elegant part of the world, not of the mere vulgar, that must guide us; and of which the Roman poet, writing as he did, to the cultivated intellects of the Augustan age, must be understood to speak. The following are a few very common examples, of VULGARISMS IN PRONUNCIATION. OMISSION OF SUB-TONICS OR ATONICS. g in ing, as in comin' for coming, speakin' for speaking, &c. ts in sts, as insis' for insists, persis' for persists, &c. OMISSION OF A MIDDLE OR DOUBLE SUB-TONIC. m in mm, as imaculate for im-maculate, &c. Such are a few points which I particularly notice, because it is in them that errors most prevail. The nature of this book does not pretend to go into the whole theory of pronunciation: my object is, practically, to correct certain prevalent faults of articulation and pronunciation. How commonly do we hear, in ordinary conver sation, 66 A p'tic'lur man, instead of a par-tic-u-lar man. A fatle error, for fa-tal error. A purson of emenunce, for per-son of em-i-nence. Pe'fection instead of per-fection. Dook for Duke. Dooty for Duty. To correct these, and similar errors of articulation, arising from a careless utterance of the elementary sounds, the tables of articulation in the PRACTICE," are prepared for the reader. Their object is, by frequent practice, to give a habit of clear articulation of certain sounds, syllables, and combinations, on which a slovenly articulation is common. In reading the tables, be particular first to get the correct tonic sound of the vowel, as given in the key-word, and bear in mind that articulation of a sound does not imply accentuation of the syllable; that is part of PRONUNCIATION. Pronunciation distinguishes the educated reader and speaker from the vulgar and unpolished one. Pronunciation is made up of articulation and accentuation; when both are perfect, the individual has a correct and elegant pronunciation. Custom, as Horace has truly said,-custom is the arbiter and criterion of what is correct in speech; but then it is the custom of the polite and elegant part of the world, not of the mere vulgar, that must guide us; and of which the Roman poet, writing as he did, to the cultivated intellects of the Augustan age, must be understood to speak. The following are a few very common examples, of VULGARISMS IN PRONUNCIATION. OMISSION OF SUB-TONICS OR ATONICS. g in ing, as in comin' for coming, speakin' for speaking, &c. ts in sts, as insis' for insists, persis' for persists, &c. OMISSION OF A MIDDLE OR DOUBLE SUB-TONIC. m in mm, as imaculate for im-maculate, &c. Such are a few points which I particularly notice, because it is in them that errors most prevail. The nature of this book does not pretend to go into the whole theory of pronunciation: my object is, practically, to correct certain prevalent faults of articulation and pronunciation. |