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other. This undoubtedly is the fundamental principle of euphony. The two faults opposed to this are a superabundance of vowels or liquids, producing too great softness, and a superabundance of consonants, producing too great harshness.

EUPHONIC FIGURES.

§ 110. The changes produced in words by euphony are called FIGURES. The euphonic changes indicated by the term are entirely distinct from those which arise in the formation and inflection of words.

The following are the principal euphonic figures:

I. APHÆRESIS, Greek aphairesis, a taking away, is the taking of a letter or a syllable from the beginning of a word; as, 'gainst, 'neath, for against, beneath.

II. PROSTHESIS, Greek prosthesis, addition, is the addition of a letter or syllable to the beginning of a word; as, adown, beloved, for down, loved.

III. APOCOPE, Greek apokope, a cutting off, is the cutting off a letter or letters from the end of a word; as, th' evening, four o'clock, for the and of.

IV. SYNCOPE, Greek sugkope, a cutting short, is the taking away of one or more letters from the middle of a word; as, e'en, se'ennight, for even, sevennight.

V. EPENTHESIS, Greek epenthesis, is the insertion of a letter or syllable in the middle of a word; as, honour, could, for honor, coud.

VI. PARAGOGE, Greek paragoge, a drawing out, is the annexing of a letter or syllable to the end of a word; as, awaken, withouten, for awake, without.

VII. DIÆRESIS, Greek diairesis, division, is the dissolving of a diphthong, with a mark over two vowels, which might otherwise be taken for one syllable; as, zoology, aërial.

VIII. SYNÆRESIS, Greek sunairesis, contraction, is the contracting of two syllables into one; as, ae and ie in Israel and alienate.

IX. METATHESIS, Greek metathesis, transposition, is

Mention two faults in this connection. What are euphonic figures? Give the definition and an example of each figure.

the transposing of letters in a word; as pistris for pristis; bird for Anglo-Saxon brid.

X. COMMUTATION, Latin commutatio, an exchange, is exchanging one letter for another. See GRIMM's Law, § 161, and also § 162, English Grammar.

VOWEL CHANGES.

§ 111. 1. There is a play of vowels in the collateral Teutonic roots, especially in those that are formed by onomatopeia; as, gloom, gleam; juggle, gaggle, and giggle; cluck, clack, click; croak, crack, creak.

2. There is a play of vowels in Teutonic words formed by reduplication, one of the more simple and mechanical processes in the formation of language; as, chit-chat, ding-dong, zig-zag, whim-wham.

3. There is a play of vowels or diphthongs in the formation of the past tense and of the past participle in the ancient and strong inflection of Teutonic verbs, which is seen, however, to much better advantage in the kindred dialects than in the English language; as, pres. sing, past sang, part. sung; pres. give, past gave, part. given.

4. There is a play of vowels in the derivation of nouns from Teutonic verbs; as, band and bond from to bind; bat and bate from to beat; cake from to cook; dole from to deal; doom from to deem; share and shire from to shear.

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5. There is an attenuation or precession of vowels in certain formative processes of Teutonic words.

a. In the formation of verbs from nouns; as, to bleed, from blood; to breed, from brood (compare German brüten, from brut); to feed, from food (compare Anglo-Saxon fedan, from fod). b. In the formation of verbs from other verbs, and having a factitive or causative sense; as, to bait, from to bite; to fell, from to fall; to lay, from to lie; to set, from to sit. c. In the formation of adjectives from substantives; as, English, from Angle. d. In the formation of abstract substantives from adjectives, by means of the suffix th; as, breadth, from broad; length, from long. e. In the formation of certain diminutives; as, bundle, from bond; gosling, from goose; kitten, from

cat.

6. There is an attenuation or precession of vowels in certain inflectionary processes. a. In the formation of some plural nouns; as, goose, plur. geese; tooth, plur. teeth. b. In the comparison of adjectives; as, old, elder, eldest.

THE COMPARATIVE EUPHONY OF THE ENGLISH LAN

GUAGE.

§ 112. The English language, as compared with the Classical and the Romanic languages, is deficient in vowel sounds. This will appear evident, not only from hearing the spoken language, but also from the comparative number of vowel characters on the printed page. Complaints have been made that our language is harsh and coarse in its phonology, owing to this accumulation of consonantal elements, and the deficiency of vowel sounds, especially in the termination of words.

How does the English language compare with the Classical and Romanic languages in the number of its vowel sounds?

The ancient accent, consisting as it did of musical tones, must have contributed to the euphony of the Classical languages in comparison with the English accent, which consists of stress. In singing, the vowel sounds are made prominent; in speaking, the consonantal sounds. In singing, the sound rises and falls to other grades in the scale without a continuous slide of the voice, and is called the discrete sound. In speaking, the sound ascends and descends in the scale, from one pitch to another, by a continuous slide, and is called concrete sound. The Classic nations seem, in their accent, to have united the two modes of pronouncing words.

It ought, however, in justice to be added, that while the English is inferior to some languages in its euphony, it is superior to many. Indeed, many languages, in the accumulation of consonantal elements, and in their harsh guttural tones, resemble some of the languages in the north of Europe, characterized by Julian as being like the scream of birds and the cries of wild beasts.

CHAPTER VII.

ORTHOEPY.

§ 113. ORTHOEPY is a word derived from the Greek orthos, right, and epos, a word, and signifies the correct utterance of words. It bears the same relation to the ear which orthography does to the eye. It deals in audible signs of what is passing in the mind of the speaker, as the latter does in visible signs of what has been uttered by the voice.

The two influence each other. A vicious orthography, says Quintilian, must bring on a vicious pronunciation. In turn, the visible form of language naturally accommodates to the pronunciation, whether right or wrong.

ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS.

§ 114. What the Phonetic Elements are, and how many, we have already seen in previous chapters. Now a correct utterance of these elements separately and in combination is, in respect to them, Orthoepy. This is only an exhibition of the elements which a phonetic analysis of the language has developed, and is called Articulation.

1. One error on this point in pronouncing a word is the omission of an element which belongs to it, as when one says caad for card, pr-vail

What effect had the ancient accent upon the euphony of the Classical languages? What is the derivation and meaning of orthoepy? What relations does it bear compared with orthography? What is their influence on each other? Mention the four errors in orthoepy in respect to the phonetic elements.

for pr-evail. In the first case, the twentieth, in the second, the fifth element, is omitted. See table, p. 36.

2. A second error is the introduction of an element not belonging to the word, as drownded for drowned, ceow for cow. In the first case, the twenty-eighth tabular element is introduced; in the second, the fifth.

3. A third error is the substitution of one element for another, as think-in for think-ing, srinks for shrinks. In the first case, the eighteenth element is substituted for the sixteenth; in the second, the thirty-first is substituted for the thirty-third.

4. A fourth error is the substitution of an obscure sound for a distinct element; as when one says what approaches up-pinion for o-pinion, or what approaches par-tic-e-lar for par-tic-u-lar. In the first case, an obscure sound is substituted for the eighth element; in the second, an obscure sound is substituted for the thirty-sixth.

ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO SYLLABICATION.

§ 115. What are the principles of syllabication we have seen in a previous chapter. Now an utterance of a syllable, or the syllables of a word in accordance with these principles, is, in respect to them, Orthoepy.

1. One error in respect to syllabication is the taking of an element from the syllable of a word where it belongs, and placing it in the syllable of another word; as to say "a nice house" instead of " house; "that lasts till night" for "that last still night.”

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2. A second error is the taking of an element from the syllable of a word where it belongs, and placing it in another syllable of the same word; as when one says pre-face for pref-ace.

3. A third error is the suppressing of a syllable which belongs to a word; as to pronounce the adjective learned in one syllable instead of learn-ed.

4. A fourth error in syllabication is the adding of a syllable to a word which does not belong to it; as to pronounce Parliament in four syllables, as Parl-i-a-ment, instead of in three syllables, Parl-e-ment.

ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO ACCENT.

§ 116. What are the principles of English Accent we have seen in a previous chapter. A correct application of those principles to practice in the utterance of words and syllables, is, in respect to them, Orthoepy.

1. One error in accentuation is to accent a verb like a noun merely 1 because they are spelled alike; as to pronounce survey' like a survey, to attribute like an at'tribute. See § 98.

2. A second error is to overlook the derivation of words, and to accentuate from an ancient or a foreign language, as if it were derived from the Anglo-Saxon; as to place the accent on dissyllables like balloon', romance', on the first syllable, instead of on the last syllable, where it belongs.

Mention the four errors in orthoepy in respect to syllabication. Mention the two errors in orthoepy in respect to accent.

ORTHOEPY IN RESPECT TO QUANTITY.

§ 117. What are the principles of English Quantity we have seen in a previous chapter. A correct application of these principles in the utterance of words and syllables is a part of orthoepy. To say hay'-bit and soob-ject instead of hab-it and sub-ject is to err in respect to quantity. To say ora'-tor instead of or'ator, theatre instead of the'atre, is an error in respect to quantity, as it is also in respect to accent. § 101.

PRONUNCIATION.

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§ 118. PRONUNCIATION, Latin pronunciatio, the utterance of speech, is a generic term, including under it the articulation of the phonetic elements, syllabication, accent, quantity. If the pronunciation is erroneous, or if it is correct, it is, as we have just said, erroneous or correct in some of these particulars.

CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF INCORRECT PRONUNCIATION. § 119. 1. Defective organs of speech. If, for instance, the lips are defective, the labial elements can not be pronounced, as in model, ballast.

2. A bad ear. When the ear can not discriminate between two sounds, it can not be expected that the voice will exhibit the distinction between them, as, for instance, the distinction of sound between the first syllable of mercy and of merry.

3. Bad models. Children who have before them bad models will, by imitation, adopt them into their own pronunciation. In this way the pronunciation of whole communities is injured.

4. Bad habits. Habits formed in childhood often continue through life. Thus one person, though often corrected, continued through life to say suthing instead of something.

5. A bad condition of the mind. will be an indistinct utterance.

When the mind is sluggish there When the mind is fluttered and disturbed, a stammering and confused utterance will be the result.

6. Dwelling on the vocalic to the neglect of the consonantal elements. This is done in the mode of speaking and reading called sing-song. Indistinctness in the enunciation of the consonantal elements is the consequence.

7. Rapid reading or speaking. The organs taxed in this way beyond their power necessarily slur over or drop certain sounds.

8. A mistake as to the language to which a word belongs. If one considers the word anemone as still belonging to the Greek, or the word orator as still belonging to the Latin, he will pronounce the first ane

Mention an error in orthoepy in respect to quantity. What is pronunciation, and what is included under it? Mention some of the causes and conditions of incorrect pronunciation.

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