It is
pronounced like short _e_ in _bury_; and like short _i_ in _busy,
business_.
V.--_V_ has uniformly the sound of flat _f_; as in _vanity, love_.
W.--_W_, when a consonant, has its sound, which is heard in _wo,
beware_. _W_ is silent before _r_; as in _wry, wrap, wrinkle_; and also
in _answer, sword_, &c. Before _h_ it is pronounced as if written after
the _h_; as in _why, when, what_;--_hwy, hwen, hwat_. When heard as a
vowel, it takes the sound of _u_; as in _draw, crew, now_.
X.--_X_ has a sharp sound, like _ks_, when it ends a syllable with the
accent on it; as, _exit, exercise_; or when it precedes an accented
syllable which begins with any consonant except _h_; as, _excuse,
extent_; but when the following accented syllable begins with a vowel or
_h_, it has, generally, a flat sound, like _gz_; as in _exert, exhort_.
_X_ has the sound of _Z_ at the beginning of proper names of Greek
original; as in _Xanthus, Xenophon, Xerxes_.
Y.--_Y_, when a consonant, has its proper sound; as in _youth, York,
yes, new-year_. When _y_ is employed as a vowel, it has exactly the
sound that _i_ would have in the same situation; as in _rhyme, system,
party, pyramid_.
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