II Vowels
them is often thrown out, as in -
hist(a)ri (history), feiv(a)rit (favourite), vedzh{aji}tabl (veg-
etable).
i is less common than a. It is most usual as a weakening of front
vowels, especially when i or y is written: -
piti (pity), mandi (Monday).
divaid (divide), ditekt (detect).
r:ebit (rabbit), fishiz (fishes), abiliti (ability).
It is the regular unaccented vowel before dzh, even when a is
written: -
vilidzh (village), k:eridzh (carriage), kolidzh (college).
In rapid speech i is apt to .pass into a, except when fmal.
Unaccented 0 in ordinary speech is simply Orounded. When dwelt
on it becomes ou. Examples are -
pteito (potato), folo (follow), felo (fellow).
In rapid speech this 0 passes into a.
These vowels occur also in unaccented monosyllables. Compare
'a man' (a m:en) with 'against' (agenst), 'to go' (to gou) with'to-
day' (to dei), 'for all' (fOr aol) with 'forgive' (fOgiv), 'of course' (av
kaoas) with 'offence' (Of ens).
the and to have two distinct unaccented forms. Before consonants
they both have a, while before vowels they assume the fuller forms
dhi and tu: -
dha m:en (the man), dhi ena mi (the enemy).
to gou (to go), tu enta (to enter).
CONSONANTS
As regards the use of the letters there can be no question about