But as savages proceed in forming languages, they lose the guttural sounds, in some measure, and adopt the use of labials, and the more open vowels. The ease of speaking facilitates this progress, and the pronunciation of words is softened, in proportion to a national refinement of manners. This will account for the difference between the ancient and modern languages of France, Spain and Italy; and for the difference between the soft pronunciation of the present languages of those countries, and the more harsh and guttural pronunciation of the northern inhabitants of Europe. In this progress, the English have lost the sounds of most of the guttural letters. The _k_ before _n_ in _know_, the _g_ in _reign_, and in many other words, are become mute in practice; and the _gh_ is softened into the sound of _f_, as in _laugh_, or is silent, as in _brought_. To this practice of softening the sounds of letters, or wholly suppressing those which are harsh and disagreeable, may be added a popular tendency to abbreviate words of common use. Thus _Southwark_, by a habit of quick pronunciation, is become _Suthark_; _Worcester_ and _Leicester_, are become _Wooster_ and _Lester_; _business_, _bizness_; _colonel_, _curnel_; _cannot_, _will not_, _cant_, _wont_.[181] In this manner the final _e_ is not heard in many modern words, in which it formerly made a syllable. The words _clothes_, _cares_, and most others of the same kind, were formerly pronounced in two syllables.[182] Of the other cause of irregularity in the spelling of our language, I have treated sufficiently in the first Dissertation. It is here necessary only to remark, that when words have been introduced from a foreign language into the English, they have generally retained the orthography of the original, however ill adapted to express the English pronunciation. Thus _fatigue_, _marine_, _chaise_, retain their French dress, while, to represent the true pronunciation in English, they should be spelt _fateeg_, _mareen_, _shaze_. Thus thro an ambition to exhibit the etymology of words, the English, in _Philip_, _physic_, _character_, _chorus_, and other Greek derivatives, preserve the representatives of the original ~Ph~ and ~Ch~; yet these words are pronounced, and ought ever to have been spelt, _Fillip_, _fyzzic_ or _fizzic_, _karacter_, _korus_.[183] But such is the state of our language. The pronunciation of the words which are strictly _English_, has been gradually changing for ages, and since the revival of science in Europe, the language has received a vast accession of words from other languages, many of which retain an orthography very ill suited to exhibit the true pronunciation. The question now occurs; ought the Americans to retain these faults which produce innumerable in conveniencies in the acquisition and use of the language, or ought they at once to reform these abuses, and introduce order and regularity into the orthography of the AMERICAN TONGUE?