... b and p is that one has the voice sound and the other has not. Most ofthe other consonants also stand in pairs. We may say that the sonant consonant and its corresponding surd arethe hard and ... I.LETTERS AND SOUNDS.We must begin our study of the English language with the elementary sounds and the letters which representthem.Name the first letter of the alphabet---a. The mouth is open and the ... a hard sound as in the, than, bathe, scythe, etc., and a soft sound as in thin, kith, bath,Smith, etc. Contrast breathe and breath, lath and lathe; and bath and baths, lath and laths, etc.S has...