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by some speakers quite absorbed in d in such phrases as ‘wet day,' 'next door,' and so on with all allied aspirate and vocal consonants.

The difficulties in the articulation of reduplicated consonants will be overcome by resolute practice of the lists in Appendix VI.; of allied consonant sounds, of Appendix VII.

SECTION III.

PRONUNCIATION.

'In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold,
Alike fantastic if too new or old;

Be not the first by whom the new are tried,

Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.'-POPE.

35. Pronunciation is good when words are uttered with the sounds and accents sanctioned by the usage of the day.

It is impossible to discuss at length the subject of pronunciation; and the student is referred to the Dictionary, in which the current pronunciation of each word is registered. A few leading facts may, however, be usefully borne in mind.

36. Syllables under the Accent always preserve their clear and appropriate sounds.

(i) An open sound, if the vowel is final, in a syllable: á-pex é-dict í-cy

ó-pen

ú-nit

(ii) A shut sound, if the vowel is closed by a conso

nant:

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áp-ple

éd-dy ictus óp-tic

ún-der

(iii) And again an open sound, if the consonant closing the vowel is followed by a mute e:

e-scápe im-péde

en-tíce

e-lópe

at-túne

1 A consonant will frequently have the effect of 'shutting a vowel even when it is not in the same syllable: e.g. á pathy, é-ducate, í-diot, 6-perate

37. Unaccented e, o, u, final in syllables, preserve

their open regular sounds:

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Unaccented e final in syllables is not pronounced exactly according to the rule, for even in the most deliberate speech it is not as 'open' as ee in ee-1, but the student would do well to let his pronunciation tend to that laid down, that he may be the better guarded against the other extreme. But no beauty of speech will ever atone for the least approach to affectation.

38. Unaccented a and i, and its equivalent y, final in syllables, are pronounced nearly as in a-t and i-t respectively:

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39. The Neutral Vowel.-The attempt to make the speech accord with the eye has led to the statement that unaccented a final in syllables (see list in § 38) has the sound of a in 'at,' and in deliberate speech the endeavour is made to give it that sound; but in colloquial speech, it is practically impossible to do so, and the sound approaches that neutral or vague vowel sound which is given in final er, or to u in up. A witty foreigner once described this sound as being like our climate, foggy.

40. But unaccented Syllables, closed by Consonants, undergo various modifications in their vowel sounds :

A takes this same neutral sound (of u in up): nóbleman, gíant, pleasant, cóvenant, círcumstance, árrogance, fátal.

E should retain the sound it has in met: cóbweb, ánthem, sécret, quí-et, décent, pótent, fréquent, éminent, prúdence, rébel, chápel; but not unfrequently wavers between shut i in it, and the neutral vowel.

I retains the sound it has in it: húmid, tímid, spléndid, púpil, péncil.

O is converted into the neutral vowel: méthod, sérmon, cánnon, wággon, pátron.

U is converted into the neutral vowel: chérub, vácu-um, súrplus, suspicion.

And before r, in final unaccented syllables, the vowels, each and all, become neutral: partícular, énter, elixir, mártyr, aúthor, súlphur.

41. The indefinite article 'a' is regularly neutral:

Give me a book.

Unless emphatic, which is rare, when the open sound (a-le) may be used.

42. The definite article 'the' is open (ee-l) before a vowel, neutral before a consonant :

The apple of the eye.

The horn of the hunter.

And unless the former part of this rule be observed, an unwelcome aspirate is almost certain to obtrude. But when emphatic, 'the' may be open, even before a consonant :

This is a book, but not the book.

43. H ought always to be sounded when found at the beginning of a syllable, except in the following:

heir, heiress.

honest, honestly, honesty.

honour, honourable, honourably.
hour, hourly.

This is a complete list of exceptions to the pronunciation of this letter. Ostler is now written without the h, and although early orthoepists make the h silent in herb, hospital, humour, and humble, later authority is in favour of its being aspirated.

44. Compounds.-There is a tendency in our language to simplify compounds. Thus know compounded

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with ledge is correctly pronounced nolledge, while breakfast, vinegar, meadow, shadow, zealous, valley, cleanly, pleasant, wisdom, Christian, and many other words similarly conceal by their pronunciation their connection with 'break,' 'vine,'' shade,' &c.

45. ED.-When in the termination ed the e is dropped, d will, if preceded by an aspirate consonant, be necessarily converted into t (pass'd, bless'd, tripp'd, pronounced past, blest, tript).

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