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LESSONS IN ITALIAN GRAMMAR.-No. II.

BY CHARLES TAUSENAU, M.D.,

Of the University of Pavia, Professor of the Italian and German Languages at the Kensington Proprietary Grammar School.

II.

I now proceed to explain Italian pronunciation in a method of recent adoption by some ingenious teachers of Italy, by which all the combinations of the vowels and consonants, and consequently all the ingredients and component parts of the language, will pass under the eye of the reader. Let him learn from the very beginning of his labours to pronounce each syllable of the following words and tables, and he will soon acquire a correct method of pronunciation. No word or combination of words can offer any difficulty to him, because he will have mastered the component parts of all words in these tables.

The Italian language has five vowels, representing seven sounds :

I. a invariably sounded like the English interjection ah. II. invariably sounded like ee in see. III. u invariably sounded like oo in too. IV.§1. IV. 1. e invariably sounded like ay in say, but with a slight opening of the mouth only, and with an elevated and clear tone. It is called, on that account, the close sound of the vowel.

2. e invariably sounded something like e in let, set, and the first e in every, but with a wide opening of the mouth, and with a deep sound. It is called, on that account, the open sound of the vowel.

V. 1. o invariably sounded with a medium sound between o and oo, which has no equivalent in the English language, but which may be easily caught by the ear from hearing an educated Roman or Tuscan speak. Perhaps an approximation is the o in bone, hole, and note, but with a slight opening of the mouth only, and with an elevated and clear tone. It is called, on that account, the close sound of the vowel

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2. o invariably sounded something like o in Lord and orange, but with a wide opening of the mouth, and with a deep sound. It is called, on that account, the open sound of the vowel. The first sound of e and the first of o occur in the majority of syllables, and may be called the ruling sounds of those two vowels. No distinguishing sign is used in Italian to mark the two e's or two o's. Englishmen must have some mark to indicate when e and o are to be sounded with their second or open sounds. I shall, in these cases, place on e and o this sign, as for example é, ô.

The pronunciation of what, for the sake of distinction, I shall denominate the circumflexed sounds of e and o is not uniform throughout Italy; but as the pronunciation of Rome and Florence is the standard, all departures from it may be reckoned provincialisms, which o” to be carefully avoided. mber, are divided

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The Italian consonants, seventee into mutes and semi-vowels. Mutes vowel after them to render them pronou are those which require a vowel before ... pronounceable.

e that require a
Semi-vowels
nake them

Let me first enumerate the mutes, and show tables their
There are ten

combinations with vowels in Italian words.
mutes:

I. I named in the alphabet bee.

II. c named in the alphabet chee, and sounded like ch in
church before the vowels e and i. Before all other
vowels it is sounded like Z in English.

III. d named in the alphabet dee.
IV. g named in the alphabet jee, and sounded like g in
ginger before the vowels e and i only. Before all
other vowels it is sounded like gin gang, go, and gull.
V. jnamed in the alphabet (ee) lungo or jota, (i consonante,)
and sounded like y in yes only at the commence-
ment of a word or syllable and before a vowel.
At the termination of a word it is no longer a
consonant, but must be sounded like a lengthened

ce.

VI. p named in the alphabet pec.

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inexpedient to lay down now, as they would not at this stage of our progress be thoroughly understood, but which I shall take occasion to point out in convenient places as I proceed.

One remark more with respect to the vowels and o. I have called the first sound of e as ay in say, and the first sound of o (the medium sound between o and co, which cannot be adequately marked by an English equivalent) the ruling sounds of those vowels. The reason is this; they are heard in all syllables without distinction, whether they have the accent of tone or not, while the second sound of e (pronounced with a wider opening of the mouth and a deeper sound, and something like e in let and ever) and the second sound of o (also pronounced with a wider opening of the mouth and deeper sound, and something like o in orange and lord) can only be heard in accented syllables, of which there can be in each word only one. The former sounds, therefore, are much more frequent than the latter; because unaccented syllables are more numerous than those accented.

With regard to the e in unaccented syllables having an English equivalent in ai or ay, I shall have no difficulty in marking the pronunciation; but with regard to o in unaccented syllables, as there is no equivalent, I should be obliged to use the acute accent, and thus confuse the reader, who would perhaps be unable to determine which was the accent of tone in a word and which the accent marking the peculiar sound of I beg it therefore to be understood once for all, that where I shall have occasion to use an o in unaccented syllables without any sign above it, the vowel must invariably have I follow the authority the first sound of o as above explained. not only of the educated classes of Florence and Rome, but also that of Celso Cittadini and the best theoretical writers on Italian pronunciation.

0.

FIRST PRONOUNCING TABLE.

Showing the combination of vowels with mute consonants in natural order. Italian.

Bado

Bevo

Bice

Boce (for voce)

Buco

VII. q named in the alphabet koo. It is an auxiliary letter, Ebano only used before u with the sound of k

VIII. t named in the alphabet tee.

IX. v named in the alphabet vee (u consonante).

X. z named in the alphabet tsaita, sounded like tz in
Switzerland, or like dz in odze. These sounds vary
in different parts of Ily. After, n, and r, it is
generally pronounced like ts in Switzerland.
same sharp sound occurs in words derived from
Latin, and ending in sia, zio, zione, &c.

Tne

I shall mark each word in the following spelling tables, and indeed each word given as an example or illustration, with an accent, which, being merely arbitrary, used for the occasion to facilitate the progress of the English learner and not used in Italian printing, I denominate the accent of tone. In every Italian word composed of more than one syllable, there is always one syllable on which, when we pronounce it, the voice ought to pause with a marked elevation of tone. This prolonThis prolongation and elevation of the voice on the syllable is similar to the transition of the voice from one tone to another in music, in order to descend to the level of the original tone from which

the voice was raised.

The accent of tone exists more or

jess in every language, but it is more or less sensibly marked in one language than another, and it is strongly so in Italian; and on the marked use of this accent in a great measure depends the harmony of the language. I shall mark this accent by the acute sign () from right to left. It is true that this acute sign is sometimes printed in Italian words, but in a very few instances only, which I shall have occasion to point out hereafter. The grave accent (), from left to right, is used much more frequently (the rules for its use will be given hereafter), and for this reason I prefer using, in order to avoid confusion, the acute accent as the arbitrary mark or sign of the accent of tone. Two-thirds of the Italian words have an accent of tone regulated by principles clear and invariable; which it would be

Abete

Abile

Obolo (Latin, obolus)
Abuso
Babbo (Tuscan)

Pronounced.

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English.

I take care

I drink

Beatrice, a woman's
Voice, word [name
Hole

Ebony
Fir-tree

Able
Farthing
Abuse
l'apa

* The reader must not forget my previous observat.on that c before e and i is sounded like ch in the English word church. The acute accent over o marks not only the accent of tone, but also the first sound of o as stated before.

Once for all, I must refer my readers to the opening explanation, where I stated that there is no English equivalent to the second, open or circumflexed sound of the e, as in the first syllable of ebano. For that reason, I have not attempted to imitate it by ng English sound; and have therefore simply marked it by the circumflex sign. In all cases of the e circumflexed, the reader must studiously avoid the English sound of e, which could only create the greatest confusion. He may always bear in mind what I have stated, that an approximation to the circumflexed e is to be found in the e of the English words let and ever; only uttered with a wider opening of the mouth and deeper sound! The circumfiexed e is invariably the accent of tone.

§ The reader must bear in mind, that this is the second or less frequent sound of o, something like the English o in the words orange and lord, but with a wider opening of the mouth and deeper sound. I give it the circumflex mark, because it is the less commion sound. Wherever it occurs in my lessons, it will invariably denote, as in the case of the circumflexed e, the accent of tone as well as the peculiar sound of the o.

I shall have occasion to speak of the two sounds of s when I explain the sounds of the semi-vowels.

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ON PHYSICS OR NATURAL PHILOSOPHY

Quickly

Tail

Skin

Dukedom, ducat

1 receive
I cut
Ancona
Pool, swamp
Bacchus
Beak

Spear

Mouth Juice

Die for gaming I ought, I must Finger

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béb-bai** jib'-beett

Gobbo

gób-bo

Dubbi

doob-bee

Cado

Cece

káh-do tchái-tchai

He drank

Hunchbacks

A hunchback Doubts

I fall

Chickpease

Cito

tchée-to

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After, afterwards
General
Gluttonous
Adeline, a woman's

name

I provoke to anger
I adore

I unite, I assemble others

The river Adda

The Edda of Scandinavian literature God

I lead to

Gaza in Palestine

Jess (in falconry)

A walk, trip

I rejoice

A horned owl

A tie, ligament
Angel

Inflammation of the

throat

Vigour

Ingenious, witty Pages (attendants)

meaning, but differing only in spelling by the single consonant instead of the double one; as, for example, caro, dear, and carro, a car; as I shall have occasion later more fully to illustrate. Where a, or any other vowel precedes a double consonant, a particular stress must be laid on that vowel, and its sound must be shortened. I have not attempted to indicate that shortening of the sound of the vowel by any new sign, because a frequent change of sign only creates confusion, and the true pronunciation is obvious from the necessity of giving a vibrating clearness to the double consonants.

** The English e, whenever it is sounded as in the word get, corresponds to the shortened sound of the first sound of e (ai).

The reader must not forget my previous observation that g before e and i is sounded as in the English word ginger.

It is obvious that not only before double consonants not in the same syllable, but even before one consonant in the same syltable, a or any other vowel must be shortened in the Italian, as perhaps in any other language. It is therefore unnecessary to use any sign.

§§ The pronunciation of gg depends on the vowel that follows the latter g. If that vowel is e or i, the gg's are pronounced some what as if the first.g had merely the sound of d; and the second g, which goes to the next syllable, like the English j in jay, only the voice must not pause too long on the d of the syllable where the first g occurs the stress must be laid on it, and the voice must glide as quickly as possible to the pronunciation of the second *g, which must be very soft. In this way there will be effected a more equal distribution of the sound j between the two syllables, which will produce the correct sound of the gg.

No. II.

GENERAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIAL BODIES.

(Continued from p. 3.)

Porosity. This is the property of matter in consequence of which interstices exist between the particles of bodies; these interstices are termed pores.

Pores are of two kinds; there are physical pores, or interstices, so small, that the attractive and repulsive forces with which matter is endowed continue to exert their action; and there are sensible pores, such as may be recognised by inspection. The latter are merely holes, across which the molecular forces are incompetent to exert their action. It is to the existence of physical pores that are due the phenomena of expansion and contraction arising from variations of temperature. It is in sensible pores that the organic phenomena of exhalation and absorption take place-phenomena characteristic of vitality, whether animal or vegetable.

Sensible pores are very apparent in sponges, in wood, and in a great number of stones; whereas physical pores are never recognisable, and their existence can only be proved by argument. They are inferred to exist chieny by considerations of the diminution of volume which bodies experience when exposed to the influence of cold, or to the force of mechanical pressure.

In order to demonstrate experimentally the condition of porosity, the following experiment may be performed. Take a long glass tube, terminated at its upper extremity by a copper cup a (fig 3), and at its lower extremity by a foot piece of

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down the tube in a shower of minute drops. In a similar way | ently demonstrated by the process of coining, which consists water may be caused to pass through the pores of wood, if a disc of the latter, cut perpendicularly to the direction of its fibres, be substituted for a piece of leather.

If a little chalk be thrown into water, there presently escapes number of minute bubbles of air, which evidently occupied he pores existing within the substance of the chalk, and from which the air is driven by reason of the water which enters. In short, if the piece of chalk be weighed before and after immersion, and the weights compared, a considerable increase will be found to have resulted as the consequence of putting t into water In this manner, we may determine the total volume of the existing pores by estimating the space which corresponds to a bulk of water equal in weight to that experienced by the chalk by immersion. As regards the porosity of metals, this quality has been demonstrated by an experiment performed by the Florentine academicians in the year 1661. The experiment was as follows:

to exist.

A hollow sphere of gold having been filled with water, pressure was applied by forcing in a screw. Subjected to this treatment, the contained water was found to ooze through the golden sides of the sphere, and to appear externally in small dew-like drops. Subsequently to this experiment of the Florentine academicians, a modification of it has been frequently repeated, various metals having been substituted for gold. In every instance a similar porosity was demonstrated The Apparent and Real Volume of Bodies.-A slight reflection on what has been laid down concerning porosity, will lead to the inference that distinction requires to be made between the apparent volume which bodies occupy and the real volume. The apparent volume of a body is equivalent to that portion of space which it fills; its real volume is that portion of space which it would have occupied if all porosity in its substance could have been annihilated; in other words, the real volume is the apparent volume diminished by the volume of the pores. The real volume of a substance is invariable, but its apparent volume diminishes or augments with the volume of the pores.

Applications of the Preceding Facts.-The quality of porosity has been taken advantage of in the construction of filters with paper, felt, stone, and charcoal, substances frequently employed in domestic economy. The pores of these bodies are sufficiently large to admit the passage of liquids, but at the same time sufficiently small to refuse passage to the extraneous substances which the liquids may have held in suspension. Another frequent and useful application of the porosity of a body, is that of splitting large masses of stone by the expansion of a wooden block. The process is as follows. Channels or clefts are first made around the base of the mass to be separated, and into these clefts dry wooden wedges are driven. When a sufficient number has been introduced in this manner, they are moistened with water, which, penetrating between their pores, the wood swells and exerts enormous force, by means of which gigantic blocks are separated from the parent rock. A variation of the same force may be recognised in the augmentation of size, and the diminution of length, which cords undergo when they are moistened. Sometimes the force thus called into operation is taken advantage of for the raising of heavy burdens.

Compressibility. It is in consequence of this property that bodies are capable of being forced by pressure into smaller spaces than those which they ordinarily fill. This property is at once the consequence of porosity, and the proof of its existence. Indeed, the most porous bodies are those which are also the most compressible. The extent to which different bodies may be compressed varies exceedingly. The most compressible of all are the gases, many of which are susceptible of reduction, when sufficient pressure is applied, to a volume 10, 20, or even 100 times smaller than that occupied under their original conditions. Nevertheless, in the generality of aëriform bodies, a limit exists beyond which the gaseous state ceases, and a liquid body results.

The compressibility of solids is much less than the compres sibility of gases, and varies for different bodies of the solid class. Woven fabrics, paper, cork, wood, and all porous tissues, are susceptible amongst solids of the greatest air.ount of compression. Metals are also compressible, a fact suffici

in making an impression on a flat metallic disc by the sudden pressure of a die. In connexion with the compressibility of solids, it should here be remarked that a certain point exists at which no further amount of compression is possible. At this point it frequently occurs that a metal still subjected to continuous pressure crumbles to powder. As regards liquids, their amount of compressibility is so exceedingly slight, that during a long period the property was altogether denied. Experiment has, nevertheless, demonstrated the existence of such compressibility in liquids, and we shall hereafter treat of of it fully under the head of hydrostatics.

Elasticity.-Elasticity is the property by the exercise of which bodies are enabled to resume their primitive volume, or primitive form, when the force which altered this form or volume ceases to act. Elasticity may be developed in bodies by pressure, by traction, by flexion, or by torsion. At present we are merely concerned in regarding the elasticity of pressure; the other species of elasticity taking place only in solids, will be placed amongst the specific properties of material bodies. Gases are eminently elastic; that is to say, if they are compressed, and the compressing force be removed, they at once reassume their original bulk. A similar observation applies to some liquids which may have been subjected to compression; but the property of elasticity in solid bodies is not complete. If' the compressing force has been extreme, or very long applied, solids rarely assume their original condition on the removal of the compressing force. Nevertheless, the quality of elasticity is very apparent in caoutchouc, ivory, glass, and marble. In fatty bodies the quality is scarcely recognisable; and a similar remark applies to masses of clay, and to the metal lead. In solidsthere is a limit to elasticity, beyond the boundaries of which either rupture takes place, or the exact original condition of the bodies does not reappear. In the case of sprains, for example, the limits of the elasticity of the ligaments affected have been exceeded. Gases and liquids are affected by no such limit, and therefore always return to their primitive volume.

Elasticity is the result of a condensation of molecules, therefore of a change of form, which as regards solid bodies may be demonstrated by the experiment which follows. Upon a plane of marble, which has been smeared with a little oil, drop a ball of ivory, of glass, or of marble; the ball rebounds to an elevation something less than that of the space through which it fell, after having left on the marble surface, at the point of contact, a circular impression, the diameter of which increases in proportion to the height from which the ball fell. It follows from a consideration of the preceding experiment, that the ball at the moment when it struck the table must have become flat over a certain space of its surface, and that the rebound of the ball is due to the springing back of the compressed molecules constituting the flattened surface into their original position.

Mobility-Motion-Repose.-Mobility is the property by which material bodies pass from one point, to another. The term motion is applied to that state of a body which is involved in the act of changing place. The term rest signifies the opposite of motion, and also a permanence in the same place. Rest and motion may be understood each in the two senses of absolute and relative. Absolute rest would consist in the complete privation of motion; but we know of no such state. If we take the most extended view of the universe, still this condition of absolute repose is nowhere discoverable. The absolute motion of a body would consist in its displacement as regards another body in the state of absolute rest.

The condition of relative rest is that assumed by a body in relation to surrounding objects, although in reality it partakes with them of a common motion. For example, an object which remains in the same place in a boat whilst sailing, may be said to be in a condition of rest so far as concerns the boat, but it is really in a condition of motion as regards the river-sides. Such an object, then, furnishes us with an example of the state of relative rest.

The relative motion of a body is only its apparent motion, that is to say, the kind of motion which is discriminated by comparison with certain other bodies assumed to be fixed, although they are really in motion. Of this kind is the motion of a boat in relation to the banks of a river, for the latter

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participates with the boat in the double motion of rotation forces mutually neutralise each other's effects, and that conand translation in space, to which our globe is continually sequently the original state of the body is not affected. The subjected. In nature it appears, then, that we only recog-term equilibrium is used to designate this state of condition nise conditions of relative motion or relative rest. in a body. Care must be taken not to confound the two states of equilibrium and rest. In the former state a body is submitted to the action of several mutually destructive forces; in the second a body is not acted on by any force. Nevertheless, it is a question whether there be any body actually at rest in the material universe. To this question we would answer in the negative.

Inertia.-Inertia is a purely negative quality of matter, and constitutes the well-known inability of matter to pass of itself from the state of rest to that of motion, or to modify the kind of motion with which it may have been impressed.

If occasionally objects fall when left to themselves, this result is dependent upon the exercise of an attractive force, which draws them towards the centre of the earth, and not upon their own self-agency. If the velocity of a billiard ball on the table gradually diminishes, this result is attributable partly to the resistance of the atmospheric air, and partly to friction against the cover. It would be incorrect, then, to assume that the billiard ball holds within itself a tendency to rest rather than to continuance in motion, as certain philosophers of antiquity were in the habit of propounding, when they, compared the natural tendency of matter to a lazy individual. In all cases where there is no resistance, continued motion proceeds without alteration, as we find exemplified in the course of the planets in their orbits around the sun. Application of the Preceding Deductions.-A great number of phenomena are explicable by the doctrine of the inertia of matter. For example, when one is desirous of leaping across a ditch, he takes a preliminary run, in order that at the instant when the spring is made the impetus generated by running may be superadded to that resulting from the spring itself.

A person who alights from a carriage in motion participates in the motion of the carriage, and if the individual thus alighting does not take care to give his body an impression contrary in direction to that imparted by the carriage, he falls on touching the ground in the direction of the carriage. It is the quality of inertia which renders so terrible the accidents from concussion on railways. In fact, if the locomotive itself should be brought suddenly to a pause, all the train would continue its progress by reason of the force already acquired, and the carriages would be boken by striking against each

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Forces. By the term Force, is understood any, cause capable of producing motion, or modifying motion when once produced. Thus, the muscular action of animals, weight, magnetic attraction and repulsion, and the tension of vapours, are all forces. In general the term powers is applied to designate those forces which tend to produce a certain effect; and the term resistance, to those forces opposed to the production of such effects. The former in consequence of their tendency to accelerate motion at each instant are called accelerating forces, whilst the general expression of retarding forces is applied to the latter; yet the same force may be considered as a continually accelerating force at one time, and a continually retarding force at another time: for example, when a stone is allowed to fall from a state of rest, at some elevation above the ground, the action of gravity with which the earth, and indeed all matter, is endowed begins to affect the stone, and continuing to do so during the whole period of its fall, it reaches the ground with accelerated force; but if a stone be projected perpendicularly upwards from a place on the ground, its motion upwards will be continually retarded by the action of gravity during the whole period of its ascent, until it come to a momentary state of rest, and its progress. upwards will be stopped. Gravity, when it acts in the manner described in the latter of these cases, is called a continually retarding force. Instantaneous and Continued Forces.Forces are capable of acting upon bodies in one of two ways. First, during a very short period, as, for instance, that consequent on the shock or explosion of gunpowder; and second, those which continue to act during the whole duration of the motion, as gravity, and the traction of animals. The former are termed instantaneous, and the latter continued forces.

Equilibrium. When many forces are simultaneously operating upon one and the same body, it may so happen that the

Characters, Unit, and Representation of Forces.-Every force is characterised-first, by its point of application, that is to say, the point at which it immediately exerts its power; second, by its direction, that is to say, the straight line which it tends to describe at its point of application; third, by its intensity, or, in other words, its relation to some other force considered as unity.

The force chosen as unity in any particular question is altogether arbitrary; but whatever may be the amount of traction or pressure developed by a force, inasmuch as a certain weight may be made or considered to produce the same effect, it is customary to refer forces to some unit of weight, and in this country the pound weight, or some multiple of it, is generally the unit. Thus a force is said to be equal to 20 pounds, if the pressure of 20 pounds can be substituted for the action of the force. From a study of the characters by which a force is determined, the force itself is completely known when its point of application, its direction, and its intensity are given. In order to represent the different elements of a force, we draw an indefinite straight line through its point of application, and in the direction along which it is exerted. Then upon this line some arbitrary unit of length is marked, commencing from the point of application, and extending in the direction of the force. This unit of length is then repeated as often as the given force contains the unit of force. As the consequence of this arrangement, we have a straight line which completely determines the force. In order to distinguish forces froni each other, they may be represented by letters, such as P, Q, R, placed upon the line indicating their several directions. In order to facilitate the understanding of many physical phenomena, it will be necessary to refer to certain principles which are demonstrated in mathematical treatises on natural philosophy. These principles will be cited in the next and subsequent articles.

LESSONS IN GEOLOGY.-No. XLII.

By THOMAS W. JENKYN, D.D., F.R.G.S., F.G.S., &c.
CHAPTER III.

ON THE INFLUENCE OF ATMOSPHERIC AGENTS ON THE
EARTH'S CRUST.

SECTION VIII.-ON ICEBERGS.

§ ii, ON THE TRANSPORTING POWER OF DRIFTING ICEBERGS. In the lessons which were given you on the formation and agency of glaciers, you have learnt that all the rocky frag ments, which glaciers brought down from the lofty ridges of: the Alps, were deposited in a terminal moraine, and that, at some earlier epoch, they had left behind them on the sides and ledges of the mountain, at a much higher elevation than they reach in our day, enormous blocks of stone called boulders. For illustrations of this process, consult the diagrams in the Lessons on Glaciers.

Boulders, like those on the flanks of hills in the Alps, are found in very extensive districts all over the north of Europe and America. Some of the blocks are waterworn, others are rugged and angular. They consist of fragments derived from rocks of all kinds and of all ages, primitive, volcanic, and fossiliferous. Many of them are of enormous dimensions, varying from three feet to several yards in diameter.

In some cases, such a boulder deposit consists of blocks that have been severed and torn from the rock that lies immediately beneath them. In such circumstances the boulders are of the colour and lithological character of the underlying strata

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