Part 180 (2/2)

The opposite faults are , drawling, hesitating, staood articulation consists in giving every letter in a syllable its due proportion of sound, according to thesuch a distinction between the syllables of which words are coe their number; and perceive, at once, to which syllable each letter belongs Where these points are not observed, the articulation is proportionably defective”--_Sheridan's Rhetorical Grammar_, p 50

Distinctness of articulation depends, primarily, upon the ability to forans of speech, in the e demands; and, in the next place, upon the avoidance of that precipitancy of utterance, which is greater than the full and accurate play of the organs will allow If tiiven for the full enunciation of any hich we attempt to speak, some of the syllables will of course be either lost by elision or sounded confusedly

Just articulation gives even to a feeble voice greater power and reach than the loudest vociferation can attain without it It delivers words from the lips, not ed sterling currency of thought;--”as beautiful coins newly issued from the mint, deeply and accurately ians, distinct, sharp, in due succession, and of due weight”--_Austin's Chironomia_, p 38

OBS--The principles of articulation constitute the chief exercise of all those who are learning either to speak or to read So far as they are specifically taught in this work, they will be found in those sections which treat of the powers of the letters

SECTION II--OF pronUNCIATION

pronunciation, as distinguished from elocution, or delivery, is the utterance of words taken separately The correct pronunciation of words, or that part of grammar which teaches it, is frequently called _Orthoepy_

pronunciation, or orthoepy, requires a knowledge of the just powers of the letters in all their combinations; of the distinction of quantity in vowels and syllables; and of the force and seat of the accent

ARTICLE I--OF THE POWERS OF LETTERS

The JUST POWERS of the letters, are those sounds which are given to the is learned, partly from example, and partly from such books as show or aid the pronunciation of words

It is to be observed, however, that considerable variety, even in the powers of the letters, is produced by the character and occasion of what is uttered It is noticed by Walker, that, ”Some of the vowels, when neither under the accent, nor closed by a consonant, have a longer or a shorter, an opener or a closer sound, according to the solemnity or familiarity, the deliberation or rapidity of our delivery”--_pronouncing Dict, Preface_, p 4 In cursory speech, or in such reading as imitates it, even the best scholars utter ht ever to be given thehah it were spoken singly

The solemnity of an oration justifies and demands such scrupulous distinctness That careful pronunciation which would be ridiculously pedantic in colloquial intercourse, is an essential requisite of good elocution”--_Art of Public Speaking_, p xxxvii

ARTICLE II--OF QUANtitY

QUANtitY, or TIME in pronunciation, is the ard to their duration; and, by way of distinction, is supposed ever to deter_ or _short_[471]

The absolute time in which syllables are uttered, is very variable, and must be different to suit different subjects, passions, and occasions; but their relative length or shortness enerallysyllables are chiefly those which, having sounds naturally capable of being lengthened at pleasure, areunder some stress either of accent or of emphasis Our short syllables are the weaker sounds, which, being the less significant words, or parts of words, are uttered without peculiar stress

OBS--As quantity is chiefly to be regarded in the utterance of poetical compositions, this subject will be farther considered under the head of Versification

ARTICLE III--OF ACCENT

ACCENT, as commonly understood, is the peculiar stress which we lay upon some particular syllable of a word, whereby that syllable is distinguished froram-ma'-ri-an_

Every word of more than one syllable, has one of its syllables accented; and sometimes a compound word has two accents, nearly equal in force; as, _e'ven-hand'ed, home'-depart'ment_[472]

Besides the _chief_ or _pri, for the sake of harive a _secondary_ or less forcible accent to an other syllable; as, to the last of _tem'-per-a-ture'_, and to the second of _in deulated, in a great y In words froenerally on the root; in words froenerally on the termination; and if to these we add the different accent we lay on souish thereat principles of accentuation; namely, the radical, the terminational, and the distinctive”--_Walker's Principles_, No 491; _L Murray's Grammar_, 8vo, p 236

A full and open pronunciation of the long vowel sounds, a clear articulation of the consonants, a forcible and well-placed accent, and a distinct utterance of the unaccented syllables, distinguish the elegant speaker