sleet cheek repeat, fief shriek fiend wheel wheat, liege priest grieve year fear, rear dream glean weave heath, each heave least greet veer. Same sound unaccented: Debate estate esteem establish beware, reduce seclude epitome apostrophe committee. E, as in Met: Ea, as in Head. Or the second' sound of e, in Walker's notation. The error to be avoided in this class of sounds, is that of allowing e to become somewhat like a in fate; or thus, Baid, aig; for bed, egg; stade for stead. Ell èlk èlm èlse hence fénce, let get yet yest yesterday kept, felled abed measure pleasure felt set, less rest guest bread ready steady, peg bell beg ten den red, generous genuine general guess protest effect, collect preface prelude prelate prelacy prebend, knell tell fell tent thence propel. Same sound unaccented: Recreation relaxation reputation testimonial rectangular extracting, theorem nutshell outlet onset blackness efface. E, as in Err: Ear, as in Heard: Ir, as in Firm. Marked in the orthoepy of Walker, as the 'second' sound of e, but explained as not being precisely that sound, nor yet that of u in turn, as it is very commonly but erroneously pronounced. The true sound of e before r followed by a consonant, is thus described in . Smart's Practice of Elocution. "Er and ir are pronounced by unpolished speakers just like ur, as indeed, in some common words, such as her sir, &c. they are pronounced, even by the most cultivated': but in words of less common occurrence, there is a medium between ur and air, which elegant usage has established, as the just utterance of e and i joined to the smooth r."* * The Practice of Elocution, &c. by D. H. Smart, London, 1826, 8vo. There are two errors to be avoided in practising the following words,-1st, that of making no discrimination between er followed by a consonant and er followed by a vowel, which leads to the fault of pronouncing the word mercy with the same sound of e as the word merit, a fault which characterises the pronunciation of foreigners who are learning to speak the English language, and who are guided by analogy, instead of custom, in this point. This sound should be carefully avoided, as not belonging to English enunciation, or as being too analytical and pedantic. At the same time, the second error, that of substituting the sound of u in turn for that of e, should be avoided as a careless vulgarism. Hérd earn, term germ, earth stern, earl fern, learn eternal, person mercy, servant firmly, confirm internal, service fervor, virginal virtue, verdure personate, fir whirl, perfect discern, concern aspersion, disperse universal infirmity defer, prefer terse, pearl erst, mirth girt, girl sermon. Same sound unaccented: Certificate termination, vermicular perpendicular, postern goatherd. [The following words may be used as aids of contrast, to illustrate one of the sounds which should be avoided in the above class of words,-Merit very merry error terror; and the following to illustrate the other incorrect sound, which is also to be avoided, Bird first her sir.] I, as in Pine; Y, as in Rhyme. The 'first' sound of i, in Walker's notation. There are two extremes to be avoided in the enunciation of this vowel,-the coarse error of giving it a broad and drawling sound, dwelling on the first part of the letter, and thus making it resemble the a of fall; the too nice or flat sound, which commences with nearly the sound of a in ale,-the result of avoiding too anxiously the errors just mentioned. The true sound of long i Walker represents as com mencing with the sound of a in father, (properly a in at.) and diminishing to that of long e. These two sounds must be exactly proportioned, and nicely blended. I'sle time, mile vile, vine dine, life my, knife sign, mine try, light child, bind thyme, smite right, wild ice, slice tide, glide chyle, bile mind, find repine, consign resign, beguile smile, pile might, delight fire, desire concise, style chyme, lyre dryad. Same sound unaccented: Diagonal biennial, diæresis tiara, triennial diameter, infantile camomile, gentile pantomime. I, as in Pin: Y, as in Hymn. The second' sound of i, in Walker's notation. The error commonly made in this sound, is that of obscuring it by careless articulation, so that it is made to resemble in some degree the sound of a in fate, or of ai in fail; thus, Tain for tin, faish for fish.* The true sound of i short, is very nearly, though not exactly, that of e in me, much shortened. Sin hill prím, pit wish fill, dim din skin, whim fit will, till sill since, prince wince quince, rinse wit sit, lit win bid, rid mince rill, till rip whip, sip skip tip, fib rib still, mystical symptom sympathy, mystery hypocrite cynosure. Same sound unaccented: Historical histrionic minutely, vivacity discreet disparity, bedrid outfit sawmill. O, as in No: Or, as in Oak: Ou, as in Course: Ow, as in Own. The 'first' sound of o, in Walker's notation. * It is impossible to reduce this error to an exact spelling; and the above attempt to represent it, is unavoidably a caricature rather than a copy. A true idea of the error intended may, however, be formed, by due allowance, from the notation used above. for it the o of nor; as in Fôrce for force; sôrce for source, &c. shortening this sound of its proper length, as in hom for home, whol for whole, &c. This is properly the longest vowel in our language, and should receive great length of sound. Oh ho old home, bone cone tone stone, hope hold note coat, coach source sword recourse, perforce oats oaten boat, doat moat rote towards, sloth scroll troll drollery, ford forge bronze hoarse, port fort sport torn, disown sown cloak soak, soul toll sofa soda, shoulder soldier sole wholly, solely wholesome wholesale votary. The same sound unaccented: Opinion donation domestic molest, protect proceed intonation desolate, melody custody eloquence innocence. O, as in Move: Oo, as in Mood: U, as in True. The 'second' sound of o, in Walker's notation. The errors which commonly occur in this sound, arise from a want of discrimination in the length of the sound, as affected by the consonant which follows it. Dental letters, following this sound of o, shorten it, and liquids, following it, give it length. An error in the sound of ru takes place in some words, thus ryuin for ruin; the 'first' sound of u being given, instead of the 'third,' or that of oo in mood. Prove mood rule lóse tool, boom moon rood behoove true, broom remove fruit group bosom, boom woo druid swoon groove, imbrue canoe gamboge gloom smooth, brutal cool doom pool poor, moor boor who tomb caisson, rude rural truant fruitless prudent. O, as in Nor. The 'third sound' of o, in Walker's notation. The error to be avoided in this sound, is that of making it nearly the same with the o of the word no, or dividing the sound into two parts, of which the first is the o of no, and the second that of u in up, or of a in at; thus, noar for nor. Or òrb còrd sòrt short stòrm, form horn scorn corn thorn cork, fork north torch horse lord resort, remorse unhorse retort contortion distorted mortal, morsel mortgage mortar torture forfeit formal, fortune sort torment coral born forlorn. The same sound unaccented: Forbear tormenting formality mortality sortie formation ornamental. O, as in Not. The fourth' sound of o, in Walker's notation. The common error in the formation of this sound, is, as in the above examples, the substituting of o in no, or of a double sound formed by o in no, and u in up, or a in at; thus Lost or loast for lost. This sound should be carefully avoided, in this and the above classes of examples, as a striking mark of vulgarity or carelessness. There is also the opposite error of making the 'fourth' sound of o nearly like the 'fourth' sound of a; thus, Gat, clack, &c. for got, clock, &c. Odd rob mob,* dog log bog, not rot dot, loss boss toss, cross Boston sob, prop fog croft, loft soft clod, doff costly god, goddess nod lofty, glossy dross fossil, foster nostage softness. The same sound unaccented: Obtain occur commend, documentary prostration population, mammoth tremor algor. O, as in Done. The same with the second sound of u, or that of u in tub, up, &c. The fault, in the formation of this sound, is the substituting for it the o of smoke, that of nor, or that of not. * The inflections may now be supplied by the voice of the reader. |