_Prosody_ treats of the manner of speaking and reading and the different
kinds of verse.

The three first mentioned concern us most.


LETTERS

A _letter_ is a mark or character used to represent an articulate sound.
Letters are divided into _vowels_ and _consonants_. A vowel is a letter
which makes a distinct sound by itself. Consonants cannot be sounded
without the aid of vowels. The vowels are _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_, and
sometimes _w_ and _y_ when they do not begin a word or syllable.


SYLLABLES AND WORDS

A syllable is a distinct sound produced by a single effort of
[Transcriber's note: 1-2 words illegible] shall, pig, dog. In every
syllable there must be at least one vowel.

A word consists of one syllable or a combination of syllables.

Many rules are given for the dividing of words into syllables, but the
best is to follow as closely as possible the divisions made by the organs
of speech in properly pronouncing them.


THE PARTS OF SPEECH