The Science and Art of Elocution

are to be disregarded, as the sounds only are to be pronounced. Thus: "Plough. P-l-ou. Plough." "Day. D-a. Day."

As the coalescents a, e, o, and u are always accompanied by r, it is advised that they be not separated in spelling, thus: "Dare. D-ar. Dare." A letter often has the sound of another letter; this is called an equivalent or a substituted sound, as in deign, which would be spelled thus: "Deign. D-a-n. Deign. At first it would be well to prolong the words to great length, that the elements may be the more readily distinguished.

Phonetic spelling affords excellent practice for the vocal organs. It teaches correct pronounciation and accuracy in speech. The exercise should always be accompanied by much energy and a good tone of voice.

Pronunciation.-The subject of Pronunciation should receive special attention by the learner, as a good voice and a distinct articulation tend to magnify any defect in utterance. He should have constantly at hand a good dictionary, either Webster's or Worcester's (one is probably as good as the other, both receiving the sanction of educated speakers), and refer to it frequently. Read carefully the introductory portion, Principles of Pronunciation, etc., and let it be your standard of speech. You will find therein many words marked with a pronunciation different from that given by good speakers near you; but bear in mind the fact that the marking there given is always in accord with the usage of our best literati, and it should be preferred to local usage.

It may here be mentioned that there is hardly a book the perusal of which will so well repay you for the time devoted to its study as a good English dictionary. It is an excellent plan to keep a properly-marked list of those words that you cannot pronounce with certainty, adding to it as you meet new words.

Class 1.

WORDS FREQUENTLY MISPRONOUNCED.

The following words require short a, as in at: Arrow, barrow, farrow, harrow, marrow, narrow, sparrow, fallow, wheelbarrow, etc.

Class 2. The following should have Italian a, as in arm: Ha, balm, calm, palm, psalm; calf, half; wrath; aunt; laugh; launch; mustache, etc.

Class 3. The following and similar words should not be pronounced with short a nor Italian a: Staff, quaff; craft, draft; mass, pass; fast, last; ask, task; asp, clasp; dance, glance; chant, plant, etc.

Class 4. Coalescent e should not be pronounced like coalescent u. Examples: Earn, verge, verse, mercy, prefer, etc.

Class 5. The following should have short o (as in odd, not) : On, gone, dog, off, often, soft, long, song, strong, throng, coral, orange, foreign, torrid, coronet, corridor, correlate, frontispiece, etc.

Class 6. U or ew should never be pronounced like long oo unless preceded by the sound of r, ch, sh or zh. Examples: Dew, duty, duel, gewgaw, juice, lute, new, sue, tune, whew, etc. It should be oo in the following: Rude, brute, fruit, chew, chute (pronounced shoot), chusite, sure, azure, etc. [NOTE.-When u or ew is not preceded by the sound of r, ch, sh or zh, it has the regular sound of u, which is that of short i and long oo pronounced as closely together as possible. Thus: Cube is correctly pronounced kyoob, not kewb nor koob.]

Class 7. The following have the accent on the last syllable: Discourse (noun and verb), recess, research, resource, romance, address (noun and verb), ally (noun and verb), contour, finance, routine, canine, robust, occult, verbose, etc.

Class 8. A, you, the, that, for, from, etc., take an obscure vowel sound (nearly like short u, as in run) when they occur as unemphatic words in a sentence. The before a vowel sound, however, takes the sound of short i.

EXERCISE IN PRONUNCIATION.

An Indian, attracted by the aroma of the coffee and the broth, arising from the bivouac and moving down the path, met a bombastic bravo who was troubled with bronchitis. The Indian, being in dishabille, was treated with disdain by this blackguard, who called him a dog and bade him with much vehemence and contumely to leave his domain, or he would demonstrate with his carbine the use of a coffin and a cemetery. The Indian calmly surveyed the dimensions of his European antagonist and opponent, and, being sagacious and robust, and having all the combativeness of a combatant, shot this ruffian in the abdomen with an arrow.

A young patriot with a black mustache, coming from the museum, laughingly said, Bravo! you should be nationally rewarded by receiving the right of franchise, for I witnessed the altercation, and the evidence is irrefragable and indisputable that you have removed a nauseous reptile."

I now make this inquiry: Will not the matrons in this country and the patrons of our schools inaugurate some system that will give an impetus to the interesting study of our language? If half the leisure moments were thus spent, in lieu of reading some despicable romance, we should be wiser than we are.

Foreign Pronunciation.-In reading, foreign words are often found which are utterly unpronounceable to one not having at least an elementary knowledge of the language to which they belong. To pronounce such words according to English rules would in many cases be allowable; but this could not apply to Goethe and similar names. Clearly, the only correct way is to approach as nearly as possible to the native pronounciation, except in words and names thoroughly anglicized. To pronounce Paris Paree would be pedantry.

For the benefit of those who may not have the advantage of a knowledge of the principal languages of Europe, it is thought best to insert here, for reference, short tables of pronounciation, which cannot fail to be of service to the student.