Like s and c, it is aspirated when it comes immediately after an accented syllable, and is followed by the vowels ie, ia, or io, when it takes the sound of sh, as in partial, patient, nation, &c. T is mute in mortgage and often (of'n). It is represented by d (looked, stuffed); by th (thyme). 66. Th (aspirate) as in thin, thorn, &c., represents the 25th elementary sound; th (vocal), as in thine, the 26th. In the substantives breath, cloth, th is aspirate; in the verbs breathe, clothe, th is vocal; th is also vocal in with, beneath, underneath, &c. In bath, path, mouth, &c., th is aspirate in the singular, vocal in the plural (baths, &c.). In truths, th is aspirate. In Thomas, thyme, th equals t.

67. V. V represents the 24th elementary sound, as in van, wave, &c. It is represented by ƒ in the word of only; by ph in Stephen.

68. X.-X represents, 1. The sound of ks, as in execute, tax, &c. 2. The sound of gz, as in exert, example, exalt, &c. 3. The sound of z, as in Xenophon, Xerxes.

69. Z.-Z represents the 32d elementary sound, as in zeal; and the 34th, as in azure. It is represented by c (suffice), s (has), sc (discern), ss (hussar), and at the beginning of words by x, as in Xenophon.

QUESTIONS. - Is b ever mute? 46. When is c sounded like ? like s? 47. Is c ever mute? The sounds of ch? Pronounce s-c-h-i-s-m; y-a-c-h-t? 48. What of d? 49. F? 50. When does g have the sound of j? Name exceptions. When is g mute? 52, 53. What of gh? ough? 54. Is h ever mute? Ought it to be mute in -? In —? 55. What of j? 56. K? 57. L? 58. M? 59. N? 60. P? 61. Q? 62. R? 63, 64. S? sh? When does s have the sound of z? 65. What of T? 66. Th? Name words in which th is soft. Hard. 67, 68, 69. What do v, x, and y, represent?

LESSON V.

SYLLABLES.

Thus

70. A SYLLABLE is a single or compound sound, pronounced with all its articulations by a single impulsion of the voice. The word Syllable is derived from the Greek words syn (with) and labein (to take). the three letters m-a-n, being taken with one another, form the word man, and thus constitute what grammarians call a Syllable. The word man is not only a syllable, but a word also; which shows that words may consist of a single syllable.

71. Words consisting of a single syllable, as man, he, are called monosyllables, from the Greek word monos (alone). Words consisting of two syllables, as enter, tempest, are called dissyllables, from the Greek word dis (twice). Words consisting of three syllables, as incident, adjective, are called trisyllables, from the Greek word treis (three). Words consisting of more than three syllables, as supererogatory, indefinite, are called pol

ysyllables, from the Greek word polys (many). As a general rule, there must be in a word as many syllables as there are Vowel sounds perceptible to the ear.

Quantity.

72. Contrast the sound of the a in fat or the e in met with the a in fate and the e in mete, and it will be found that the time taken up in the utterance of the Vowel sounds in fate and mete is nearly twice as long as in the utterance of the Vowel sounds in fat and met. The difference between long and short sounds is generally expressed by the marks and. The former, called a Makron (from a Greek word signifying long), is placed above long sounds; and the latter, called a Breve (from the Latin word brevis, signifying short), is placed above short sounds; as in gāte, glăd.

73. In the English language it is the quantity of the Vowel which determines the quantity of the syllable. Short Vowels, though followed by several Consonants, form short syllables; and long Vowels form long syllables, even though few or no Consonants follow. Quantity must not be confounded with Accent. In the substantive com'pact, and the adjective compact', the Quantity of the Vowels is the same, although the Accent of the syllables is different.

Accent.

74. Accent (from the Latin ad, to, and cano, I sing) is the distinguishing stress laid, in pronouncing, on certain syllables of words. Accent is to syllables what Emphasis is to sentences; it distinguishes one from the crowd, and brings it forward to observation. In the word tyrant, there is an emphasis or stress upon the first syllable; in the word presume, on the second syllable. This stress is called accent.

75. The circumstance of a syllable having an accent is sometimes expressed by a mark ('); in which case the word is said to be accentuated, that is, to have the accent signified in writing. The mark is generally placed at the end of the accented syllable; as in torꞌment, include', hărꞌ ass, equip'.

76. Monosyllables are necessarily without accent. Words of two syllables have one of them accented, and but one. Words of three and four syllables, derived from dissyllables, usually retain the accent of their primitives; as virtue, virtuous, virtuously. The preterite and participles of verbs retain the accent of the verbs. Words ending in tion, sion, tian, cious, tious, cial, tial, tiate, cient, tient, have the accent on the last syllable but one, called the penultimate syllable, or the penult; as in intention, apprehension, &c.

77. Words ending in acal and ical, and in cracy, fluous, ferous, fluent, ogy, pathy, aphy, &c., have the accent on the last syllable but two, called the antepenultimate syllable, or the an-te-pe-nult'; as in fantastical, democ' racy, homeopathy, &c. Some words have a secondary accent, as vi'olin', leg'isla'tor, an'imadvert'; and some words of seven or eight syllables have

one primary and two secondary accents; as, in'divis'ibil'ity, incom'prehen sibility.

78. A great number of words are distinguished by the difference of accent alone; thus we say, an at'tribute, to attrib'ute; the month of August, an august' person; a written com'pact, a compact' crowd; half a min'ute, a minute' inquiry. The accent applied to words of this class, with a double meaning, is called Discriminative accent. A Rhetorical accent is one applied for the purpose of contrast. Of course it holds good only where it is used for that purpose; as, "This corruptible must put on incorruption."

79. The following list of words, in which the Discriminative accent is employed to distinguish different parts of speech having the same form, is given by Walker. It is composed of nouns and verbs, the accent being on the first syllable in the former, and on the second syllable in the latter. 80. Ab'sent, absent'; ab'stract, abstract'; ac'cent, accent'; af'fix, affix'; aug'ment, augment'; bom'bard, bombard'; cem'ent, cement'; colleague, colleague'; collect, collect'; com'pound, compound'; com'press, compress'; con'eert, concert'; con'crete, concrete'; con'duct, conduct'; con'fine, confine'; con'flict, conflict'; con'tract, contract'.

81. Con'voy, convoy'; con'serve, conserve'; con'sort, consort; con'test, contest'; con'trast, contrast'; con'verse, converse'; con'vert, convert'; des'cant, descant'; des'ert, desert'; di'gest, digest'; es'cort, escort'; es'say, essay'; ex'port, export'; ex'tract, extract'; ex'ile, exile'; fer'ment, ferment'; fre'quent, frequent'.

82. Im/port, import'; in'cense, incense'; in'sult, insult'; ob'ject, object'; per'fume, perfume'; pre'fix, prefix'; prel'ude, prelude'; prem'ise, premise'; presꞌage, presage'; pres'ent, present'; prod'uce, produce'; project, project'; progress, progress'; pro'test, protest'; reb'el, rebel'; rec'ord, record'; ref'use, refuse'; sub'ject, subject'; sur'vey, survey'.

83. In the adjectives ab'sent and ab'stract, the accent is on the first syllable; in the verbs, it is on the second. In the noun com'pact, the accent is on the first syllable, and in the adjective on the second. In the words ally' and romance', the accent is on the last syllable whether they be nouns or verbs. Accent the last syllable in the following words: desert' (signifying merit), dessert' (signifying a service of fruit after meat), finance', pretence', pretext', research', resource', recess', burlesque', revolt'. Accent the first syllable in ex'quisite, mis'chievous, tap'estry, contrary, designate, rec'ognize, ad'vertise, pre'cedent (when a noun), sor'cerer (the o as in nor), ap'erture, rev'ëry, in'novate, ped'estal, dis'putant, post'humous, dy'nasty.

84. In contem'plate, confiscate, compensate, concentrate, consum'mate, constellate, demon'strate, expurgate, and extir'pate, orthoëpists differ as to whether the accent should be on the first or second syllable. Walker, Smart, and Cooley, who represent the best English usage, place the accent on the second syllable, Poets often place it on the first.

85. In the following words the last syllable but one should be accented; aro'ma, aspirꞌant, abdo'men, deco'rum, inqui'ry, oppo'nent, pre-ce'dent (when an adjective), pre-ce'dence, hori'zon, compo'nent, condo'lence, manda'mus, panthe'on, clandes'tine, affi'ance, compli'ant, defal'cate, muse'um, pilas'ter, inter'stice, bitu'men, interne'cine.

86. Accent the first syllable in the following words: con'tumacy, ex'emplary, bib'liopole, lam'entable, hor'tatory, tem'perament, com'parable, des'ultory, in'teresting, con'sequently, cir'cumstances, rep'ertory, leg'islative, cem'etery. In no'menclature and ju'dicature, there is a partial accentual stress on the a.

87. Accent the an-te-pe-nult' (last syllable but two) in the following: compu'table, contem'plative, retrib'utive, restōr'ative, centrif'ugal, centrip'etal, adver'tisement, daguerreotype (pronounced da-ger'otype). Accent the peꞌnult (last syllable but one) in the following: coadju'tor, homici'dal, adaman-te'an, empy-re'an, Euro-pe'an.

QUESTIONS. -70. What is a syllable? 71. A monosyllable? dissyllable? trisyllable? polysyllable? Give the derivation of these words. 72. What is meant by the quantity, long or short, of vowels? 73. Does quantity differ from accent? 74. What is accent? 75. The mark of accent? 78. May words be distinguished by accent alone, even when spelled alike? 79. Give specimens of nouns and verbs spelled alike, but distinguished by accent. 80-84. Give specimens of trisyllables in which the first syllable is accented; the second. Words of four syllables in which the first is accented; the second.

LESSON VI.

ARTICULATION.

88. THE derivation and meaning of the term articulation have been explained in paragraphs 5 and 6. At first signifying the jointing of speech by the utterance of consonants and of syllables, it comprehends, in its more extended signification, the whole subject of the exact pronunciation of elementary sounds, and their syllabic combinations in language. 89. "Every articulation," says Bell, consists of two parts a position and an action. The former brings the organs of speech into approx. imation or contact, and the latter separates them, by a smart percussive action of recoil, from the articulative position. This principle is of the utmost importance to all persons whose articulation is defective. On its application distinctness entirely depends. Let it be carefully noted: audibly percussive organic separation is the necessary action of every articulation."

90. We have seen that defects in articulation may proceed either from over-eagerness in utterance, or from sluggishness and inattention. We will here cite some of the Vowel and Consonant sounds that are most frequently marred by a vicious articulation. The proper sound of the a

in at is often muffled and perverted in the syllables and terminations in al, ar, ant, able, an, ance, &c., as in the following words: fatal, particular, scholar, separate, arrogant, honorable, perseverance, preliminary, descendant, ordinance, &c.; in which the a is erroneously made to resemble the e in her or the u in but.

91. Be careful in words ending in el, en, ent, ens, ence, ess, &c. Do not say imminurnt for imminent, vehemurnt for vehement, argumurnts for arguments, referurnce for reference, laziniss for laziness, goodniss for goodness, &c. The e in these words should have nearly the sound it has in ebb, end, &c. Do not say rebble, chick'n, sudd'n, nov'l, trav❜l, slov❜n, couns'l, mod'l, vess'l, for reb'el, chick'en, sud'den, &c. In verbs and participles ending with en, the accent being on the previous syllable, the e is generally dropped. Say ris'n, tāk'n, wāk'n, drunk'n, sadd'n, grāv❜n, bright'n, op'n, chos'n, &c.; and drop the sound of the final e in even, heaven, &c.

92. There are readers who, instead of giving the syllable er, when unaccented, its true sound, would have us suppose, by their mode of utterance, that it is spelled uh; saying powůh, povůhty, govuhn, cavìhn, instead of power, poverty, govern, cavern, in which words the e has the sound it has in her. Do not obscure the e, or confound it with the i, in such words as society, variety, satiety, &c.

93. Great carelessness is often apparent in the enunciation of i short (as in pin) in syllables and terminations in în, il, ity, ility, ible, and others of similar form. Say satin, Latin, province, mountain (mountin), pupil, council, pencil, &c., not sat'n, pup'l, &c. In evil, devil, the i is not sounded. Do not convert the long i into e in such words as benign, oblige, &c.

94. Syllables and terminations in o, ow, and or, are badly articulated by many, who say potater for potato, tobaccernist for tobacconist, feller for fellow, winder for window, meller for mellow, hallerd for hallowed, meader for meadow, philoserpher for philosopher, colerny for colony, comprumise for compromise, &c.

95. The unaccented u is often erroneously suppressed, or made to sound like e, in such words as particular, voluble, regular, singular, educate, &c. The y sound of the u in mute should be given in these words, as well as in such as dupe, duty, duke, tune, tube, tutor, &c. Pronounce nature nāt'yur, mixture mixt'yur, vesture vest'yur, virtue virt'yu.

Do

96. Do not shorten the sound of long o (as it occurs in gō) in such words as boat, coat, bone, both, only, stone, home, throat, toad, most, soap, &c. Do not give to the a in scarce the sound of u in purse. not say tremendyous for tremendous, or colyume for column (pronounced kollum). Give to the diphthong oi its full sound in such words as noise, poise, point, &c., which are converted by some readers into nize, pize, pint, &c. The true sound of oi (as in oil) is compounded of the sounds of o in orb and e in me, fused in rapid junction.