Little (things) tend not to be soft.
Note: Small things (and people) are often thought of as being compact and hard. In Julius Caesar, for instance, portly men were felt to be complacent, while those who had a “lean and hungry look” were hard and dangerous.
Note also the slender “b” (written as b´ in the pronunciation key) in the word “beag” followed by a broad “b” (written as b in the pronunciation key) in the word “bog.” Listen after the slender b-sound in beag for a very weak i-sound (as in “sit”). It could be written phonetically as “bieg.” In contrast, the broad b in bog could be written phonetically as “buog.” The u-sound (as in “rule”) in bog is harder to hear because it is magnified and assimilated by the o-sound. This weak i-sound is typical after slender consonants while the weak u-sound is typical after broadz
