Chapter 80

ON QUANTITY.

§ 136. The dependent vowels, as the a in _fat_, i in _fit_, u in _but_, o in _not_, have the character of being uttered with rapidity, and they pass quickly in the enunciation, the voice not resting on them. This rapidity of utterance becomes more evident when we contrast with them the prolonged sounds of the a in _fate_, ee in _feet_, oo in _book_, or o in _note_; wherein the utterance is retarded, and wherein the voice rests, delays, or is prolonged. The f and t of _fate_ are separated by a longer interval than the f and t of _fat_; and the same is the case with _fit_, _feet_, &c.

Let the n and the t of _not_ be each as 1, the o also being as 1; then each letter, consonant or vowel, shall constitute 1/3 of the whole word.

Let, however, the n and the t of _note_ be each as 1, the o being as 2. Then, instead of each consonant constituting 1/3 of the whole word, it shall constitute but ¼.

Upon the comparative extent to which the voice is prolonged, the division of vowels and syllables into _long_ and _short_ has been established: the o in _note_ being long, the o in _not_ being short. And the longness or shortness of a vowel or syllable is said to be its _quantity_.

§ 137. Attention is directed to the word _vowel_. The longness or shortness of a _vowel_ is one thing. The longness or shortness of a _syllable_ another. This difference is important in prosody; especially in comparing the English with the classical metres.

The vowel in the syllable _see_ is long; and long it remains, whether it stand as it is, or be followed by a consonant, as in _see-n_, or by a vowel, as in _see-ing_.

The vowel in the word _sit_ is short. If followed by a vowel it becomes unpronounceable, except as the ea in _seat_ or the i in _sight_. By a consonant, however, it _may_ be followed. Such is the case in the word quoted--_sit_. Followed by a _second_ consonant, it still retains its shortness, e.g., _sits_. Whatever the comparative length of the _syllables_, _see_ and _seen_, _sit_ and _sits_, may be, the length of their respective _vowels_ is the same.

Now, if we determine the character of the syllable by the character of the vowel, all syllables are short wherein there is a short vowel, and all are long wherein there is a long one. Hence, measured by the quantity of the vowel, the word _sits_ is short, and the syllable _see-_ in _seeing_ is long.

§ 138. But it is well known that this view is not the view commonly taken of the syllables _see_ (in _seeing_) and _sits_. It is well known, that, in the eyes of a classical scholar, the _see_ (in _seeing_) is short, and that in the word _sits_ the i is long.

The classic differs from the Englishman thus,--_He measures his quantity, not by the length of the vowel, but by the length of the syllable taken altogether._ The perception of this distinction enables us to comprehend the following statements.

a. That vowels long by nature may _appear_ to become short by position, and _vice versâ_.

b. That, by a laxity of language, the _vowel_ may be said to have changed its quantity, whilst it is the _syllable_ alone that has been altered.