(1) _Omitting a vowel sound, or substituting one vowel sound
for another, in an unaccented syllable._ Of all faults in
pronunciation probably this is the commonest. As a rule
it results from carelessness in utterance. Examples of it
are:--pronouncing--arithmetic, _’rithmetic_; library, _līb’ry_;
literature, _lit’rature_; geography, _j’ography_; barrel,
_barr’l_; below, _b’low_; family, _fam’ly_; violent, _vi’lent_;
history, _hist’ry_; memory, _mem’ry_; regular, _reg’lar_;
usual, _ūzh’al_; alwāys, _alwŭz_; afford, _ŭfford_; abundant,
_abundŭnt_; eatable, _eatŭble_; America, _Ameriky_; childrĕn,
_childrin_; modĕst, _modŭst_; commandment, _commandmŭnt_;
judgment, _judgmŭnt_; moment, _momŭnt_; kindness, _kindniss_;
gospĕl, _gospil_; pockĕt, _pockit_; ēmotion, _immotion_;
charĭty, _charŭty_; opposĭte, _oppozŭt_; potatō, _pŭtatĕh_;
patriŏt, _patriŭt_; ōbedience, _ŭbediĕnce_; accūrāte,
_ak’er-ĭt_; particūlar, _partikĭlĕr_.
(2) _Substituting one vowel sound for another in an accented
syllable or a one-syllabled word._ This fault may result, not
from carelessness, but from want of knowledge, for the correct
pronunciation of the vowel sounds of words must be learned from
some correct speaker, or from a dictionary. Examples of this
fault are:--pronouncing--āte, _ĕt_; cătch, _kĕtch_; săt, _sŏt_;
găther, _gĕther_; băde, _bāde_; was, _wŭz_; father, _făther_ or
_fawther_; says (_sĕz_), _sāz_; get, _git_; kettle, _kĭttle_;
deaf (dĕf), _deef_; creek, _crick_; rinse, _rĕnse_; bŏnnet,
_bŭnnet_; bosom, _bŭzum_; frŏm, _frum_; just, _jĕst_; shut,
_shĕt_; new (nū), _noo_; dūty, _dooty_; redūce, _redooce_;
because, _bekŭz_; saucy, _sāssy_; point, _pīnt_; instead,
_instĭd_; route, (rōōt), _rout_.
(3) _Omitting a consonant sound, or substituting one consonant
sound for another_; as in pronouncing--yeast, _’east_;
February, _Feb’uary_; and, _an’_; old, _ōl’_; acts, _ac’s_;
slept, _slep’_; depths, _dep’s_; fields, _fiel’s_; winds,
_win’s_; breadths, _bre’ths_; twelfth, _twel’th_ or _twelf’_;
asked (askt), _as’t_; mostly, _mōs’ly_; swiftly, _swif’ly_;
government, _gover’ment_; Arctic, _Ar’tic_; products,
_produc’s_; consists, _consis’_; commands, _comman’s_;
morning, _mornin_; strength, _strenth_; length, _lenth_;
shrink, _srink_; shrill, _srill_; height, _hīth_; Asia
(A’she-a), _A’zhe-a_; chimney, _chimbly_; covetous (cŭv’ĕt-ŭs),
_cŭv’e-chŭs_; fortūne, _forchin_.
(4) _Introducing in the pronunciation of a word a sound that
does not belong to it_; as in pronouncing--drown, _drownd_;
drowned, _drownded_; often (of’n), _of´ten_; epistle,
(e-pis´l), _e-pis´tel_; elm, _el´um_; film, _fil´um_; height,
_hīt’th_; grievous, _grēv´i-us_; mischievous (mis´chĭv-us),
_mis-chēv´i-us_; column, _col´yum_; once (wŭns), _wŭnst_;
across, _acrost_.
(5) _Misusing the sound of_ r; as in pronouncing--Maria,
_Mariar_; idea, _idear_; widow, _widder_; meadow, _medder_;
farm, _far-r-m_; warm, _war-r-m_; war, _wa’_; door, _do-ah_;
garden, _gä’den_; card, _cä’d_; warm, _wä’m_; forth, _fo’th_;
hundred, _hunderd_; children, _childern_.
(6) _Misusing the aspirate_ (h); as in pronouncing--happy,
_’appy_; apples, _happles_; whence, _wence_; which, _wich_;
what, _wot_; whirl, _wirl_.
4. =Syllabication= (in Orthoëpy) is the correct formation of syllables
in pronouncing words. A syllable is a sound, or a combination of
sounds, uttered by a single impulse of the voice, and constituting
a word or a part of a word. A word has as many syllables as it has
separate vowel sounds. When words are uttered so that their vowel
sounds are clearly and correctly articulated, they will be properly
syllabified.
5. =Accentuation= is the correct placing of accent in uttering
words. =Accent= is a superior stress or force of voice upon
certain syllables of words which distinguishes them from the other
syllables. In uttering a word of more than one syllable, one of
the syllables receives a greater stress in pronunciation than the
others, and is said to be _accented_, or to _have the accent_. Some
words have more than one syllable accented, as _con´fla-gra´´tion_,
_in-com´pre-hen´si-bil´´ity_; but one syllable is always more strongly
accented than the others, and is said to have the _main_ or _primary
accent_. Accentuation, like the other elements of orthoëpy, is fixed by
usage; that is, by the practice of those who are recognized as correct
speakers.
6. In the pronunciation of a word care should be taken to give to
the vowels their proper sounds, to place the accent upon the right
syllable, and to sound the consonants distinctly. The tendency to
drop consonant sounds, and to pronounce indistinctly or incorrectly
the vowel sounds of unaccented syllables, should be carefully guarded
against. The distinction between syllables should be carefully made,
and especially, the distinction between separate words. Carelessness in
this respect may make the meanings of sentences uncertain. For example:
_He saw two beggars steal_, may sound as, _He sought to beg or steal_;
_He had two small eggs_, may sound as, _He had two small legs_; and
_Can there be an aim more lofty?_ as, _Can there be a name more lofty?_
This blending of the sounds of words is prevented, partly by distinctly
uttering the sounds of their initial letters, but chiefly by distinctly
uttering and slightly dwelling upon the sounds of their final letters.
_THIRD READER._