THE PRONUNCIATION OF WORDS.
It is simply impossible to express sound by writing, and therefore
all instruction in pronunciation should be given vivâ voce. A
pronouncing Dictionary may sometimes afford assistance; but in many
cases it must fail, as it is an attempt to explain varieties or
shades of sound by varieties of shape, i.e. combinations of written
letters--in fine, objects of one sense by those of another.
It is not easy to fix a standard of pronunciation. At one time
the stage, then the bar, and, later still, the pulpit, have been
considered as authorities in this matter. But all these are now
rejected, and the conversation of the highest classes in London
society is now looked upon as the standard of English pronunciation.
Pronunciation, like everything else connected with language,
varies continually with the influence of time and fashion; and
it is well known that, even fifty years ago, many English words
were pronounced differently from the present practice. It was
formerly the fashion to pronounce ‘leisure’ (which now rhymes with
‘pleasure’) as if written ‘leezure’ (to rhyme with ‘seizure’).
This was never a vulgar pronunciation; it was done by the highest
classes. It was also the fashion to pronounce ‘oblige’ more like
the French verb ‘obliger’ as if written ‘obl_ee_ge,’ and this also
was the practice with the best educated. ‘Gold’ also was formerly
pronounced by good speakers as if rhyming with ‘ruled;’ now it
properly rhymes with ‘old’ or ‘cold.’
We may conclude, from some of Pope’s rhymes, that, in the early
part of the eighteenth century, our language was not pronounced
exactly as it is at present. He has ‘line’ and ‘join’ rhyming with
each other; also ‘vice’ and ‘destroys,’ ‘power’ and ‘secure,’
‘safe’ and ‘laugh,’ ‘obey’ and ‘tea,’ &c. Some of these may have
been peculiar to the poet himself, and may be regarded as bad
rhymes; still, as Pope was an authority for the language of his own
time, most of them were, in all probability, recognised as correct.
Stories are told of the peculiar pronunciation of some of the
leading literati of the last century which appear scarcely
credible. Dr. Johnson is said to have pronounced the word ‘fair’
like ‘fear,’ and the adverb ‘once’ as if written ‘woonse.’ He also
called ‘punch’ ‘poonsh.’ Garrick was often remarked for saying
‘shupreme’ and ‘shuperior’ for ‘supreme’ and ‘superior.’ He also
pronounced ‘Israel’ as ‘Isrel,’ ‘villain’ as if ‘villin,’ and,
still more strangely, ‘appeal’ as ‘appal.’
John Kemble had several peculiarities of pronunciation. He
is known to have always said ‘bird’ for ‘beard,’ ‘ferse’ for
‘fierce,’ and my head ‘aitches’ (for ‘aches’). He persisted,
too, in pronouncing ‘Cato’ with the _a_ broad, as if written
‘Cāāto.’ Of this peculiarity an amusing anecdote is related. ‘One
evening, at the Dublin Theatre, after the performance of Addison’s
tragedy, the manager appeared on the stage, and made the following
statement:--“Ladies and gentlemen, to-morrow evening, with your
permission, the tragedy of Cato will be repeated, the part of
‘_Cāāto_’ by Mr. Kemble.”’
Another story is told of the same eminent actor, who, when George
III. said to him: ‘Mr. Kemble, will you “obleege” me with a pinch
of your snuff?’ replied: ‘With pleasure, your Majesty; but it would
become your royal lips much better to say “oblīge.”’
Some of the actor Quin’s pronunciations would be now considered
very singular. He always pronounced the word ‘face’ as if written
‘fāāce,’ and said ‘trōpically’ for ‘trŏpically.’ Also, in a
certain classical drama, addressing the Roman guard, he desired
them to lower their ‘faces’ (meaning their ‘fasces’).
But, whatever may be the recognised standard of pronunciation,
there always will be a refined and a vulgar mode of speech--one
adopted by the cultivated and well-informed, and the other used by
the rude and illiterate. It must be understood that there are only
two ways in which our pronunciation may be at fault. 1. The accent
may be placed on the wrong syllable; or, 2. a wrong sound may be
given to the vowels. Under the first head may be placed such faults
as the following:--Some will say ‘fánatic’ instead of ‘fanátic,’
and perhaps as often ‘lunátic’ for ‘lúnatic.’ Again, ‘mischíevous’
is wrong, both in accent and tone; for the accent should here
be on the first syllable, and the sound of the second should be
close--míschĭevous. We also not unfrequently hear people call the
word ‘extánt,’ instead of ‘éxtant;’ but, as the accent is always
on the first in words of a like formation--such as ‘cónstant,’
‘dístant,’ ‘ínstant,’ &c.--there is no good reason why ‘éxtant’
should be made an exception. Another word in which the accent is
often misplaced is ‘réspĭted.’ Many will say ‘respíted,’ which is
decidedly against good usage.
In some words the accent still seems to be unsettled. Perhaps we
hear the word ‘óbdurate’ as often with the accent on the second as
on the first syllable. Many scholars pronounce the word ‘obdūrate,’
probably because the _u_ is long in the Latin ‘dūrus;’ but this
must also follow the accent of similar forms. We always say
‘áccŭrate,’ ‘índŭrate,’ ‘áugŭrate,’ ‘sátŭrate,’ &c.; and therefore,
by analogy, it should be óbdŭrate.’
By many the accent is placed on the second syllable of the word
‘applicable;’ but the general custom is to lay it on the first, and
the best practice is to say ‘ápplicable,’ and not ‘applícable.’
Another case of wrong tone may be heard in the pronunciation of the
word ‘_ínfĭnĭte_.’ We still not unfrequently hear in the pulpit,
‘infinīte goodness,’ &c. In dissyllables ‘īte’ final is sometimes
pronounced long; as in ‘polīte,’ ‘finīte,’ ‘recīte,’ &c.; but in
words of more than two syllables the final ‘ite’ is, with few
exceptions, pronounced short. We always (properly) say ‘definĭte,’
‘exquisĭte,’ ‘opposĭte,’ ‘favourĭte,’ &c.
Many have special difficulties in the pronunciation of certain
consonants. The correct sound of _r_ is a medium between the strong
rough _R_ of the Irish, and the feeble indistinct tone given it
by the London cockney. The Irishman will tell you that he is very
‘wa_r_(u)m’ after his ‘wo_r_(u)k.’ But in London, one often hears,
instead of ‘garden,’ ‘g_au_den,’ for ‘forth’ ‘f_au_th,’ and for
‘card’ ‘c_au_d,’ &c.
Many Englishmen have a difficulty in pronouncing the rough _r_,
substituting for it the sound of _w_. These say ‘_w_oom’ for
‘_r_oom,’ ‘p_w_oduct’ for ‘p_r_oduct,’ ‘_w_agged’ for ‘_r_agged,’
&c. This habit, unless checked early, is likely to become incurable.
Others again contract a vicious habit of pronouncing the _r_ far
back in the throat, instead of forming it by vibrating the tip of
the tongue. This is what the French call ‘_parler gras_.’
There is one very improper use of _r_ which must be here mentioned;
viz. the addition of this letter to certain words ending in _a_.
Some pronounce ‘sofa’ as if written ‘sofa_r_.’ Also they speak of
their papa_r_ and mamma_r_, &c. It is scarcely necessary to say
that this is a positive vulgarism.
Nowhere, perhaps, is the perversity of our nature more evident than
in the pronunciation of, (1), _h_ silent and _h_ aspirate; and,
(2), _v_ and _w_. These sounds are constantly confounded. Many
pronounce _h_ where it is not required, and leave it out where
it should be sounded. They will say ‘abit’ for ‘habit,’ ‘erd’
for ‘herd,’ ‘ill’ for ‘hill,’ ‘old’ for ‘hold,’ &c.; and, on the
other hand, ‘_h_all’ for ‘all,’ ‘_h_odd’ for ‘odd,’ ‘_h_uncle’ for
‘uncle,’ &c.
The same vice exists in the pronunciation of _v_ and _w_. It is
clear that the speaker _can_ pronounce both these letters, but he
inveterately persists in misplacing them. He will say ‘_w_eal’ and
‘_w_inegar,’ and at the same time, ‘_V_y do you _v_eep?’ These
faults are made almost exclusively by ignorant, uneducated people.
Under this head may be also mentioned the incorrect pronunciation
of _wh_ initial. By many the _h_ is here left out altogether,
and these pronounce the pronoun _which_ exactly as if written
‘_witch_.’ In Anglo-Saxon, whence all this class of words
comes, they were spelled, and probably pronounced, with the _h_
first--‘_hw_;’ and even now, if we listen attentively to those who
pronounce them correctly, we shall always hear the aspirate first.
We should surely make a difference between ‘_wh_o’ and ‘_w_oo,’
‘_wh_en’ and ‘_w_en,’ ‘_wh_ere’ and ‘_w_ear,’ &c.; and, though it
would be incorrect to mark the aspirate too roughly, the _h_ in
such words should be always fairly brought out.
We also perpetually hear (especially in London) words ending
in ‘_ing_’ pronounced as if written ‘_in_;’ as, for example,
‘stand_in_,’ ‘runn_in_,’ ‘go_in_,’ for ‘stand_ing_,’ ‘runn_ing_,’
go_ing_,’ &c. In one case a _k_ is put for the g. ‘Nothin_k_’ is
said for ‘nothing.’
There is a disposition in many readers and speakers to give a
sort of veiled sound to unaccented monosyllables, so that the
true pure tone of the vowel is not heard. This is a very common
fault. By such readers ‘for’ is pronounced ‘_fur_,’ ‘of’ is called
‘_uv_,’ ‘not’ ‘_nut_,’ ‘from’ ‘_frum_,’ and ‘was’ ‘_wuz_,’ &c. &c.
It should be remembered that, whether such words be, or be not,
accented, the sound of the vowel should always be full and pure.
A point of great importance is to always carefully give the true
sound to an unaccented vowel which begins a word. We should never
let _e_motion degenerate into ‘_imm_otion,’ ‘_e_mergency’ into
‘_imm_ergency,’ ‘_o_bedience’ into ‘_ub_bedience,’ &c. No accent,
however, should be placed on these syllables, but the initial vowel
should be always pronounced in its proper and pure sound.
It is right to be just as careful with vowels which are medial
and unaccented. We should not allow ‘mon_u_ment’ to sound as
‘mon_i_ment,’ nor must ‘calc_u_late’ be pronounced with the u
close. This fault often happens with words ending in ‘_e_ty’ or
‘_i_ty.’ We hear over and over again, in the pulpit, the words
‘trin_i_ty,’ ‘dign_i_ty,’ ‘soci_e_ty,’ &c. pronounced as if written
‘trin_a_ty,’ ‘dign_a_ty,’ ‘soci_a_ty,’ &c.
The pronunciation of the word ‘knowledge,’ with the o long, is
still occasionally heard; but it is now almost universally called
‘knŏwledge’ (to rhyme with ‘college’).
Some pronounce ‘haunt,’ ‘jaunt,’ ‘taunt,’ ‘jaundice,’ &c. with the
diphthong broad, having the same sound as in ‘r_aw_’ or ‘s_aw_.’
But all these should rhyme with ‘aunt,’ which is never pronounced
broad.
The ending ‘_ile_’ of certain adjectives sometimes offers a
difficulty of pronunciation. Here, in the words ‘hostīle,’
‘missīle,’ ‘servīle,’ ‘reptīle,’ ‘puerīle,’ and ‘volatīle’ the
_i_ has a long sound; but in ‘fertĭle,’ ‘fragĭle,’ ‘futĭle,’ and
‘imbecĭle’ the _i_ must be short.
Some incorrectly give the long sound ‘īle’ to the broader diphthong
‘_oi_l.’ They call ‘_oi_l’ ‘īle,’ ‘boil’ and ‘broil’ ‘bīle’ and
‘brīle,’ &c. In the age of the poet Pope, these two sounds were
probably closer to each other than they are now; for he makes
‘_join_’ rhyme with ‘_line_:‘--
While expletives their feeble aid do _join_,
And ten low words oft creep in one dull _line_.
A story is told of some one dining at a tavern who was asked by the
waiter whether he wished to have his sole ‘_brīled_?’ To which he
replied that he did not care whether it was ‘brīled’ or ‘bīled,’ as
long as it was not ‘spīled!!’
The words ‘fast,’ ‘past,’ ‘mast,’ and other similar combinations
are often pronounced either too broad or too close. In the
provinces we often hear ‘m_au_ster,’ ‘f_au_st,’ ‘p_au_st,’ and
‘c_au_nt,’ whilst the affected Londoner says ‘m_ĕ_ster,’ ‘f_ĕ_st,’
‘p_ĕ_st,’ &c.
Neither of the two is right, but the proper pronunciation lies
between them. Again, ‘pūt’ (which rhymes with ‘foot’) must
not be called ‘pŭt’ (to rhyme with ‘bŭt’), nor must pūlpit be
called pŭlpit. Some persist in pronouncing ‘covetous’ as if
written ‘covet_i_ous,’ and ‘tremendous’ as ‘tremend_i_ous;’ and
these are apparently equally attached to ‘pron_ou_nciation’ and
‘ar_e_thmetic.’ Lastly, the participle of the verb ‘to be’ must
always sound exactly like the vegetable ‘bēan,’ and not as a
wine-‘bin.’
The letter _u_, in many words, is really a diphthong, and has the
double sound of e + oo. This is heard in such words as ‘tüne,’
‘stüpid,’ ‘tübe,’ ‘prodüce,’ ‘solitüde,’ ‘pictüre,’ &c., which
should be sounded as if written ‘te + une,’ ‘ste + upid,’ ‘te
+ ube,’ &c., the one part uttered rapidly after the other. But
many pronounce such words, incorrectly, as if written ‘toone,’
‘stoopid,’ ‘pict_er_,’ &c. This is a vicious cockney pronunciation.
There is no termination we should be more careful to pronounce
fairly out than ‘_ow_’ final, which, when unaccented, frequently
degenerates into ‘_er_.’ The words are properly pronounced
‘wid_ow_,’ ‘wind_ow_,’ and ‘fell_ow_,’ &c., and not ‘widd_er_,’
‘wind_er_,’ and ‘fell_er_!!’
The word ‘tobacc_o_’ also is often wrongly pronounced ‘tobacc_er_.’
Some, who would be over-refined in their pronunciation, make two
syllables (instead of one) of the words ‘sky,’ ‘kind.’ They expand
them into ‘ske-y,’ ‘key-ind,’ &c. This is an absurd affectation.
A clear distinct articulation is an essential principle of a
correct pronunciation; for, unless every syllable be uttered
clearly, the word cannot have its proper effect. How often do we
hear careless readers and speakers push one monosyllable into
another, so as to convey the impression that there is but one word,
where, in fact, there are two. How often do we hear: ‘_Frin_ this
case,’ instead of ‘_For_ in this case;’ ‘_Fra_ time,’ for ‘_For_ a
time;’ ‘_Nevery_ occasion,’ for ‘_On_ every occasion;’ ‘_Tinders_,’
for ‘_It_ hinders!’ &c.
Special care should be taken to utter _unaccented_ syllables
distinctly; as these are the most likely to be neglected. It is
this neglect which produces such bad pronunciations as ‘reg’lar,’
‘sing’lar,’ ‘sim’lar,’ and which makes ‘extr_a_ordinary,’
‘extr_or_dinary;’ ‘us_u_al,’ ‘uzhal;’ and ‘vi_o_lent,’ ‘vilent.’
It is from the same cause that the _d_ in ‘and’ (a word which is
seldom accented) is so frequently unheard, especially when the
following word begins with a vowel, in such forms as ‘He _an I_,’
for ‘He _and_ I;’ ‘My uncle _an_ aunt,’ for ‘my uncle _and_ aunt,’
&c.
The Irish have several peculiarities of pronunciation, which must
be here noticed.
1. They sound ‘ea’ (the long ē) as ‘ay;’ ‘plēase’ they pronounce
exactly as ‘plays,’ and ‘tēa’ as ‘tay.’
2. ‘Door’ and ‘floor’ properly rhyme with ‘more’ and ‘sore,’ but
the Irish give to these words the sound of ‘oo’ in ‘poor.’
3. They also pronounce ‘catch’ (which exactly rhymes with ‘match’)
as ‘ketch’ (to rhyme with ‘fetch’). This is also a vulgar
pronunciation in England.
4. They give the short instead of the more open sound of _u_ in
the words ‘pudding,’ ‘cushion,’ and ‘foot.’ They make ‘pudding’
rhyme with ‘sŭdden;’ ‘cushion’ with ‘rush on;’ and ‘foot’ with
‘but.’ They also give the same sound to the vowels in ‘strōve’ and
‘drōve,’ making them rhyme with ‘lŏve’ and ‘dŏve,’ and pronouncing
them as if they were written ‘struv’ and ‘druv.’
5. Another of their peculiarities is to leave out the ‘_g_’ in
‘strength’ and ‘length,’ pronouncing these words as if they were
written ‘strenth’ and ‘lenth.’ They also omit the ‘_d_,’ in
pronouncing ‘breadth,’ and call it ‘breth.’
6. They give the long sound of ‘_e_’ to the close ‘_i_’ in such
words as ‘del_i_cious,’ ‘mal_i_cious,’ ‘v_i_cious,’ &c., and call
them ‘del_ee_cious,’ ‘mal_ee_cious,’ ‘v_ee_cious.’
7. They pronounce ‘_o_’ before ‘_ld_’ like the ‘_ow_’ in ‘how,’
and they pronounce ‘cold’ and ‘bold’ as if these words rhymed with
‘howled’ or ‘growled.’