ELEMENTS
OF
PRONUNCIATION:
CONTAINING
many important orthoepic discoveries.
-niftinguCHdum e«t . arrcctls amibw.-
BY CALEB BATKS JOSSELYN.
BOSTON: WALKER, FULLER, & CO.,
1866.
-vNOTICE.
[Teachers, clergymen, and others, are requested to prepare lists of words of doubtftil pronunciation, showing how they art accuttomed to pronounce each word, and to send them to the Author, care of Walker, Fuller, & Co., Boston, Mass. The Author will be particularly grateful for the favor, if each correspondent will indicate, not what he thinks should be the pronunciation of any doubtful word, but simply his way of pronouncing it; while, in addition to this, any remarks concerning the words sent, or concerning pronunciation in general, will be acceptable. In preparing such lists, it is suggested that the system of notation adopted on page 45, of this treatise, be employed.
The Author would like to hear how lyceum, museum, depot, dessert, dahlia, pianoforte, retail (vero), levee, sanhedrim, sepulchre, perfect (verb), conservator, contour, romance, coquetry, coterie, etiquette, evening, excise, and perhaps a hundred more words, are pronounced, which, though they have a doubtful pronunciation in usage, have only one recognized in our dictionaries.
The Author solicits this aid in the preparation of a work on Words of Disputed Pronunciation. Every letter will be filed and carefully preserved. The lists may embrace us many words as the correspondents may see fit to collect; while the Author would be pleased with even a single word from any one, he will formally acknowledge his indebtedness, in his contemplated work, to the person who sends him the largest list. ■
flgf" Each correspondent should append his address in full, at the close of his letter.]ELEMENTS
OF
PRONUNCIATION:
CONTAINING
MANY IMPORTANT ORTHOEPIC DISCOVERIES.
—— Dlstluguendum est . . . arrectis aurlbus.-
BY CALEB BATES JOSSELYN.
BOSTON: WALKER, FULLEK, & CO., 1866.PRIKTED BY C. C. P. HOODT.PREFACE.
Books are generally read with the eyes ; but, to understand this, it will be necessary for the student to read it with his ears.
The Author has carefully investigated the sounds of letters for a number of years, and claims to have made important discoveries in the principles of pronunciation. As nature has never bestowed upon any one a truly microscopic vision, I do not think she has given me a microcoustic sense of hearing; but, on the contrary, I must presume that what I have brought to light in English Orthoepy is purely the result of persistent concentration. Whether this be so or not, it is certain that every teacher to whom I have presented my analysis of the vowels (the two Polyphthongs) has readily perceived, and assented to it'; and that the more I explain to others the principles I have discovered, the farther these principles are followed with approbation, and the more useful they appear, as lying at the foundation of all human utterances. A clergyman, on looking at my analysis of ch (in child)-* instantly tested it, and exclaimed emphatically, " Indeed, I never thought of that before. You are right. You are certainly right." He also endorsed the " impletive," saying that he had noticed that cents and sense, etc., in speech, were often mistaken, one for the other, because they were really identical in sound.
The radical imperfections in the notation of our dictionaries, copied into countless spelling-books and readers, and the thousand difficulties under which teachers labor, in consequence; the pains taken by "Webster to exhibit the inconsistencies of orthoepists preceding him, and the conclusion he arrived at, accordingly, to dispense with respell-ing words (a great mistake) to show their pronunciation; the Gordian knot of the " obscure" syllables ; and, what concerns the whole world, the obstacles in the way of teaching one nation the pronunciation of another's language, in a book;—all this plainly shows that English Orthoepy has never been founded upon a digested and systematized knowledge of the organic nature of letters, and of the laws of syllabication. How far this pamphlet supplies the defect the reader must judge; but let him take care not to dispute any statement contained therein until he has submitted it to a discriminating test.One great difficulty- (if not the principal one) with orthoepists, in investigating the sounds of letters, is found in the dominion which the eye exercises over the ear, and it is on account of this literary tyranny that our dictionaries have ever been encumbered, to a great extent, with an ocular and false, instead of an auricular and true orthoepy. As an instance of how symbols are apt to mislead us, there are those today who deny that the sound of wh in when, while, white, etc., is that of these letters reversed (hw); while, if these words had always been written hwen, hwile, hwite, etc., no one would ever have dreamed that they were pronounced otherwise; indeed, he who should have suggested any other pronunciation then, would have been deemed no less, than silly.
The term "phonic," frequently occurring in this treatise, dimply means relating to sound. The nomenclature adopted will explain itself to the student, as the subject progresses. I have employed the term "occluse" for shut, because in many, places it seems necessary. When I wish to say, for instance, "the sound of a in fat is not quite so shut as that of long e," the term " occluse," substituted, frees the sentence from grammatical obliquity.	*
A few chapters, at the end, are occupied with a presentation of the different sounds of the letters. I have never seen any complete presentation of the kind, and it is possible that k may be of service to teachers, for reference, if for nothing more.
Trusting that the teachers throughout our land are always ready to welcome the advent of new truth, and that they will "prove all things and hold fast to that which is good" in this work, I respectfully commit it to their judgment, with the utmost confidence that its principles will receive their ultimate support.
Maiden, May 23, 1866.ELEMENTS OF PRONUNCIATION.
CHAPTER I.
Consonants and Vowels Compared.
Every letter sound we utter is the result of intercepted wind. The air, in its passage from the lungs, is more or less intercepted, entirely in the mutes, not quite entirely in thL non-liquid ductiles, less so in the liquids, still less so in the occluse vowels, and least of all in the open ones; the most open ones obstructing the emission of air, in a measure, or there would be no sound. For the sake of perspicuity, we will assume that the shutting together, or towards, of the vocal organs, which occasions this interception, produces a certain matrice by which a letter is formed.
In thrusting the tongue between the teeth to pronounce th in think, we find we can product the letter by drawing in, as well as by forcing out, the breath. So of f, and so, we shall find, at last, of all the letters, though want of practice gives tQ some of them not quite so clear an enunciation as when the breath is forced out. From this it would seem that the formation of a letter was dependent upon the shape of the orifice of the passing air. Whether this is so or not, the term matrice will be employed in this work to signify the peculiar conformation the vocal organs assume when they intercept the breath to produce a letter.
When we close the lips to produce p, we charge the cavity of the mouth with air, which, as soon as the lips are parted, suddenly escapes. This sudden outrushing of air produces6
ELEMENTS OF
the sound of p, nor is there any further supply of air from the lungs to complete the sound. And in the case of every other letter, it will be observed, upon trial, that there is a supply of forced air in the mouth (being obstructed by complete or approximate articulation), and that the letter cannot be completely pronounced until this air issues, and the closing or vanishing element of the letter is thereby added to the initial element to complete it; which applies to both consonants and vowels. Thus we may dwell upon I, n, etc., at pleasure, but tlje full power of these letters is not developed to the ear until we close their sound by a return of the organs to a state of repose. By-and-by we shall see that this is true of the vowels also, though it is not there so readily perceived.
Though the terms " vowel " and " consonant " are like the terms '' heat" and " cold," we are able to fix a definite Zero in our alphabetical thermometer, and divide the one from the other by a distinct definition. The reader, I think, will find I am not far from the truth in stating that a consonant is produced by the passage of air through an orifice formed by an active, part-of the vocal organism striking against a passive part, and t-hen assuming its original state. In briefer language, a consonant is a vocal sound produced by an appulsive joining of an active with a passive part of the vocal organism. And similarly, a vowel will be found to be a vocal sound produced by an approximation, more or less distant, of the same appulsive juncture. In the case of ee and oo the juncture is almost complete ; in the case of ah and a in fat it is only remote. If there were no approximation there would be no interception of wind, and of consequence, no resistance to produce sound.
It would not answer to define a vowel as an open, and a consonant as a shut sound. For some consonants possess openness sufficiently even to acquire the offices of a vowel, as is witnessed in I and n forming syllables of themselves in riddle (rid-1), and roughen (ruf-n).PRONUNCIATION.
7
And we could, if we insisted upon it against our convenience, form words of consonants alone. Bid, and brd are words complete, and only need to be used to make them appear so. We may prolong the liquid I and r in these combinations at pleasure, bl — d, and br — d, the only practical objection to their use being their want of vocal capacity. Supposing bid was employed in place of bid, how easy to demonstrate the feebleness of a consonant in comparison with a vowel by trying to call out earnestly to one at a distance, " Bid ! bid! ! bid ! ! /" instead of " bid ! bid! ! bid / ! /" It is for this reason that syllables which are composed exclusively of consonants, as the last in riddle, roughen, beckon, etc. never take the accent. By the natural inertia of the human machine we prefer to load those letters with force which most readily receive it.
Consonants have always been considered as imperfect letters ; vowels as perfect ones. This is true with respect to the comparative freedom with which they are pronounced individually ; a, e, i, o, u, being easily uttered alone ; b, t, s, I, etc. with more or less difficulty, but when sounded (sonans) with (con) the vowels, giving the speaker no trouble whatever.
But it is true in no other sense. The consonant is as perfect of its kind as the vowel. It'has an organic and phonic form, as complete as if finished by the hand of a sculptor. And, moreover, from its inflexibleness it possesses an advantage over the vowel; for affectation, ignorance, and brevity are continually taking liberties with the latter, and nature has wisely prevented the otherwise too rapid mutation of a language by supplying it with a proper custodian.8
ELEMENTS OF
CHAPTER II.
Mutes and Ductiles.
Consonants are sub-divided into mutes and semi-vowels, or ductiles, as I shall term them in this work, because semi-vowel signifies half-vovte], a term which only correctly applies to w and y, as will be shown hereafter ; and still another line of division may be drawn between the perfect and imperfect mutes.
Strictly speaking, a mute is a letter which entirely shuts the voice, or one in which two or more parts of the vocal organism join together closely, so that the sound cannot be prolonged at all. But g, b, and d, as they are only imperfectly prolonged, are included in the popular definition of a mute, which is any consonantal letter not protractable at pleasure. Under this label are grouped b, p, d, t, k, g, j, and ch. The two last of these letters, j and ch, I have never seen reckoned with either mutes or ductiles, on account, it is fair to presume, of the prevailing ignorance concerning their organic nature. The composition of ch, as will be shown hereafter, is tsy. In endeavoring to prolong this sound, the dental element t is immediately dropped by the voice and the sy combination dwelt ilpon, which can be done at pleasure ; but as sy is only a part of ch, and not ch itself, the latter must be included in the family of the mutes, as indeed all letters must, having t, p, or k, in composition, since no vocal element can destroy the in-flexibleness of these perfectly occluse letters.
The difference between a perfect and an imperfect mute seems to be this : a perfect mute is a simple letter, and its sound cannot be prolonged at all; whereas the imperfect mutes are all compound letters, and those elements entering into their composition are the parts found [to be protractable when examined.PRONUNCIATION.
9
It is evident that what is added to p, t, k, and ch, to form b, d, g, and j, termed by some vocality, is the only part of these letters which is protractable. If we try to prolong the sound of b, for instance, we close the lips firmly, and start the laryngeal, rumbling sound which distinguishes the letter from p. Now this laryngeal sound we may prolong at pleasure ; but the moment we complete the sound of b Ave perceive that its completeness is not effected save by pronouncing the p element, which we find is as immovably a mute in combination as when in a simple state. But since this laryngeal element is only a part of b, and not b itself, we cannot say that b is protractable, for as soon as we attempt to dwell upon the letter its component parts are immediately separated, and it is no longer one letter we are pronouncing, but two. Therefore,
A mute is any consonantal sound which cannot in its entirety be prolonged by the voice at pleasure.
It remains, then, to divide the mutes into two classes, simple and compound, these terms serving to cover indicatively their organic character.
A ductile is any consonantal sound which can be prolonged by the voice at pleasure. The difference between it and a vowel is this: in the case of the vowel there is but a slight impediment in the passage of the voice, while in the case of the ductile there is a juncture of two or more parts of the vocal organs, the juncture not completely shutting off the breath. Here is a homely, but reliable figure offered for illustration. The mutes are water-gates shut so that no water can pass through. Each ductile is a water-gate, also shut, but instead of its edge fitting closely like the mutal gate, there is a small piece cut out in such a manner as to give, to the little stream passing through, the peculiar shape by which the ear recognizes the letter. The ductiles are f, v, ih, dh, s, z, sh xh, m, n, I, r, ng, w, y.10.
ELEMENTS OF
CHAPTER III.
The Liquids.
A part of the duetiles, I, m, n, r, have been denominated liquids, because they seem to possess a flowing property, as in try, hard, mild, etc. In vivid contrast with this flowing quality it will be observed how abruptly and clumsily the simple mutes t, p, k, are brought into syllabic succession, as in apt, aht, atp, by which their shutness is emphatically demonstrated. A vowel is the most flowing of all letters, and in proportion to its perfection, or freedom from organic impediment, will be its flowing quality. On the other hand, in proportion as a consonant obstructs the voice's flow, will its flowing or liquid quality be diminished. Therefore, the pure mutes are the least liquid of the consonants, and they represent most audibly the consonantal character.
The test of a liquid is the readiness with which it flows after <z simple mute beginning a syllable. Applying this, r seems to be the most perfect of the above named group, and I, more perfect than n, and n than m ; for pray is smoother than play, and tnay smoother than tmay.
But we will now enter upon a more discriminative examination of the subject.
It will be observed that the liquids do not exhibit to the ear their liquid nature except by the aid of mutes, or consonants which are mutal in comparison with them. Thus we cannot pronounce, readily, Iray, or rlay. Let us inquire into the reason of this. We must notice that a syllable pronounced is a crescendo and diminuendo united ; and that every syllabic impulse of the vocal organs, whether more or less ob-tuBe, is productive of this same swell, the weight of the voicePRONUNCIATION.
11
being thrown upon the vowel contained in the syllable. For
example, in grant thero is an increase of sound beginning at
g, continuing through r to the middle of a, when a diminution
commences and is continued through n to the close of the
word, as represented by these figures, the highest figures de-
1 2 3 2 1
noting the heaviest sound,— grant.
Our next step is to observe (what has already been said in substance) that all letters are not equally receptive of vocal force, the mutes being the most silent, as their name truly implies, while the vowels are most vocal, and the liquids come in, in rank, between the two. And here is unfolded the peculiar nature of a liquid. It partakes in such an eminent degree of the nature of the vowel, as, like a vowel, to expand and flow by the force of the vocal current as a wave does by the force of its kindred element, the wind. The liquid must therefore be contiguous to the vowel; and of two liquids, the purest must claim the contiguity, as in fashioning a syllable from m, r, and a, we find mra agreeable, but rma nearly impossible. The m in mra acts in the capacity of a mute.
Now, since a syllable is organically a swell, there is necessary to its easy enunciation a correspondence of vocal receptive-ness in the letters to the character of the swell. The most open letter must be in the middle, which is the vowel. Next to the vowel on either side should be the next most open letter, while at the beginning and end of the syllable should be the most occluse or mutest one. From this it will appear that the liquid does not flow into the mute, — the occluse nature of the mute forbidding it, — but into the vowel, when preceding the latter, as in cry and fly, while the vowel flows into the liquid when followed by it, as in art and old.
And this confluence of the liquid and vowel leads us to the discovery that w and y are liquids, and liquids, too, of a higher rank than any hitherto considered. For, in proportion to the purity of a liquid is its tendency to become immersed in the12
ELEMENTS OF
vowel contiguous to it. It is because r is a very pure liquid that we seldom notice its sound in arm, art, etc. and with difficulty distinguish between the sounds of farther and father. The vowel blends with, and in a measure conceals, the liquid from the ear. But w and y are much purer than r, and are almost entirely concealed, as one will see by pronouncing the combinations, bayd, own, trying to articulate y and w as distinctly as possible.
That w and y are liquids will appear from the test given at the beginning of the chapter. There is no smoother combination than that of kw in queen, unless it be that of ky in the Walkerian pronunciation of kind (kyind). The easy bending or flowing of w and y in these cases the critical ear will not fail to notice and admire.
That these letters are purer liquids than r will conclusively appear when we attempt to pronounce together yra, wra. It is quite impossible without making two syllables of each combination. But rya, rwa, though far from being facile, are pronounceable, showing that r is more mutal than y and w, and of consequence, less liquid.
Though from what has been said the reader will understand that the term liquid is only relative, the following letters, for a reason to be adduced hereafter, may be regarded as liquids, they being written in the order of their purity : y, w, r, I, n, m, ng.PRONUNCIATION.
13
CHAPTER IV.
Impletives.
Every letter, whether consonant or vowel, produced by the voice, has a phonic shape, and is formed precisely as a metallic figure is cast, by a conformation or matrice of the vocal organs. The term impletive is employed to denote a consonant which is unavoidably pronounced by the rapid change of the vocal organism from one matrice to another ; which letter seems to Jill in and prevent a vacuum between the letters produced by the two matrices.
Pronounce the combination glim ; then pronounce it again, adding thereto the pure s, (taking special care not to suffer its conversion into z), as if the word were glimce. Pronounce this combination as fast and full as possible, striving to connect the m and co without the least approximation to hiatus, and sufficient repetition with close concentration of the ear will show that there is a letter unavoidably developed by the passage of the voice from rn to s, and that that letter is no more or less than p, the word being pronounced identically with glimpse. Should the reader wish to provide against any bias of auricular judgment from anticipating the word glimpse, let him take the syllable hum - s instead, producing kumps. The experiment is attended with the danger of flattening the s into z, which perplexes the ear and hinders its decision. But another danger really gigantic is the proclivity of the voice to depart from its usual pronunciation while engaged in experiment, and thus prevent the student from listening to its sounds as they occur when the restraint of introspection is removed. The instant we abstract a word from speech to examine it, we are apt to pronounce it much slower than we do14
ELEMENTS OF
in speech, thereby furnishing the ear with premises which deceive us, since time is an important consideration in orthoepic inquiries, and it is impossible to arrive at orthoepic truths if we overlook it. If, in pronouncing glims, the least hiatus is occasioned, by deliberation, between m and s, then no intervening sound occurs. The only way in which the impletive can be clearly discerned by the student, is by accustoming the ear to an alert pursuit of the successive letters. He is not expected to discern it clearly at first, nor would it be fair for him to say, because he fails to do so, that there is no impletive, since it is the result of the most careful examination, and corroborated by a multitude.of facts in our language which the author is prepared to exhibit, but has not room in the limits of this treatise.
Each of the simple mutes, p, k, t, is an impletive, appearing under the following circumstances : p between m and s, as in glim-p-s ; k between ng and t, as in ring-h-t; between ng and s, as in Mng-k-s ; between ng and ih as in Jcing-k-th ; t between n and s, as in min-t-s ; and between I and s, as in fil-t-s. It is possible that t occurs as an impletive between n and th, but I am unable to decide.
The discovery of impletives shows that there is no difference between the sounds of sense and cents. Let an experiment be tried in confirmation of this. Let any person pronounce before an audience, in a natural, conversational manner, one of these words, without informing his audience which one he has chosen to pronounce. Then let him inquire which word he pronounced, and he will be likely to lind, if he pronounced it without restraint, that his audience is divided in their opinions.
It will appear, also, that false and faults are identical in sound, and that length and strength are pronounced lengkth and strengkth, equivalent to lenkth and strenkth.
The words comb, limb, thumb, etc., it will also be observed,PRONUNCIATION.
15
redeem, in the plural, their b from silence, since, if s is flattened into the laryngeal z sound, the impletive p is necessarily flattened with it, by contact in the same vocal impulse, into b.
By and by I shall show that ch in child is a compound letter, composed of the elements tsy. The decomposition of this compound has bi'ought to light the fact that an impletive occurs between t and y, which is s. By pronouncing t-y-ild with one vocal impulse, the s sound is developed and the combination becomes tsyild, equivalent to child. Walker's nice ear detected the s in ch, as the reader will see by referring to the re-spelling of this letter in his Pronouncing Dictionary.
But Walker-'s ear did not reach the impletive ; for had he understood this phenomenon, he would have saved himself the useless pains of imitating Don Quixote in giving battle to a windmill in directing bench, finch, etc. to be pronounced bensh, finsh, etc. He would have seen that in attempting to pronounce the combination bensh, the impletive t is developed between n and s, making the combination ben-t-sh, which is the same as bench, and that it is vocally impossible to pronounce bensh as it is written. Filch and milch, likewise, are necessarily pronounced filtch and miltch, and Welshman is pronounced Weltchman in spite of its ortho- or rather its coco-graphy.
The word presumption cannot be unrestrainedly pronounced without sounding the p ; for though the s sound in tion is supposed to belong to this syllable, yet m coming in contact with it, though in another syllable, will evoke the impletive in every case where a word is easily and coherently uttered. Nor do the chastest speakers pronounce mention, menshun, as often as they do menchun, the impletive t coming up between the n and s sounds, and converting sh into tsh, or ch.
For the benefit of those who are skeptical with regard to the existence of the impletive let me offer a few questions. They will not deny that p canj be pronounced between m and16
ELEMENTS OF
t, as in dreampt. Neither do I think they will deny that the p as pronounced here, is wanting in that prominence which it possesses in the combinations where there is no impletive, as in hilpt and lispt. Striking out the p from the last words, we remove nearly half of the consonantal effect of the combinations, making two words entirely different in sound, hilt, list. But not so with dreampt. Pronounce it dreampt, or dreamt, does your ear recognize any material change ? Why is this ? And why is it true of all the impletives ?
You perceive a vast difference between mifs and mifts. But do you perceive a corresponding difference between mince and mints ? Between mists and mitts and between vasts and vats the difference is striking. Why is there not an equal difference between faidts and false, between bensh and bench ? Is it not strange, and deserving of careful examination, that the mutes p, t, k, which stand out in such consonantal relief in other cases, should be entirely deprived of their prominence when acting as impletives ?
Why they lose their prominence in this capacity I am unable to offer a reason further than that they seem to partially conceal themselves from the ear by hiding in a vocal chasm or hiatus.
Many of my readers, I dare say, may think that they perceive a difference in sound between a word pronounced with the impletive and without it. Let my experience assure them that this discrimination is either (1) an illusion of the eye, the student failing to hear the sound of t, for instance, between n and ce in mince, because it is not written there, as he is apt to think wh in white is pronounced literally, instead of hw ; or it is (2) an inference from false premises ; as, for instance, in sounding nts in mints, he dwells upon the t and makes it prominent by separating it from n and s so as to destroy its impletive character.PRONUNCIATION.	17
CHAPTER "V".
Aspirates and Laryngeals.
When the matrices which shape the letters of speech are filled with air that does not cause the vocal chords to vibrate, then the result is a whisper ; when with air that causes them to vibrate, then the result is vocal speech. But the vibratory action of the vocal chords has a peculiar influence upon eight letters, p, t9 k, f, s, th, sh, and ch, whereby they are changed into b, d, g, v, z, dh (in this), zh (in azure), and j. When we whisper, therefore, we never pronounce the latter letters, and then it is only by means of the context that we can distinguish between guide and kite, gig and kick, bear and pear, etc.
These two classes of letters have been appropriately distinguished by the terms Aspirates and Yocals ; but because vocal is applied to the entire apparatus of the voice, as in vocal organs, I submit the term Laryngeal, instead, as being more precise and therefore preferable to the other.
But a question arises to the curious inquirer, Why are not I, r, m, etc. susceptible of this peculiar laryngeal influence ? Why have we not a sharp and a flat I, as we have a sharp and a flat p, etc. ?
The first thing suggested to the close student in seeking an answer to this question, is, that the letters nqt susceptible of this peculiar influence are the liquids. It has already been shown that the liquids are least possessed of the consonantal nature. We examine the organic source of the aspirates, and ascertain that p is molded in a matrice nearly the same as that of m and I; and n nearly the same as that of t, and th ; and k nearly the same as that of ng. We therefore conclude that there is nothing in their organic source to throw light on their peculiar susceptibility, and the inference is drawn
B18
ELEMENTS OF
that it is because the aspirates are adequately endowed with the consonantal nature that they are susceptible of the peculiar influence whereby they are changed into laryngeals. And, furthermore, that a liquid is a liquid simply because it is not sufficiently endowed with the consonantal nature to render it susceptible of this influence.
It is a fact generally understood among orthoepists^that in the same syllable aspirates must succeed aspirates, and laryngeals laryngeals. Thus chintz cannot be pronounced otherwise than chints, and waltz must be pronounced waits. It is by reason of this physiological law that in such words as laced, steeped, and scoffed, where the last e is sunk, the final consonant becomes sharpened because the preceding one is sharp.
But a laryngeal may be followed by two aspirates in the same syllable, without changing or being changed by them, as in midst and hadst, pronounced as they are written. And we can obviously pronounce the th sharp in width, which seems to show that there is an impletive before it, namely, t, being equal to widtth, since it is impossible for a single aspirate and a single laryngeal to be pronounced together in the same syllable.
I cannot close this chapter without remarking how expert is the voice in managing the letters under consideration as it weaves them into the fabric of speech ! However loud the utterances of an orator, he never raises his aspirates above a whisper, while the sharp hiss of his s's, the pointed tick of his fs, the clear klick of his /c's, the gliding thrusts of his th's, the half-whistling whirrs of his fs, and his smacking p's may be distinctly discerned at distances where the gross thud of the laryngeals are lost to the ear in the rumbling noises of the assembled multitude. Think of a man thus whispering to five thousand people ! The following italicized letters give an idea how often the aspirates occur in language:—
The larynx is a /cind of cartilaginous 2ube, whicA, taken as a whole, has the general /orm of a hollow reversed cone, withPRONUNCIATION.
19
base upward toward the tongue, in the shape of an expanded triangle.
What skill must the voice possess (or rather the intelligence, which, through the ear, controls it) in order to lower itself into a whisper so frequently without being conscious of either the effort or the change !
CHAPTER YI.
* Organic formation of the Consonants.
The most difficult, and yet the most bewitching task now lies before us, the analysis of the elementary sounds of speech. Of the importance to be attached to this analysis, — when we come to consider that there is nothing arbitrary in pronunciation but must be accommodated to the facts which it evolves, — no one can be left in doubt. And since there is nothing easier for the student than to be led astray in the examination of alphabetical sounds, I will offer a few hints to assist him in the pursuit of truth.
"When dwelling upon the sound of a letter, be careful not to mistake a (1) component part of that sound for the sound itself. Thus, in trying to prolong ch, you may think you are succeeding when it is only sh you are dwelling upon, and of course your conclusions with regard to ch will be wiong, as it is only a part of ch and not ch entire that you have prolonged.
Do not (2) mistake one letter for another which you fancy closely resembles it in sound, being deceived by the written characters. Thus, one may think a in.fomc?and a in far are closely related, (a common delusion on which is based Smart's so-called " intermediate" sound of a), whereas, an oiganictest will show that they belong to two radically different classes of vowels. Even Walker was so far misled by the written sym-20
ELEMENTS OF
bol as to suppose sh to be really s and h as in hay, -which is easily shown to be far from the truth by connecting together 5 and haze, to make chaise, the effect being little more than s-aze pronounced hesitatingly as though the speaker were stammering, and altogether different from chaise (shaze).
Obviously, the first step towards the analysis of a compound letter is a suggestion by the ear of a phonic resemblance to some other letter or letters. Thus at an early age we discover a likeness in the sound of qu to kw, and in that of x to ks, and the resemblance is soon ascertained to be nothing short of identity.
But the second step is as important as the first, which is to submit the sounds in question to an organic test. We hear the sound of b; we see in it a phonic resemblance to p. Now Dy noticing the organs of speech as we glide from p to b, we perceive that precisely the same matrice is formed to produce the latter as the former, save that the latter is accompanied with a laryngeal contraction, without doubt an imperfect juncture. Pis produced by a certain labial collision ; b by the same collision, with a certain murmuring of the vocal chords. In all my analytical intercourse with the sounds of letters I have always diligently subjected every presumption to a critical organic test of this character; and where the test, upon long, persevering trial, proved satisfactory, I have consistently regarded the analysis sure ; but failing in the test, I have, in every instance, as the reader will sec, acknowledged the failure.PRONUNCIATION.
21
CHAPTER "VII.
Organic formation of the Simple Mutes.
P. — This letter is Tormed by protruding the lips a hair and closing them until the breath is collected, and then letting it suddenly issue. Though it approaches to bluntness in sound, it still 'seems to be pricked on the lips, and may be distinguished by the term aculabial. Like the other mutes it is phonically perspicuous and precise. It forms a euphonious connection with r and I, as in pray, harp, play, help. It follows m. as in damp, but pm never precedes a vowel in the same syllable. Pw and py, as in pwaid and pyaid, though not English, cannot be otherwise than smooth, as they are the connection of a pure mute with the purest liquids.
T. — This letter is formed by pressing the tip of the tongue to the gums of the upper teeth, and then separating them. T is known as a " dental," and employing the term as a synecdoche, whereby the whole is conveniently represented by a part, there is no objection to its use. But science has nothing to do with figures of speech, and no rhetorical device can make 2 stand for 4 to the mathematician, or make the term " dental," to the correct orthoepist, stand for the letter t, in an exact or-thoepic nomenclature. Let us see if I am not right.
I think the reader will agree with me in stating that " dental" should be applied, physiologically, to those letters in the pronunciation of which the teeth are, at least, the principal agents, or, which could not be pronounced without them. But it is a fact that t can easily be pronounced without the teeth ; it is a fact that we touch the gums, and not the teeth, when we pronounce it; it is a fact that we may roll the tongue over back to the throat, even, and still pronounce t as plainly as ever. And what does this show ? Conclusively, that neither the22
ELEMENTS OF
teeth, nor the gums are a sine qua non of the formation of t. What, then, is the principal agent in producing this letter ? Of course, it is the tongue.
And here I would opportunely offer what it seems to me ought to be a satisfactory premise in establishing a system of names for the consonants with respect to their organic origin. Let the reader judge if it is not correct.
It was remarked in the outset that a consonant was a letter produced by a juncture of two or more parts of the vocal organism, and it was implied that, in the juncture, there was one active, and one passive instrument. In the formation of pi the reader will observe that the under lip is the active attribute, because it moves to form the juncture with the upper lip, which is responsively passive to the action. Now it seems to me that the consonantal sound produced should derive its name from the active agent; and where, for the sake of distinction, it is desirable to double the name, the additional designation may be taken from the passive agent, or from some circumstance expressive of the nature of the letter. On examining t, we find the active instrument to be the tip of the tongue, and as the letter is formed by a pricking or pointing of the tongue, it is a tongue-pricked letter, or aculingual. By confining the tongue's tip against the lower gums, t can still be pronounced; but the tongue then bends and forms another quasi tip, by which is shaped the same matrice as is' shaped by the disengaged tongue.
T is a simple mute. Its phonic characteristic is sharpness. It precedes y, as in tyune ; w, as in twine ; r, as in tray ; but as a mute, it does not precede I, m, n, or ng. It succeeds r, as in mart; I, as in belt; n, as in went; but does not succeed m or ng, save by an impletive. T, united with the laryngeal element, forms d.
K. — This letter is formed by pressing the root of the tongue against the throat, and therefore may be distinguishedPRONUNCIATION.
23
by the name of radilingual. By withdrawing or thrusting forward the tongue, we may make it more or less guttural, for, like all other linguals, its origin is limited to a certain point of the tongue, and, as we move the latter, we necessarily move the source of the letter. The reader will recollect that t is carried on the tip of the tongue, and is producible wherever the tip forms a juncture, either with the gums, palate, or throat.
It is worthy of note, that all the consonants (except h, and the nasal and laryngeal elements) are actively produced by the under-organs, that is, those comprised in the lower jaw ; for these are the only organs moving or acting to a consonantal juncture, excepting those concerned in producing the above-named excepted elements. The consonant is made by a striking-up, and the instrument which thus strikes is either the lower lip or the tongue, the burden of enunciation resting upon the latter. In forming k, the tongue contracts previous to the articulation, giving it a volume at the roots so as to facilitate the necessary movement.
K is a simple mute, having a sharp, cracking sound, as heard in kick. United with the laryngeal element, it forms g. The roughness of these letters is witnessed illustratively in gag, colchicum (kolkikum), and tragacanth. In hark, cry, milk, clay, queen, kyind, we see how k fraternizes with the pure liquids ; while ng precedes it in ink (ingk), but does not succeed it, and with n and m it has no connection.24
elements of
chapter "viii.
Organic formation of R, L, S, and Th.
R:— In the formation of t, I, r, s, and n, the end of the tongue is in nearly the same position. Why, then, should there be such differences in the letters ? The student will perceive that each of them imposes a peculiar restraint upon the tongue, which is a muscular effort to shape the peculiar matrice whereby the letter is pronounced, for all sounds are modes of vibrations dependent upon the shapes of sonorous bodies, among which bodies air is an important one. But r differs from t, I, s, and n, in one significant respect. We may pronounce the latter letters while the end of the tongue is confined against the gums of the under teeth which shows that their origin is in the upper part of the tongue's tip. But a tongue-tied person cannot pronounce an r, which shows that the origin of this tortuous letter is under the tongue, and, being tlig only letter having an origin there, should be termed a sublingual. In producing the sublingual, the tongue slightly turns up its end, giving it a rolling shape (which suggested the sound), and strikes its under side up against the gums, palate, or anywhere where it can reach. But the r matrice cannot be formed by striking the tongue against the lower gums, showing that an indispensable condition of the matrice is a certain lingual rolling.
The " rolling" r seems to be an intensification of r as ordinarily pronounced, for by dwelling upon r gently, and then increasing the breath and allowing the end of the tongue to vibrate, we produce the " rolling" r and may dwell upon it at pleasure. But there is still a mystery in it.
The sublingual, which is a simple letter, is characterized by a wliirring, jarring sound, resembling the noise of a spinning-PRONUNCIATION.
25
wheel. Excepting w and y, it is the most perfect of all the liquid family, and, of consequence, after a vowel, it is easily sunk. Garb, arc, hard, scarf, burg, large, marl, harm, &ar», Aarjo, parse, mart, starve, furze, earth, harsh, show that all the consonants (except w, y, and h) will follow r after a vowel, while most of them will precede it before a vowel with more or less facility, as is witnessed in bray, cry, dray, fray, gray, pray, sray, tray, vray, zray, thrive, shrive.
R is remarkable for the control it exercises over the vowels, in many fcases, when it closes them. Thus long e, long i, long o, long u, and ou never take r after them without breaking the syllable in two ; as in here, fire, four, lure, flour, pronounced he-ur, fi-ur, fo-ur, lu-ur, flou-ur. Long a is never followed by r, but another sound has obtained in its stead, that of short a lengthened, as in fare, pronounced faa-ur. Strange enough would our language sound if we pronounced these words in one syllable only, as our dictionaries would have us ! Then the sentence fear it would become fee-writ ; fire at it, fie-rat-it; moreover, mow-Rover ; pure air, pew-rare, etc. Between flour and flower, hire and higher, more and mower, near and hieer (one who knees), there is no phonic difference, and a dictionary designed for the nineteenth century is sadly deficient that does not recognize this fact in its notation.* •
L. — In alternating between the sounds of t and I, (the experiment allows more discrimination if conducted in a whisper), while the tongue's end remains in the same place substantially for both letters, it will be perceived that but little lingual effort is requisite to produce t, and that, too, is limited to the point of contact; but a3 the tongue arranges itself to produce I, it requires the labor of the muscles at the base. Now though this labor is s'ight, yet to its agency we owe the peculiar shaping of the tongue which results in the formation of I, a letter so different from t as scarcely to present any fea-
* It is not recognized either by Worcester or Webster.26
ELEMENTS OF
ture of phonic resemblance. As I has a flowing sound to the ear, we will give it the name of Jluilingual.
The fluilingual is frequently used as a substitute for a vowel in unaccented syllables, as in middle, poodle, mantle, etc. It is a simple letter, and as a liquid ranks next to r, while blow, flow, glow, clay, ply, sly, bulb, weld, elf, yolk, elm, help, wilt, elves, health, milch, bilge, show the extent of its association with other consonants. When s follows I after a vowel, the impletive t appears, as in else, pronounced, unavoidably, elts.
S. — This simple ductile, whose flat cognate is z, is formed by placing the tip of the tongue against the roots of the upper teeth, and giving issue to the breath so as to produce a hiss. We may say of t and p that they are pricked, of k that it is cracked, of I that it flows, of r that it is spun; and since we say of s that it hisses, it will be easy to distinguish it by the name of sibillingual.
The sibillingual has, not without reason, been styled suce potestatis literce, since it possesses the power peculiar to itself of associating very generally with the other consonants. While in sly,'snow, smite, it seems to act the part of a mute, it performs a feat which can be done by neither mute nor liquid ; that is, it precedes a mute euphoniously at the beginning of a syllable. A happy libration of the mutal and liquid properties in s is undoubtedly the cause of this power, the beauty of which appears strikingly in the fact that this letter will precede every other consonant before a vowel, as in sphinx (sfinx), s-hy, slcy, sly, smite, snow, spy, srink, sty, swell, shell (syell), sthy, schy, sngy. Ifs, licks, hips, purse, Jits, writhes, show the extent of its succession of consonants at the end of a syllable, as impletives occur after I, m, n, and ng, and ch refuses to be followed by it since this letter is equal to tsy, and as s does not cease its sound after uniting with y, here, it is brought in immediate contact with the additional s. But as ch is tsy, sch is pronounceable, the s's being separated by t. To the same pro-PRONUNCIATION.
27
perty in s we are chiefly indebted for the succession of more than two consonants in a syllable, as in spry, scrape, asks, etc. In danced (dantst) there are four, including the impletive; but beyond this number the pronunciation is -difficult for a man with limited vocal force, though a giant with a man's vocal organs and lungs of thirty horse power, might dispatch in one syllable a half score of alphabets.
Th. — This ductile is formed by thrusting the tongue between the teeth, pressing it against the upper teeth, and allowing the breath to issue from the mouth. By doubling the tongue under at the gums of the lower teeth, th may still be pronounced, but since in this case, as well as when we commonly pronounce it, the tongue acts as a wedge, it will not be out of place to designate the letter by the name of cunealingual, or tongue-wedge.
The resemblance of th to s is remarkable. Its sound is a beautifully soft and muffled hiss, and it can be employed as a substitute for s in every place, as witnessed in the enunciation of lispers. It is a simple letter, though expressed with two characters, and its flat cognate is dh. It may be remarked, by the way, that there is a slight difference between the dh sound in with and that in though, the latter being more compressed and thicker.
CHAPTER IX.
Organic formation of F, M, N, NG, H, W, and F.
F. — The striking resemblance of f to th cannot have escaped the reader, the only difference between them being the fact that th is a lisping of the tongue, and f a lisping of the lips. Nor is the resemblance a phonic illusion, for, while in producing th, the tongue is a wedge between the teeth, thrust outward, in producing/, the lower lip is a wedge between the28
ELEMENTS OF
same, thrust inward. It is therefore with propriety that we apply to f the name of cunealabial, or lip-wedge.
The cunealabial, whose flat cognate is v, is evidently a simple letter. It is a non-liquid ductile, and in fly, fry, elf, etc. it supplies the place of a mute. It has a soft, agreeable sound, and both f and th impress the ear with the idea of width.
M. — The resemblance, both phonically and organically, of this letter to b, suggested in the beginning of my investigations, that the analysis of the former might be the element p united to the nasal element. But this hypothesis seems to be destroyed by a stubborn fact that nothing can overcome the inflexibleness of a mute, so as to render it ductile, and we know that m may be prolonged at pleasure. The fact that m, n, and ng, are not changcd like b, d, etc. by whispering, obliges us to attempt some other method to' detach the nasal from their other constituent elements. But all my efforts to this end have failed.
M is pronounced by closing the lips and suffering the air to issue through the nose; for Avhich reason we may style it a nasilabial. The ease with which it is pronounced is witnessed in the use made of it when we give an absent-minded assent to a direct question, especially to children, — a mere vocal breathing through the nose with the lips closed gently, ending the letter with the rising inflection. It is worthy of notice that while m is an affirmative in this way, and also in may, must, might, more, and in affirmative itself, its companion nasal n shows a disposition for denial in not only denial, but in no, not, nor, none, never, and also negative !
The nasilabial has an agreeable, resonant sound, arlittle wider than b. As a liquid it ranks with n. No mute precedes it, and only one follows it, its neighbor p, as in damp. P is the impletive assistant of m when the latter is followed by t, k, s, or f; as in imt (impt), imk (impk), imse (imps), imf (impf). ilfwill take the place of a vowel in an unaccentedPRONUNCIATION.
29
syllable, but does not legitimately in English, though we find it employed in this capacity in the New York or Western pronunciation of buxom (bux-m), random (ran-dm), etc. where the preceding vowel is, by habit, sunk.
N. — To produce this letter the tongue is placed nearly as in the formation of d, and the breath allowed to issue through the nose. It may therefore be styled a nasilingual.
While there may be some reasons for supposing m, n, and ng to be composed of jo, t, and k, respectively, and the nasal element, I think the matrices which form p, t, and k, differ somewhat from those which correspondently form the labial and lingual elements of m, n, and ng. The tongue appears to have a wider juncture in the latter than in the former case.
Besides this, there is an apparent slight difference of locality. And I may remark here, in passing, that I find a relative precedency of the consonants ; that is, each consonant has a certain locality in the organs, which is, relatively to all other consonants, never changed. The order in which they are formed, beginning with that located farthest from the lips, is this : h, ng, k, w, y, r, I, n, t, s, th, m, p, f. This sequence never changes, for if, instead of producing t at the roots of the upper teeth, as is usual, we thrust the end of the tongue backj and produce it against the posterior slope of the palate, there will be the place of n, I, r, y, farther back, still, as an attempt to produce them then will show ; and a similar trial may be made of any other consonant.
As a liquid, n ranks next to I. By means of the impletive t, it is connected with s and th, as in since (sints), and month (montth), and, I think, withjo,/, and k, also, as in inp (intp), inf (intf), and in-k (intk). N takes the place of a vowel in certain unaccented syllables, as in happen (hap-pn), crimson (crim-sn), etc.
Ng. — This letter is formed by effecting a juncture nearly the same as is made in g, and giving vent to the voice through c30
ELEMENTS OF
the nose, whereby it is seen to be a nasiradilingual. It possesses the harsh contour of a guttural united to the resonance of a nasal. It is the most cumbrous of the nasals, and is difficult to pronounce in unaccented syllables, when speech is rapid, which accounts for the quite general transformation of it into n in participial endings in the New York pronunciation.
Ng is remarkable for one thing, it is qualified to begin a syllable, and yet it never does. Probably but a few of my readers would recognize the letter when employed as an initial; but the transition of go, give, to ngo, ngive, is not difficult, and will apprize us of the oddity with which an old acquaintance impresses us under a new guise. The guttural thickness of ng is very conspicuous here. Ngaw ! would be an expressive interjection of loathing disgust, and would fit snugly in the throat of some of the rougher characters with which Charles Dickens has favored us.
Ng refuses association with any mute save its impletive k, with which it combines in sink, thank, etc., which are insensibly pronounced single, thangk, etc. This impletive occurs after ng when followed by t, s, and th, as in thangt (thangkt), ringce (ringks), length (lengkth), strength (strengkth).
H. — A special sudden expulsion of air from the lungs causes a certain guttural juncture by which that sound is produced which is represented by h. It appears, in sound, like a mute, and is probably one, since it will precede a liquid, as in white (hwite), hyay, hray, May, etc. The importance of h in enunciation is manifest when we omit its sounds in the words when, while, which, white, whine, whig, whey, whether, whale, converting them thereby into wen, wile, witch, wight, wine, wig, way, weather, wail. H begins a syllable, but does not in English close one. In German, however, it closes one, as in ich, the ch being equivalent to h, but it is h intensified, very plainly developing its guttural harshness. H will separate syllables as well as any other consonant, as in dray-horse, pro-PRONUNCIATION.
31
nounced quickly, taking care not to slight the h, and changing the sound of ay into short e, short i, etc. at pleasure.
W. — This letter is formed by contracting the tongue so as to shorten it nearly or quite as much as is possible, whereby it may be termed a brevilingual. This shrinking back of the tongue naturally draws upon the muscles of the cheek so as to produce a labial contortion precisely like that produced by whistling. But the juncture on which the letter-matrice depends is made by the tongue, and not by the lips, as one can prove by closing the teeth and confining the lips in any manner he may see fit, while w or oo is produced the same a3 ever.
The brevilingual, when dwelt upon, becomes a vowel, being then oo, for which reason the term semivowel may be applied to it with propriety. It has a smooth sound, as witnessed in sworn, twine, guerrilla, etc. TFis conspicuous enough at the beginning of a syllable, as in wink, but of course, from its liquid nature must be overwhelmed by the driven vowel preceding it, at the close of a syllable, as in snow, grow, so as tt> be lost to the ear; but it is restored again by adding another syllable begun with a vowel, as is seen in snowing, growing, where distinct enunciation will make it sufficiently prominent to be readily detected. *
Y. — This letter (which prolonged, is ee) is formed by pressing the middle of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, and because the tongue is employed in its natural length, and that it may be distinguished well from w, we will term it a longilingual. Like w, it is lost at the close of a syllable, as in hay, may, but is restored again on the addition of another syllable. J" is not employed in English as a liquid except by the disciples of Walker, who pronounce kind, find, etc. kyind,fyind, a pronunciation which only requires usage to make it appear beautiful, as it really is to an ear unprejudiced by custom. J" has to the ear a squeezed, pinched appearance, perfectly consistent with our notions of a garreteer.32
ELEMENTS OF
CHAPTER X.
Organic formation of Sh.
Sh. — Let the sound of y be made in a whisper and dwelt upon, and, while dwelling upon it, add thereto the sound of s, without disturbing that part of the tongue engaged informing the matrice of y, namely, the middle part, which is pressed up against the palate. If the student practices upon this experiment sufficiently, and carefully follows the directions, he will sooner or later ascertain that he thereby produces the mixed sound of sh in shine. He will also discover that the two constituent elements are protractable together at pleasure.* If the experiment be made with a loud voice, zh will result.
The fact seems to me to he clearly established by the lisping analysis of sh. Lisping consists simply in substituting th for s. Now a lisper in trying to pronounce plainly the phrase, " I saw a fine shell in the show-case," says, " I thaw a fine th-yell in the th-yow-c&se." The s in sh is changed into th, but the y element is left intact, for a lisper can pronounce this, though he cannot the s element.!
Let the reader, if he wishes, quickly pronounce the words, " Ice yell," and " I miss you," and he will find the union of the sibillingual sound with y to be no other than sh, the phrases becoming " I shell,' and " I mishu."
* This is the reason why we cannot form the plural of wish, -without adding an e, wishes, since adding an s to wish would bo llie same as adding it to thinks, which would be " carrying coal to Kcwcaslle."
t A teacher, after duly examining my analysis of ah, and endorsing it, has given me the following test which he regards as conclusive. A lisper wishes to say to another," Can I sell you a shell ?" and the other understands him to say, " Can I the 11 you a thell?" " Sell me a sell ?" replies he. Then the lisper, trying to pronounce the " shell" plainly, emphasizes it, " Can I thell you a th-yell?" thereby leaving the y element unmistakably detached to the ear.PRONUNCIATION.
33
In all the words where the sibillingual sound and y come in contact, these letters have united, and the union is recognized, as in tissue, fissure, lesion, etc., pronounced analytically, tiss-yue, fiss-yure, leze-yun, etc., but in speech, tish-ue, fish-ure le-zhun, etc. Sh follows a liquid in marsh, and precedes one in shrine, but the latter is a clumsy combination in antagonism with the laws of liquids, making a purer liquid precede another as an initial part of a syllable.
Oh. — Walker was right in analyzing ch, whose laryngeal cognate is j, into tsh. If the reader tries to prolong ch, he drops the aculingual t, and dwells upon sh, or sy. The s is an impletive between t and y, which letters cannot be connected without it.
The contact of t with y in contiguous syllables in unrestrained speech necessitates the union of these letters by which the sound of ch is formed. If a teacher pronounces nature nate-yure, he does ,so under restraint, and that restraint destroys the syllabic unity of the word, allowing too much time for its pronunciation. I am very sure that critical observation by teachers will bear me out in the assertion that nature (standing for a large class of words) is always pronounced, by the best speakers, na-chure, except in schools where it is given under restraint as an example, and in the case of a few octogenarians, where a hesitating utterance allows the hiatus. But no harm can possibly ever result from giving nate-yure as the correct pronunciation in schools, excepting a wasting of breath on the part of the teacher.
If the reader entertains doubts with regard to the analysis I have given of ch, let me take leave of him with a question or two for his consideration. If y is not the last element in the composition of ch, why is it that teachers find their pupils continually pronouncing the ch in all cases where t is followed by y, as in nature ?
Do ch and sh strike the ear as simple letters ? If not, is it34
ELEMENTS OP
not possible to decompose them ? And if they jnay be decomposed, is there any reason why they may not be decomposed in the present century ?
We will now close our treatment of the consonants by presenting a synopsis of their organic nature in the following
Tabular View of the Consonants.
p, (laryng. b), aculabial, mute, t, (laryng. d), aculingual, mute,	I
k, (laryng. g), radilingual, mute,	|
ch, (laryng. j), = t s y, aculongilingual, mute.
f, (laryng. v), cunealabial, non-liquid ductile, th, (laryng. dh), cunealingual, non-liquid ductile,	{
s, (laryng. z), sibillingual, non-liquid ductile,	. J
sh, (laryng. zh), = sy, sibillongilingual, non-liquid ductile.
m, nasilabial, liquid ductile, n, nasilingual, liquid ductile, ng, nasiradilingual, liquid ductilc, > I, fluilingual, liquid ductile, r, sublingual, liquid ductile.
w, brevilingual, liquid ductile, semivowel,
y, longilingual, liquid ductile, semivowel, j h, aspirate, mute (?)
There are, it will now appear, twenty-four consonants in the English language, eighteen of which are represented by single characters, p, b, t, d, k, g, j, f, v, s, z, m, n, I, r, w, y, h, and six by the double characters, ch, th, sh, ng, dh, and zh, the two last not being used in words, being employed to represent the consonantal sounds in brea^Ae and azure.PRONTJ N"C IATION.
35
CHAPTER XI.
The Vowels divisible into Monophthongs and Diphthongs.
Like the consonants, the vowels may be divided, in one sense, into mutes and ductiles : that is, one portion cannot be protracted in sound at all, and the other can at pleasure, the former being known by the label, diphthong, denoting a double sound, the latter by the label, ?nonopthong, denoting a single sound.
A diphthong is an orthoepic union of two single vowel sounds, pronounced in two syllables, with the accent on the first syllable ; which two elements are spoken so closely together as to produce upon the ear the effect of one syllable.
By an orthoepic union is meant the concurrence of two or more sounds whereby the new compound presents to the ear an appearance differing flaore or less from either of the constituent elements. Thus u long, before we analyze it, does not appear to resemble much either i short or oo in brook, of which elements it is composed, and the want of general resemblance will be exactly in proportion to the closeness with which they are spoken together, or, in other words, in proportion to the time employed in pronouncing them. Oi irf coil are usually spoken asunder so far that they have the appearance, often, of two syllables. There is an orthoepic union in sh, ch, j, etc.
To ascertain whether a vowel is diphthongal or not, we need only to see whether we can prolong it; if in trying to dwell upon it, we produce no sound besides the vowel itself, then it is simple; if another sound is produced, similar to it, then it is diphthongal, this similar sound being the first element in the composition of the vowel thus disrupted by an effort to prolong it.36
ELEMENTS OF
Applying this test, we find there are six English diphthongs in use, oi, ow in now, u long, i long, a long, and o long ; leaving fourteen simple vowels, short a, aw, ah, a in fare, long e, short e, short i, short o, oo, o in broke, short u, u in turn, u in full, and u in current. 0 in broke, though spoken by men of the highest scholastic rank, is not recognized by any dictionary as a legitimate sound, while the ur sound of turn, shortened to a cognate sound in current, worry, etc. is as much entitled to a distinctive recognition as is short o in not to distinguish it from o in north.
The reader will observe that a diphthong, according to the above definition, is a trochee. All English diphthongs are trochaic, but whether all diphthongs are, I am unable to decide. It is possible the French ui in lui is an iambic diphthong, pronounced, nearly, Iwe.
CHAPTER XII.
Vowels either Long or Short.
Of the twenty vowel sounds used in English, eight, found in fat, met, pin, not, tub, full, 'broke, and currant (lirst syllable), are short, and the remaining twelve, found in fate, far, fare, me, -pine, no, nor, move, tube, turn, now, boil, are long. The terms " long" and " short" are relative, in this division, the latter denoting a vowel on which is bestowed only about half as much time as is bestowed upon one of the other class. A diphthong is necessarily long, but it does not take up any more time than a long simple vowel.
The reader is cautioned against confounding the terms " long" and "short" with the terms " open" and " shut," which he will not be likely to do when informed that the former terms concern time, and the latter the size of the mouth's cavityPRONUNCIATION.
37
assumed in the formation of any letter. A vowel is open in proportion as the tongue by its depression widens the cavity of the mouth in the act of shaping the matrice by which the sound is produced. A vowel may therefore be short and open, and it may be long and shut. The two most open vowels are the Italian a, and a in fare ; the two most occluse are short i, and oo in book.
The more open a vowel, the larger its capacity for inflation, and the louder it may be pronounced. In calling to one at a distance, we can employ most successfully the open vowels, those of the largest caliber sending their missile the farthest. The loud elements in the bovine bellow, the caw of a crow* the canine bark, and indeed in all the polyphthongal noises of animals,. are chiefly ah, aw, and a in fare. The a sound in fare is uttered by sheep with even human distinctness.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Longilingual and Brevilingual Polyphthongs. •
By opening the mouth to pronounce a in fare or fat, and gradually closing it to pronounce long e, an intermediate matrice is formed by which is produced the sound of e in met. Because this is a consistent series of sounds, and is produced by the tongue when nearly at full length, we will call it the Longilingual Polyphthong.
By opening the mouth to pronounce a, in far, and gradually closing it to pronounce oo in noon, three intermediate matrices are formed by which are produced u in urn, aw, and o in broke. The reader's ear will not detect the sound of u in urn so readily as the others, but if he pronounces ah, and then u in urn, he will see that in passing from one to the other there is a38
ELEMENTS OF
slight diminution of openness, and he will also see that there is a further diminution in passing from u in urn to aw, which is a sufficient proof that the position of- the u sound is between the two. Because this is a consistent series of sounds, and is produced by the tongue somewhat shortened, we will call it the Brevilingual Polyphthong.
It is worthy of note that there is a striking phonic resemblance between the vowels lying contiguous to each other in these Polyphthongs. Thus e short equally resembles, to the ear, a in fat and long e ; u in urn equally resembles a in far and aw ; aw equally resembles u in urn and o in broke ; and o in broke equally resembles aw and oo.
In beginning with the Longilingual Polyphthong, closing it, and then pronouncing the other, it will be seen that the tongue gradually shortens itself, and that the relative positions of the eight simple vowels in the mouth are as follows: the outermost, a in fare, next, e short, next, e long, next, a in far, next, u in urn, next, aw, next, o in broke, the innermost, oo.
If we consider a vowel of the same quality as its cognate, the number of simple vowel sounds is limited by the discovery of the two Polyphthongs, to eight, and every vowel uttered by the human vocal instrument, whether that instrument be the property of an American, a Frenchman, a Greek, or a Bush-boy, is either one of these simple sounds, or two or more pronounced together. There is, evidently, a slight qualitative difference between a vowel and its cognate. Thus a in fat is a trifle more occluse* than a in fare, and hence must impress the ear as a little different in sound; i in pin a trifle more occluse than long e ; short u than a in far ; short o than aw ; and oo in good than oo in noon. But the difference is so trifling that it
* The Polyphthongs resemble two different gamuts, the Longilingual containing three sounds and two steps, and the Brevilingual five sounds and four steps. But we may further divide each step into a half step or semi-tone, and we may continue to subdivide to infinity, while there will be as many distinct and different vowel sounds as thePRONUNCIATION
39
is perhaps better to regard each vowel and its cognate as essentially the same sound.
skill of the voice and the discrimination of the ear will allow since infinity is inexhaustible. Here is a diagram of the Polyphthongs :—
Now, precisely as we thrust the open end of a flageolet into a vessel of water, (the holes covered by the fingers and thumb), and gradually raise the sound by shortening the tube, we may gradually shorten the sound of a in fare until it reaches its occluse limit in the sound of i in pin. Hereby it appears that the sounds of the vowels in any given words are as liable to change into a neighboring sound in the Polyphthong, as the letter C, in music, is to become lowered or raised, so that the word land may at last take the sound of a in fare, universally, it already having taken it in the "West, and partly in the East. There is no more reliance to be placed upon the vowels than upon the sand hills of Cape Cod, though it will be seen that the discovery of the Polyphthongs will assist somewhat in preventing their fluctuation.
But nature was right in thus forming the vocal organs. To this possible endless variation of the vowel sounds is due the peculiar impressiveness of individual speech. Every speaker has his peculiar way of hitting them, and it is only when he overdoes the matter that he exposes himself to remark. Affected speech, so called, when not consisting in musical variation, is merely a warping of the standard sound of a vowel, and'generally the speaker touches the sound bordering on the open side of the vowel in the Polyphthong. A " lovely color" becomes nearly a " lahv-ly cah-lor," " very well" becomes nearly " var-ry wal;" that is, in the former example, the voice succeeds in hitting a sound between a in far and short u; and in the latter, a sound is attained between a in fat and short e.
I think the rule will commend itself to the reader's approval that no speaker should ever actually svislitute one vowel sound for another by affectation ; while it is a strange fact that a slight variation often makes speech more conspicuous, on account, it is to be presumed, of the ear being impressible to nice peculiarities. Certain it is that the speech of the stage, including its inflections and orthoepic variations, is the most perspicuous of all styles, and should be held up as the standard to every speaker.
In the case of the diphthongs, long u, long i, long a, long o, ou, and oi, it will be seen that it is not the long but the short sound of its elements that is pronounced in the diphthongal combination ; for in pronouncing u fairly, (that is, closely), the reader will see that, in beginning the sound, the tongue is in a position to form short», and not ee, the matrice being a trifle less open than that of ee; and so of all the other diphthongs.40
ELEMENTS OF
CHAPTER XIV.
The Obscure Elements of Vowels.
The prevalent notion concerning an obscured vowel is a sound'resembling the original plenary sound, and yet being so indistinct that no o^e can possibly describe or define it. But how do we know there is such a resemblance if the ear is unable to point it out ? We readily detect a resemblance of the o in form, to the same shortened to o in from, but when we come to shorten it still more by obscuration, as in information, is not ■ the resemblance lost ?
Teachers and philological critics are accustomed to say to the student, " Do not give the o in innocent the full sound, and don't pronounce it like short u, which is vulgar, but simply obscure it." Then they pronounce it in an exemplary manner ; but how many teachers know whether they are obscuring the syllable in question or not, when they pronounce it for imitation ? How many have any idea what this intermediate sound is between the plenary sound and short u ?
I wish to show in this chapter that all so-called obscure sounds are either short i, or short u, agreeably to an organic law; that all simple sounds belonging to the Longilingual class are obscured to short i, and all simple Brevilingual vowels are obscured to short u.
I find, by a careful study of the vowels, that each vowel possesses a body and a closing or cadential element, and that when we dwell upon the vowel, we dwell upon the body, and, when yre close its sound, we pronounce the cadential element; and no ivowel sound is perfectly complete until its cadential element, .small though it be, is added. This applies to simple vowels as well as to diphthongs.PRONUNCIATION.
41
Now I find that the cadential element of a vowel, which is very short, is the element pronounced when that vowel is obscured; that this element in a vowel is near the point of repose, when the tongue has almost resumed its original state, after having moved to the formation of the matrice by which the body of the vowel is produced.*
In the obscuration of a syllable the organs essay to pronounce the plenary sound of the vowel, but the speech is so rapid, and the time, of course, so small allotted to the vowel, that only the shortest part of it is pronounced, which is the •adential element.
The point of repose in the Longilingual Polyphthong is in short i ; but in the Brevilingual Polyphthong it happens to be, not in the occluse, but in the open end, in short u, and nature has wisely located, in these two places, the two shortest vowel sounds in all languages, and it is to these two slight sounds that our language is indebted for the preservation of many syllables, which, by the habit of rapid speech, would otherwise have been lost. Let them no longer be continued under ban; for they are the good fairies which watch jealously over the interests of regiments of words, and prevent many syllables, in the heat of hurried marches, from straggling into oblivion.
Since these are the points where the obscure elements are located, it will follow that the student will most clearly detect the obscuration of those simple vowels which are nearest to these points. Let him first obscure the middle syllable of
* The reader may ask, ' 'Are not, then, all the vowel sounds diphthongs ?" No, not as we understand the term, for the cadential element of a vowel is so short and slight in comparison with the body, that it would be likely to confuse our idea of a diphthong by calling every vowel one. Though we always pronounce meet, met, fat, me-it, me-it, fa-it, and harm, turn, Jail, not, broke, moon, book, hah-um, tfu-urn, faw-u\, no-ut, 6ro-uk, moo-un, ooo-uk, yet the cadential element of each vowel (represented in the letters not italicized) does not probably exceed one-twelfth part of the entire vowel, and is so slight that when detached, even, in obscuration, it is not generally perceived so as to be recognized.
D42
ELEMENTS OF
en-z-my, emphasizing forcibly the accented syllable. He at once agrees that the obscure sound is short i. Now let him obscure the middle syllable of an-ec-dote. I think he will not hesitate long before deciding that the obscure sound of this, also, is short i. But when he takes the middle syllable of dis-ai-fect, he will fail to see that this has the same obscure sound as the others. He will also see that it is more difficult to obscure short a than short or long e. But still he does obscure it every day, and by noticing the sound carefully, he will eventually see that it is changed into either short i or short u, but more frequently into the latter, because short a in dial, tenant, affect, etc. is obscured, by habit, generally, contrary to the natural way. Let him next try the Brevilingual class. Let him first try the unitalicized syllable in in-haxm-onious, then those in order, in un-suip-assed, dis-con-nect, dis-o-bey, and orang-o\x-tang (the ou in the last word having the sound of oo) and he will find, the farther he proceeds from the point of the short u sound in the Polyphthong, the less clearly will he recognize that sound in the obscuration of the syllables under examination.
We cannot obscure a syllable by itself; it must be done in connection with an accented syllable, either by an anticipative, or a resilient impulse.
Thus we may pronounce cawn, first long, and then shorten it into con, but by a direct impulse it is impossible to shorten it further; yet it immediately and readily becomes obscured to short u by an impulse that anticipates an accent, as in connect (cun-nect) ; or by an impulse that rebounds from an accent, as in Gascon (^as-cun), and lexicon (lexi-cun).
The following facts concerning the obscure sounds may prove serviceable to the reader :—
1. In the case of the diphthong, it is the first element that is obscured, as in long u, composed of short i and oo ; "therefore the middle syllable of stimulate is short i, (stim-jih-late).PRONUNCIATION.
43
The initial elements of u long and a long are i short and e short; hence these diphthongs are obscured to short %; while the initial element of the remaining ones, o long, i long, oi, and ow, are o in broke, short u and short o, and these diphthongs are therefore changed by obscuration into short u. Tantamount is properly pronounced tan-tiYi-mount, and harmony, har-muh-w/. I, unshut by a consonant in the same syllable, as in di-rection, di-vine, is supposed to be short, so it remarkably happens that long i is never obscured in the English language, except in monosyllables. A froward youth crisply replies to a command, " Uh won't! Uh won't!" for " I won't! I won't!" and when rapidly repeating " Five times five are twenty-five, five times six are thirty," we obscure the i in times thus : " Five turns five are twenty-five, five turns six are thirty." Ou is never obscured in English, and oi only in a few words from the French, av-oiv-dupois, con-nois-seur, etc.
2.	In the Longilingual vowels there is the cadential consonantal element, y, inherent, and in the Brevilingual ones there is that of w. When an unaccented vowel comes before an accented vowel in another syllable, this cadential element is evolved: as in manual, piano, oolite, pronounced man-yih-vjalt pih-yano, o-wulite. Put the word January to a child unacquainted with its orthography, to spell, and he will be very sure to supply the w, which is in the uttered, but not in the written word.
3.	Particles in speech occupy the same position as syllables in words, and are therefore obscured in the same manner. " Avoid the man of loose principles," when organically obscured, is, " Avoid thih man uv loose, etc." But many Longilingual vowels are obscured by habit to short u, as " Take a cigar (take uh cigar)," " Take an apple (take un apple)," etc. See the next paragraph.
4.	Many syllables, which terminate words, are not usually pronounced according to their orthography, and consequently44
ELEMENTS OF
are not obscured from their literal sound, but by habit they take the sound of short u. Thus the literal power of e in solemn is short e, and, its cadential element being short i, when organically obscured, the word becomes soZ-im ; but usage has given to the last syllable the sound of short u, and it is not an unimportant question raised in orthoepy which way should be regarded as the most correct. A short, seems to have become metamorphosed in this manner without an exception, as seen in valiant, substance, tidal, canvass, carat, stomach, dryad, fen-man, etc., pronounced val-jwai, s2£&-stuns, fo'-dul, ccm-vus, car-ut, stum-uk, dry-xid, pen-mun, etc., in spite of the worthy endeavors of our teachers to restore these final wandering syllables to the custody of their literal sounds, whereby they would become obscured, in accordance with their orthography, into short i. The termination able is commonly obscured to ub-l, as in loveable, amiable, etc., pronounced Zove-ub-1, a-mih-ub-1, etc. Initial syllables are also often improperly obscured, as allow, enough, etc., pronounced ul-low, un-uf, etc.
Admitting, now, that this solution of the obscure sounds is correct, the question is opened, " What use should the teacher make of the fact ?"	,
After due consideration, I have come to the conclusion that the teacher, when teaching pronunciation, should always give the plenary sounds of syllables, and let the obscure sounds take care of themselves. But I claim that a Pronouncing Dictionary is needed which shall recognize these Principles in the Introduction, and that the present age demands one with a system of notation more complete than any now in use. Am I presumptuous in offering the plan of one ? My method is to exhibit in a new notation each word respelled so as to present to the eye at once the plenary sound, the accented syllable being italicized. All extraneous marks are done away with. The only combinations I have been obliged to fashion are aa for a in fare, uu for u in full, oh for o in broke, andPRONUNCIATION.
45
uhr for ur in current, besides ih for short i, and uh for short u. The following is an illustration of my method:—
CHA
2
Chaplain, chap-lane, n. A clergyman attendant.
Chaplaincy, c&ap-lane-sih, n. The office of a chaplain.
2
Chaplet, chap-let, n. A garland; wreath. Chapped, chapt, pp. Cleft; opened. Chapter, chap-tur, n. A division of a book; a society. Char, char, n. A fish.
3
Char, char, v. U To burn to coal. 2
Character, £ar-rak-tur, n. A mark qualities; mode ; a person.
Characteristic, kar-rak-tur-is-tik, a. ) That constitutes the
Characteristical, kar-rak-tur-is-tih-kal, a.) character.
Characteristic, kar-rak-tur-is-tik, n. That which constitutes the character.
2
Characterize, fazr-rak-tur-ize, v. t. To give a character ; to mark. 2 jjjjjf Characterless, £ar-rak-tur-les, a. Without a character, l
Charade, sha-rade, n. A kind of pun.
3
Charcoal, chark-ole, n. Coal made by burning wood. Charge, charj, v. t. To impute; to accuse; to enjoin. Charge, charj, v. i. To make an onset.
3
Charge, charj, n. Care; precept; trust; cost; onset. Chargeable, charj-a-bl, a. Expensive; costly ; imputable. Charger, charj-ur, n. A large dish; a war-horse. Chariot, cAar-rih-ot, n. A carriage of pleasure or state. Charioteer, char-rih-o-te-ur, n. He that drives a chariot.
1234 56 1234 1 23 4 12 Fate, fat, far, fall, was, fare,—mc, met, her, they,—pine, pin, sir, machine,—no, net, 345 6 712345	12 3
nor, move, love, good, whole,—tube, tub, turn, bush, current,—my, hymn, myrrh;— aa for a in /are,—uti for u In full,—oh for o in broke,—uAr for ur in current.—ih for t short.— uh for v short;—accented syllables italicized.46
elements of
chapter xv.
Organic formation of the Simple Vowels.
A in fare. — This letter, whose short cognate is a in fat, is the most open vowel of the Longilingual Polyphthong, and is formed by bending the end of the tongue down a trifle from a state of repose. A large number of words, hand, grand, pant, etc. usually receive, in pronunciation, the long sound of a in fare instead of its cognate a in fat; and at least three-quarters of Americans who speak English, (perhaps half of our New Englanders, and the entire Western population), bestow upon fast, past, pastor, etc. the sound of a in fare, and that too distinctly to be overlooked by the orthoepist.
E in met. — By bringing the tongue a trifle nearer the palate than in producing a short, the middle Longilingual vowel is formed, which equally resembles a short and i short. It has no authorized cognate long sound, but we occasionally hear one which is very expressive. When a lady expresses a great and pleasant surprise in the sentence " Did you ever !," the accented vowel in ever is, by the animated emphasis, expanded into a long sound differing as much from e in met as e long differs from i short, though only a critical ear would detect the qualitative difference.
E in me. — By bringing the tongue a little nearer the palate than in forming a short, this letter is formed, whose short cognate is i short. If the tongue actually touches the palate, the sound of y is produced.
A in far. — This letter has been regarded as the purest of the vowels, and it is undoubtedly entitled to this preeminence, as it is formed by the tongue in its natural position. Nothing more is necessary to establish this than the fact that when aPRONUNCIATION.
47
person breathes in sleep, he continually whispers the sound of ah, or, in short breath, its cognate short sound, short u. This is the sound always heard, both in a sigh and in a laugh, the only difference between them being this : a sigh is low, and simply ah in a drawl, while laughter is a succession of the same pronounced so forcibly as to be aspirated, and so quickly as generally to shorten it into u short, the last utterance being excepted, thus : " Huh, huh, huh, hah ! huh, huh, hah ! huh, hah !"
Ah may be called the tubal or trumpet vowel, since this sound is identical with the sound produced by musical instruments of the bugle kind. This will be plainly noticed on the approach of a band of martial music, and as the bugles, trombones, etc. lengthen their notes, the identity becomes so clear as to be placed beyond all doubt. There may seem to be a deviation among the higher and lower notes, but it is a musical, and not an orthoepic variation, as will appear from running through the gamut with the syllable la, where the same deceptive variation will be observed. It is possible, by the way, that we here find an explanation of the proclivity of the voice in preferring the sound of short u to that of short i, in the fact that the position of the tongue when forming the former is exactly in a state of natural rest.
A delusion exists, supported by Worcester in his notation, that there is a so-called " intermediate" sound between ah and short a, and that this is the golden mean, the authorized power of a class of words represented by past, dance, pastor, etc. What the author of this " intermediate" sound intends to designate by the term, I am at a loss to conjecture, and I am obliged and ashamed to hold the matter up to view as a striking illustration of the remarkable superficialness of the general orthoepic ideas entertained by those who are acknowledged as our leading orthoepists.
If, indeed, one should speak of an intermediate sound be-48
ELEMENTS OF
tween long e and short i, cognate sounds, differing chiefly in length, he would be understood, for such a thing would be possible; but to apply the term to a supposed sound between two vowels not at all related in any respect, is, to one who understands the organic nature of vowels, employing words without sense.
Am I to suppose that Woi'cester intends for us to pronounce dance with reference both to ah and a in fat ? that is, to blend together the two sounds ? I answer, two vowel sounds cannot be pronounced simultaneously by any human being having only one vocal organism. Then is it to speak them as near together, successively, as possible ? Then the word dance would be either spoken daa-ahnce, nearly like fare, or would have nearly the sound of long i, as in dines. But no one ever transforms dance into long i, nor are past, fast, etc. ever heard pronounced piste, fiste, etc.
Or, do the supporters of the " intermediate" sound imagine that they shorten the Italian a, and thus bring it to the "intermediate" point between itself and short a ? If they do, they are mistaken, for it is practically impossible to shorten ah without producing its cognate; short u, and any one guilty of changing pass, fast, mast, last, dance, grant, into pus, fussed, must, lust, dunce, grunt, would not be allowed to speak in the society of the refined without a fitting rebuke. The simple truth is, that these words are necessarily pronounced by the disciples of Worcester either with the full sound of a in far, or with short a, in all cases, and the notation which designates the "intermediate" sound is superfluous and illusive, a stumbling-block to the student, and a monument to the ignorance of its author.
U"m urn. — This vowel is produced by drawing the tongue a trifle neai-er the palate than in uttering ah. It equally resembles ah and aw. It occurs in a greater variety of symbols than any other vowel, being expressed by e, i, o, u, and y,PRONUNCIATION.
49
as in her, sir, word, urn, and myrtle, and is always followed, in English, by r (except in colonel), though occurring without it in German.
The cognate short sound of u in urn is found in the first syllable of current, a sound which it is not presumptuous to say, is established beyond all efforts of dictionaries to suppress it. It never occurs except in dissyllables, (being always followed by r), and only in a limited number of words, current, currant, furry, worry, stirring, preferring, occurring, etc.
Aw. — This sound is formed by drawing the tongue a trifle nearer the palate than in uttering u in urn. It equally resembles u in urn and o in broke. Its cognate short sound is o in not. Many are in the habit of lengthening this latter sound in gone, moss, god, etc. into aw, but the propriety of this pronunciation must be regarded as doubtful.
0 in broke. — Most of my readers in speaking the sentence " The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," and substituting the word hole for whole, will perceive that they are in the habit of pronouncing the word whole shorter than the one substituted. The power of o in whole, thus spoken, is a simple sound, the third in order of openness in the Brevilin-gual Polyphthong, and is formed by bringing the tongue a trifle nearer the palate than in forming aw, or short o. If respectable usage has anything to do with establishing a pronunciation, then this sound of o in whole, broke, road, etc. is established beyond a doubt, since very few, except foreigners, ever pronounce this class of words, now, with the diphthongal long o in hole.
Oo. — This vowel is formed by bringing the tongue a trifle nearer the palate than in the formation of o in broke. If the tongue touches the palate, the sound of w is produced. It is a beautiful, occluse sound, and, with ee, is possessed of a charm above all other vowels. Its cognate short sound is u in full, which, in awful, plentiful, etc. should never be obscured, on ac-50
ELEMENTS OF
count of the tendency of the voice to sink the vowel altogether before the liquid.
CHAPTER XYI.
Organic formation of the Diphthongs.
The Diphthongs, five in number, a long, i long, o long, u long, and oi, are either natordial or heterogeneous ; the former term being applicable to those whose elements belong to the same Polyphthong and occur in the natural order the latter term denoting those whose elements belong, one to one, and the other to the other, Polyphthong.
A in fate. — If the reader tries to prolong this letter, he will discover that he does not prolong it in its entirety, but only the initial element, the body of the vowel, which is short e. By closing short e with i short, or ee, he will perceive that this is the analysis of a long, and that therefore it is a natordial diphthong. As its initial element belongs to the Longi-lingual Polyphthong, long a is organically obscured to short i.
Diphthongs, like all other compound bodies, are liable to dissolution, and long a has parted with its last element in some words of four or more syllables, when it is under the secondary accent, as in secondary itself, pronounced secon-der-y. This fact has never been recognized by any dictionary, and we have been taught that the power of a in any many, says, said, saith, again, against, and waistcoat was limited to these eight words, when nearly, if not quite, a page of this treatise might be filled with words of this class, having the sound of short e in a! And to show how imperfectly the nature of obscure sounds was understood by the Amanuensis of Smart,
* That is, succeeding one another in the Polyphthong. Thus, we could form a natordial diphthong from a in fare and short e, one from ah and u in urn, etc.PRONUNCIATION.
51
let me inform the reader that he has underdotted and denoted as obscure the power of a in secondary, literary, etc. * How obtuse indeed must the ear be that does not perceive that a vowel cannot have the accent and be obscure at the same time ! Nor is it any excuse for a teacher of orthoepy to say that it is the secondary accent here, since in polysyllables the secondary is of as much consequence as is the first of dissyllables.
I in pine. — This diphthong is composed of short u and short i, and is therefore heterogeneous. It is never obscured in English. It closely resembles oi, but being less occluse, will admit of a louder stress than the latter. Thus, the word try could be lieard a little further than troy.
0 in note. — By trying to dwell upon o long, the diphthong is disrupted, and we dwell instead upon the simple sound of o in broke. In closing up the o long, oo, or u in full is discovered to be the terminational element, and it is therefore a natordial diphthong. By connecting together the o in broke with oo the reader will readily perceive this is the correct analysis of this letter, which I have seen analyzed by some distinguished orthoepist into long o (!) and oo, like the boy who defined a wagon, " a wagon with four wheels."
0 long is obscured, since its initial element is of the Brevi-, lingual class, to short u. Like long a in secondary, it has parted with its last element, in a limited class of words, broke, whole, road, only, etc., and there is every reason why this short sound should now be recognized as legitimate. "Would it not seem hard not to allow to these few words this simple Brevilingual sound, considering the fact that it is the only simple vowel sound out of the eight that is not recognized spoken in its simplicity ?
TJ in tune. — Composed of short i and u in full, the two most occluse vowel sounds, this heterogeneous diphthong is the dwarf of the diphthongal family. Singers, in dwelling upon
* See these words in "Worcester's dictionary.52
ELEMENTS OF
it, should dwell upon the initial element, (as they should with all other diphthongs), not uttering the vanishing element until the syllable is to be finished. £71ong is obscured, as its body is Longilingual, to short i.
When this letter begins a syllable, it has acquired the consonantal sound of y, additionally, as in use, tenure, etc., pronounced yuse, ten-yure, etc.; but when preceded by r, the y is euphoniously dropped, since two perfect liquids are mutually repellent, and querulous becomes quer-ru-lous, instead of quer-yu-lous. Annual is pronounced an-yu-al, because the second n is redundant, and we naturally pronounce the word^the same as if written an-u-al.
Oi. — This is a heterogeneous diphthong, composed, the world knows, of aw, (or short 0), of the Brevilingual, and ee, (or short i), of the Longilingual class of vowels. It beautifully alternates with its congener, i long, in the Greek, agathoi, agathai, etc. Oi does not admit r after it readily, hence the difficulty of anglicizing memoir, reservoir, etc., which will never be English as they stand, and should be pronounced and written, me-more, reser-vore, etc.
Ou in loud. — This letter is known to be composed of aw and 00 ; but we cannot pass from the former to the latter sound without pronouncing the intermediate sound of the Polyphthong, which is 0 in broke, whereby it will appear that ou is a triphthong, being the most complex, and of consequence the most cumbrous of the vowel family. Drawlers begin it with the sound of ah,* and thus compass the entire jive sounds of the inner Polyphthong, in one letter, ah-u{f)-aw-o-oo ! But if we go far enough into the woods we shall find this triphthong stretched even beyond this into nee-ah-u(r)-aw-o-oo (now) ! thereby including the last element of the outer Polyphthong, the element nearest to ah on the tongue.
* In teaching the sound of ou, the pupil should be directed to pronounce the initial element like 0 in not which will not only prevent drawling, hut will shorten this heavy diphthong as much as we are able to without affecting its individuality.PRONUNCIATION.
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' longilingual simples.
brevilingual simples.
We will now close our treatment of the vowels with the following
Tabular View of the Vowels.
a (fare, fat), open, e (met), less open, > ee (me, pin)> occluse.)
a (far, tun), open, u (urn, current), less open, aw, (fall, not), less open, oh (broke), less open, oo (move, full), occluse.
a (fate), = e met (met) and ee,) natordial o (note), = o (broke) and oo. j diphthongs.
(Pinf)> = M (tun> a?di' (Pin)' [heterogeneous <» toil), = aw and » (pin) V- diht| .
u (tune), = % (pin) and u (full). )
on (love), = o (not), oh, and oo—natordial
triphthong.
There are. therefore, in use, in the English language, fourteen different vowel sounds, of which eight are simple and six compound.*
* Fifty-six diphthongal combinations may be made from the eight vowel elements, four of which, though, we find to be necessarily triphthongs, two tetraphthongs, and one a pentaphthong. Here is a complete list of them—eh standing for short e, and ther in ur silent:—
(aa initial) aa-eh, aa-eh-ee, aa-ah, aa-ur, aa-aw, aa-oh, aa-oo.
(ur initial) ur-aa, ur-eh, ur-ee, ur-ah, ur-aw. ur-aw-oh, ui-aw-oli-oo.
(eh initial) eh-ee (long a), eh-ah, eh-ur, eh-aw, eh-oh, eh-oo, eh-aa.
(aw initial) aw-aa, ' aw-eh, aw-ee (oi), aw-ah, aw-ur, aw-oh,
aw-oh-oo(o!f).
(ee initial)	(ah initial)
ee-ah,	ah-aa,
ee-ur,	ah-eh,
ee-aw,	ah-ee (long i),
ee-oh,	ah-ur,
ee-oo (longu), . ah-ur-aw,
ee-aa, ee-eh.
(oh initial) oh-aa. oh-eh, oh-ee, oh-ah, oh-ur, oh-aw.
oh-oo (long o).
ali-ur-aw-oh, ah-ur-aw-oh-oo.
(oo initial) oo-aa, oo-eh, oo-ee, oo-ah, oo-ur, oo-aw, oo-oh.
E54
elements OF
CHAPTER XVI.
Accent.
This is a term applied to words of more than one syllable, and signifies, in this application, the loudest stress.*
No two syllables in a word are charged with precisely the same stress. This is illustrated in the word variation. Having a primary and a secondary accent, and the primary being the louder of the two, it will follow that the syllable rebounding from the primary will be pronounced as touch louder than that rebounding from the secondary accent, as the primary is louder than the secondary accent, thus, the higher
3 14 2
figures denoting the louder stress : va-ri-a-tion. In excommunication,, the primary accent being on a, the secondary on ex, and the third on mu, the order of superior stress, lor the same
5 2	4 1 B 3
reason, is as follows : ex-com-mu-ni-ca-ticn.
An unaccented resilient syllable, therefore, takes stress in proportion to the stress of the accented syllable from which it rebounds.
An unaccented anticipative syllable takes less stress than a
13 2
resilient one. Thus in af-fec-tion the first syllable is not so lord sis the last.
Though it is easier for the voice to accent the first, rather than the last sj liable of dissyllables, and our trochaic are much more numerous than our iambic word-, long words usually take the accent among the terminational syllables, showing a striking economy of the voice, for by this orthuepic climax the hearer is led on, and the attention fixod upon the word to its
* Thar accent ilea not, consist, in a higher pitc.1) of the voice is proved by liccanting words on the same pitch, which is easily done by striking a key on the piano and pronouncing in unison with it.PRONUNCIATION.
55
completion. Maxims and other short sentences obey the same climacteric law. Exs.: "valetudinarian," "unconstitutionality," "a stitch in time saves nine," " the love of money is the root of all evil," "l'es affaires font les hommes," "veni, vidi, vici" " procul a Jove, procul a fulmine."
Words of more than one syllable are really metrical lines. A monosyllable, of course, is not metrical; but that it is symmetrical, we shall soon see. A syllable is a crescendo and diminuendo united; but while the climax of force is reached in the vowel, the momentum of the syllabic impulse causes the consonantal sounds following the voweL to be struck louder than those preceding it, and this is the reason why grace and placs make that peculiar impression upon the ear called "rhyme;" while save and sale do not, because in these words the sibilant sound 'precedes the vowel. Therefore, a rhyme is a vocal climax culminating in a similar succession of vowel and consonantal elements. In other words, it consists in swelling into two syllabic curves, of the same dynamic shape, the same succession
12543 12543
of letter sounds, thus, grand, stand. And why these words, which rhyme abstractly, rhyme at the end of lines instead of the beginning, is because the natural climax- is progressive, and the ear will not recognize its inversion.
Obscure syllables uniformly increase their stress as they
3	i a
succeed each other. Thus the last syllable in slip-per-y is a
4	l a 3
trifle louder than the penult; and so is the last in slip-per-i-wzess, just as much louder as the penult is louder than the antepenult. Here is an example of four successive obscure syllables.: 5 12 2 * ap -pli-ca-ble-ncssi
To such words as hold all their syllables unobscured I shall apply the term pleniverb. They are most frequently •dissyllables, occasionally trisyllables, but never words of more than three syllables. Veto, cargo, cocoa, sinew, cur-56	ELEMENTS OF
feio, mandrake, locate, migrate, torpedo, falsetto, are examples. The equestrianism of the voice,, inclining always to a graceful canter, is continually tending to suppress the pleniverb. Even •penman, shepherd, nature, Sunday, etc. have yielded to the law of obscuration, and shortened their last syllable.
CHAPTER XVII.
Division of Words into Syllables. »
A syllable is a vowel, or liquid, which is more frequently begun, or closed, with a consonant, or both, and pronounced with one impulse of the voice. Two things are essential to a syllable, a vowel (or liquid) and a distinct vccal impulse. In English, only the liquids I and n form syllables of themselves. A liquid syllable may be styled egenic.
Words are divided into syllables, in dictionaries, spelling-books, etc. to facilitate, to the pupil, their pronunciation; and to this end certain rules may be laid down for guidance.
When only one consonant is to be assigned, (1) if the syllable is accented and long, the consonant is carried to the next syllable, as in bri-dal, ru-ling, fa-ther, foo-lislt, craw-ling, (the reader should bear in mind that we are teaching pronunciation by syllabication, and not etymology) devo-ted, consu-ming, elu-cidate, etc. ; if the syllable is accented arid short, the consonant belongs thereto, as in ban-ish, hooh-ing, ev-ery, sal-utary, cephal-ic, ajfin-ity, emblemat-ic, etc. Parent should be divided par-ent, because the first syllable has a double sound. If the syllable is not accented, (2) the consonant invariably belongs to the next syllable, as in a-base, de-lude, o-mit, tri-bunal, ty-rannical, alle-goric. In a succession of obscure syllables, the second syllable is accented relatively to the first, the third relatively to the second, and so on. Hence lunatic should bePRONUNCIATION.
57
written lu-na-tic, and honorable, hon-c-ra-ble. But when r is the letter to be assigned, it is better to join it to the preceding vowel, (though it is no exception to the principle), as in discov-er-y, to show to the eye the plenary power of er.
When more than one consonant occurs lor assignation, (3) if the syllable is accented and there are only two consonants, one belongs to one syllable and one to the other, r.s in cham-ber, chan-ces, bran-ches, abun-dant, etc.; if there are three consonants, the second becomes attached to that with which it more fluently associates, as in dis-trict, bird-ling, regis-try, inconstant, etc. Farming should be divided farm-ing to show the eye the sound of the a. In adjective, the d is redundant* being the first element of/, hence it should be divided adj-ective. (4) If the syllable is not accented, the consonants are governed entirely by the law of fluency, as in a-bridge, de-cree, re-strain, sus-tain, trans-plant, com-pel, ad-vise, etc. etc.
A consonant is organically doubled in the words thinness, guileless, solely, etc. not pronounced thin-ess, gui-less, so-ly, etc. but, in making an effort to pronounce n and I, they are dwelt upon, having the effect of being doubled. The reader does not need to be told that these words should be divided thin-ness, guile-less, sole-ly, etc. Tn French-church the ch is actually pronounced twice, being equivalent to Frentsy-tsyurch.
CHAPTER XYIII.
The Eueresis.
Egenic syllables naturally result from the readiness of a liquid to take the place of a vowel. Thus in nation the last n readily takes the office of the o, and the word by haste is often contracted into na-shn. The eueresis (yu-er-re-sis) is the unauthorized sinking of a vowel before a liquid in an58
ELEMENTS OF
unaccented syllable. Examples: nation, rival, every, bosom, loving, present, awful, shadowy, contracted into na-shn, ri-vl, ev-ry, bus-m, lov-ng, pres-nt, aw-fl, shad-wy.
New England is by no means free from the eueresis, but in the West it hasbccome an established peculiarity of pronunciation.
The endings, sion, tion, ial, etc., are evident results of the eueresis. Lesion was formerly pronounced le-zih-on, as written ; but by abbreviation the cadential consonant element of the i became evolved, and the word was changed to le-zyun, or le-zhun. Nation was probably first pronounced as written, na-ti-on, (t as in take), and next na-tyun (na-cliun), equivalent to na-tshun, the t being finally, by carelessness, dropped, leaving it na-shun, as it now is.
CHAPTER Xli.
Different sounds of English Consonants.
Walker considers sh an "aspirated" s. It has been shown to be simply sy ; and, as the y element in our language enters into a large class of words, in sh, zh, ch, and j, and as it has its origin in the palate, I shall apply the term palatized to the s sound to signify its union with the y sound, where Walker has used the term "aspirated." The y sound is represented, in this class of words, by i, e, and u.
It is evident that i in version has the same sound as it has in union, namely, that of y. But as s comes in contact with it, the syllabic force bestowed upon vers drives the sibilant so closely against the y sound thai sh is formed. But as in classification simplification is always desirable, I shall regard the s and t sounds, in all cases, as palatized, or changed into shPRONUNCIATION.
59
and ch, and consider tbe representative of y in version, ocean, bestial, etc, as silent.*
The English language contains, (admitting this method), thirty-two different consonant characters, of which twenty-five are single, and seven double letters.
Single Letters.
C has four sounds : that of (1) k, in card; that of (2) s, in cell; that of (3) z, in suffice; and that of (4) sh, in special.
S lias four sounds: that of (1) s, in so; that of (2) z, in rose ; that of (3) sh, in sure, version ; *and that of (4) zh, in pleasure, vision.
X has four sounds : that of (1) ks, in vex ; that of (2) gz, in exist; that of (3) ksh, in luxury; and that of (4) gzh, in exuberant.
G has four sounds : that of (1) g hard, in go ; that of (2) j, in age ; that of (3) p, in hiccough ; and that of (4) zh, in rouge.
D has three sounds : that of (1) d, in day; that of (2) t, in laced ; and that of (3) j, in verdure.
T has three sounds: that of (1) t, in tea ; that of (2) sh, in nation; and that of (3) ch, in nature, question.
Z lias three sounds : that of (1) z, in doze ; that of (2) s, in quartz, waltz, chintz ; and that of (3) zh, in azure.
.Fhas two sounds: that of (1) f, in few ; and that of (2) v, in of.
I has two sounds: that of (1) y, in union ; and that of (2) yi, in peculiarity.
N has two sounds : that of (1) n, in no; and that of (2) ngy in anger, wink, distinct, conquer.
0 lias two sounds*: that of (1) w, in choir; and that of (2) wo, in one, once.
* The ti in pnrti'ility (par-shih-ality), the si in cunsia. miaww, tiie »e in nausea, the ci in judiciary, and the te in oceanic, eti\ are equal to stt, ctc. and the y representative, in these eases, is not silent.60
E L 13 M K N T S O F
XJ has two sounds : that of (1) w, in quake; and that of (2) yu, in use.
R has two sounds : that of (1) r, in ray ; and that of (2) ur, in acre (a-cur), apron (a-purn), fare (faa-ur), mere (me-ur), jire (fi-ur), more (mo-ur),pure (pu-ur), our (ou-ur), etc.
The remaining single consonants have each but one sound, namely : b, as in bay ; h, as in hay ; j, as in jay; k, as in key ; I, as in law ; m, as in may; p, as in pay ; q (k), as in conquer ; v, as in vow ; xo, as in way; y, as in you; and e (ye), as in vignette.
Double Letters.
Tlx has three sounds: that of (1) th, in thin ; that of (2) clh, in this ; and that of (3) tth, in eighth.*
Oh has two sounds : that of (1) tsh, in child; and that of (2) sh, in chaise.
Ng has two sounds : that of (1) ng. (nasiradilingual), in wing ; and that of (2) nk, in length (lenkth), strength (strenkth).
The remaining double consonants have each but ore smnd, namely : sh, as in show; ph (f), as in phrase ; gh (f), as in laugh ; and w'h (hw), as in when.
CHAPTER XX. Different sounds of English Vowels.	'
Here is a complete exhibition of the different sounds of the English vowels :—
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A has seven .sounds, as in fate, fat, far, fall, was, fare, any.
1 2 3 4 S	6
E has nine sounds, as in me, met, her, they, there, conferring,
7	8	9
pretty, cayenne, sergeant.
* Eighth is pronounced eighi/h. The t is not an inipletive here, though it is in ninth (nintth), tenth (tentth), etc.PRONUNCIATION.
61
1. 2. 3. 4 5. I has five sounds, as in pine, pin, sir, machine, stirrup.
1 2 3 4 5	6	7
0 has ten sounds, as in no, not, nor, move, love, good, whole,
8	9	10
word, worry, women.
1 2 3	4	5
U has seven sounds, as in tube, tub, turn, bush, current,
6	7
busy, bury.
1 2	3	4 5
J" has five sounds, as in my, hymn, myrrh, quay, syrup.
Ew has two sounds, as in few (fu), and sew (6o). The remaining double characters have each but one sound: oi, as in oil; oy, as in boy ; on, as in loud ; and oiv, as in now.
A in any. — There are, belonging to this sound, any (en-ny), many, says, said, saith, waistcoat, again, against, and Maryland. By a very large majority of the best speakers, ate also has the sound of short e, pronounced like the Latin et. Under the secondary accent there is a large class of words having this sound, secondary, dictionary, etc.
A in fare. — This sound (aa-ur) has about forty-five words, mostly monosyllables. It embraces four words which have for some time been obsolescent, namely, wary, chary, debonair, and garish.
A in was. — This sound has over fifty words, all of which, (except halibut and yacht,) are preceded by w, or its representative u.
E in sergeant (sarj-ent) has only this word, modern usage having removed clerk, analogically, to another category. E in cayenne (ki-an) has only this word. E in pretty (prit-ty) has, besides this, been, breeches, breeching, English, steelyards, and threepenny.
E in conferring, (con-fuhr-ing) is found only in the participles conferring, deferring, inferring, preferring, interring, deterring, etc.
E in there has there (thaa,-ur), ere, heir, their, where, therefore, wherefore, parterre, and ne'er.62
ELEMENTS OF
E in they (tha) has they, dey, eight, eighteen, eighty, heyday, seine, freight, neigh, rein, reign, trey, vein, weigh, weight, whey, heinous, neighbor, obey, inveigh, purvey, survey, convey, conveyance, obeisance, crochet, bouquet, abeyance.
E in her (hur) comprises eleven or twelve dozen of words.
I in stirrup (stuhr-up) has stirrup, squirrel, stirring, whirring, and the possible firry.
I in machine (ma-shene) has, besides this, police, merino, fiutina, marine, intrigue, routine, caprice, chagrin, fatigue, valise, mandarin, magazine, antique, unique, bombasin, copaiva, critique, pique, tambourine, oblique, ravine, debris, chemise, clique, czarina, elite, wolverine.
I in fir (fur) has at least five dozen words.
0 in women. — This sound of o (short i) is seen in no other word, and it may be considered the most irregular sound in English.
0 in worry (wuhr-y) has, besides this, only two others, borough, and thorough.
0 in word (wurd) has word, work, world, worth, worse, worst, wort, worm, worthy, toorship, attorney, and colonel.
0 in broke (brohk) has broke, none, whole, broken, spoken, road, colt, stone, toad, throat, folks, both, only, wholesome, alone, lonely, lonesome, stole, stolen, swollen, told, sold, coat, coax cloak, load, choke, quoth, smoke.
0 in good (guud) has good, book, brook, crook, wood, would, should, hood, root, soot, shook, spook, forsook, foot, look, nook, took, cook, hook, rook, wool, stook, stood, wolf, cooky, cheroot, cookery, rookery.
0 in love (luv), and o in move (moov), have each about six dozen words.
£7in bury (ber-ry) has only this word and burial.
U in busy (biz-zy) has this word and its derivatives, busily, business.
Uin currant (cuhr-ant) has currrant, current, curry, furry,PRONUNCIATION.	63
currish, burrow, furrow, murrhine, blurring, spurring, demurrer, furrier, occurrence, recurrence, concurrence, hurricane.
U in bush (buush) has, besides this, put, puss, bit,II, full, pull, bullock, bully, bullet, bulwark, fuller, pulley, pullet, pulpit, push, bushel, bullion, butcher, cushion, cuckoo, pudding, sugar, f ulsome, bulrush, crupper.
U in urn (urn) has probably over one hundred words. Y, as a vowel, seems to be only another expression of i.
Y	in syrup (suhr-up) has only this word.
Y	in quay (ke) has, besides this, only gyrfalcon.
Y	in myrrh (mur) has myrrh, myrtle, and myrmidon.
Au (o) we have allowed to become English by familiarization with bureau (bu-ro), beau, hautboy, and portmanteau, without changing either the French orthography or pronunciation. Esquimaux belongs to this class ; also, vaudevil, flambeau, and, {admitting the general pronunciation), tarpaidin, and quahaug.
CHAPTER XXI.
Errors in Pronunciation.
1.	The most gigantic error in pronunciation is the euercsis, or sinking of a vowel before a liquid in an unaccented syllable, as in nation, pleasant, etc., abbreviated na-shn, pleas-nt, etc. (See p. 57.) This is so common in animated discourse, even among the best of speakers, that the question is raised whether it should not be regarded a license in certain circumstances of speech, as it is in poetry, where we find flowery, every, etc. contracted into flow'ry, ev'ry, etc. in which meter unequivocally recognizes the natural tendency to the euiiresis.
2.	The substitution of n for ng in the participial ending ing requires on the part of the teacher the most persistent vigilance to suppress it. There is no more doubt about this64
K I. B M K N T S OF
corruption now than there was in Walker's time, and if ortho-■epists will only agree to brand as vidyar the pronunciation of every person who does not pronounce the ng in this ending, thus distinctly drawing the line, by this test, between an educated and an uneducated pronunciation, they will accomplish for English Orthoepy what has never been accomplished before.
3.	Next to this in importance is the sinking of r after a vowel, as in far, farm, for, liar, etc. mispronounced fall, fahm, faw, li-ah, etc. This fault is peculiar to New England. In the West the r is habitually articulated.
4.	The unaccented vowel in often, open, beacon, heaven, Milton, etc. is often pronounced, whereas it should be silent. It is singularly illustrative of the law of compensation that this error prevails most extensively where the eueresis is found.
o. In like manner, as r is often lost in far, farm, etc. many make amends therefor by adding an r to saw, law, awe, etc. mispronounced sor, lor, or, etc.
6.	Elm, helm, chasm, etc. are often exaggerated into el-lum, hel-lum, kaz-zum, etc. thereby improperly supplying a vowel sound.
7.	Long o in force, course, etc. is sometimes heard mispronounced aw, as faiors, kawrs, etc. for fo-urs, ko-urs.
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