... LETTERS AND SOUNDS We must begin our study of the English language with the elementary sounds and the letters which represent them Name the first letter of the alphabet -a The mouth is open and the ... few other words ei has the sound of i long In great, break, and steak ea has the sound of a long; in heart and hearth it has the sound of a Italian, and in tear and bear it has the sound of a ... of leading the student through the maze of a new science and teaching him the skill of an old art, exemplified in a long line of masters By way of preface we may say that the mastery of the English...