly pronounced drowth: it is even written so by Milton; but in this he is not to be imitated, having mistaken the analogy of this word, as well as that of height, which he spells heighth, and which is frequently so pronounced by the vulgar. See the words Height and Drought.
H.
394. This letter is no more than breathing forcibly before the succeeding vowel is pronounced. At the beginning of words, it is always sounded, except in heir, heiress, honest, honesty, honour, honourable, herb, herbage, hospital, hostler, hour, humble, humour, humourous, humoursome. Ben Jonson leaves out the h in host, and classes it in this respect with honest.
395. H is always silent after r, as rhetoric, rhapsody, rheum, rheumatism, rhinoceros, rhomb, rhubarb, myrrh, catarrh, and their compounds.
396. H final, preceded by a vowel, is always silent, as ah! hah! oh! foh! sirrah, hallelujah, Messiah.
397. This letter is often sunk after w, particularly in
