Ow has a sound of its own, as in _how, crowd, allow,_ etc.;
and _ou_ sometimes has the same sound, as in _loud, rout, bough,_ etc.
(_Ow_ and _ou_ are also sometimes sounded like long _o,_ as in _own,
crow, pour,_ etc., and sometimes have still other sounds,
as _ou_ in _bought_).
Oi and oy have a distinct sound of their own, as in _oil, toil, oyster,
void, boy, employ,_ etc.
_Ow_ and _oi_ are called proper diphthongs, as the two vowels combine
to produce a sound different from either, while such combinations as
_ei, ea, ai,_ etc., are called improper diphthongs (or digraphs),
because they have the sound of one or other of the simple vowels.
3. In the preceding paragraphs we have given all the distinct vowel
sounds of the language, though many of them are slightly modified in
certain combinations. But in many cases one vowel will be given the
sound of another vowel, and two or more vowels will combine with a
variety of sounds. These irregularities occur chiefly in a few hundred
common words, and cause the main difficulties of spelling the English
language. The following are the leading substitutes:
ew with the sound of _u_ long, as in _few, chew,_ etc.
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