A Grammar of the English Tongue

“Grammar, which is the art of using words properly, comprises four parts: Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody.””

— Samuel Johnson

“For pronunciation the best general rule is, to consider those as the most elegant speakers who deviate least from the written words.””

— Samuel Johnson

“of English, as of all living tongues, there is a double pronunciation, one cursory and colloquial, the other regular and solemn.””

— Samuel Johnson

“C, according to English orthography, never ends a word; therefore we write stick, block, which were originally, sticke, blocke. In such words c is now mute.””

— Samuel Johnson

“C might be omitted in the language without loss, since one of its sounds might be supplied by, s, and the other by k, but that it preserves to the eye the etymology of words, as face from facies, captive from captivus.””

— Samuel Johnson

“Ou is frequently used in the last syllable of words which in Latin end in or and are made English, as honour, labour, favour, from honor, labor, favor. Some late innovators have ejected the u, without considering that the last syllable gives the sound neither of or nor ur, but a sound between them, if not compounded of both; besides that they are probably derived to us from the French nouns in eur, as honeur, faveur.””

— Samuel Johnson

“I consider the English alphabet only as it is English;””

— Samuel Johnson

“Experience has long shown this method to be so distinct as to obviate confusion, and so comprehensive as to prevent any inconvenient omissions.””

— Samuel Johnson

“glass. A broad resembles the a of the German; as all, wall, call. Many words pronounced with a broad were anciently written with au; as sault, mault; and we still say, fault, vault. This was probably the Saxon sound, for it is yet retained in the northern dialects, and in the rustick pronunciation; as maun for man, haund for hand. The short a approaches to the a open, as grass. The long a, if prolonged by e at the end of the word, is always slender, as graze, fame. A forms a diphthong only with i or y, and u or w. Ai or ay, as in plain, wain, gay, clay, has only the sound of the long and slender a, and differs not in the pronunciation from plane, wane. Au or aw has the sound of the German a, as raw, naughty. Ae is sometimes found in Latin words not completely””

— Samuel Johnson