Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

25. Help'st, melt'st; milk'st, doom'dst; thump'st, prompt'st

[blocks in formation]

32. Vist,

vnst;

znst, thdst.

nkst, rbst; rdst, hurt'st, mark'st; search'st, lov'dst. rtst, rkst; rchst, vdst.

gaz'dst, dazzl'st; reas'n'st, sheath' dst. zdst,

zlst;

33. Hang'dst, rippl'st; buckl'st, blackn'st;

trifl'st, deaf'n'st. 34. Ngdst, plst; klst, Inst; fist, fnst.

35. Length'n'dst, troubl'dst, briď'ldst, hard'n'd'st; struggl'dst.

bldst, dldst,

hurl'dst; form'dst,

dndst; gldst.

[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

burn'dst;

curv'dst.

[blocks in formation]

Examples of Difficult Articulation.

1. She looked upon the prince without emotion.
She looked upon the prints without emotion.

2. Who ever imagined such an ocean to exist?
Who ever imagined such a notion to exist?

3. James, will you bring me some ice?
James, will you bring me some mice?

4. He built an ice-house near the lake.
He built a nice house near the lake.

5. The young man shouted, "Ice-cream for two young ladies.
The young man shouted, "I scream for two young ladies."

6. Or only such as sea-shells flash.

7. Amos Ames, the amiable aeronaut, aided in an aerial enterprise at the age of eighty-eight.

8. The cat ran up the ladder with a lump of raw liver in her mouth. 9. A snowy sheet, as if each surge upturned a sailor's shroud.

10. Summer showers and soft sunshine shed sweet influences on spread. ing shrubs and shooting seeds.

11. Kemuel Kirkham Kames cruelly kept the kiss that his cousin Catharine Kennedy cried for.

12. Henry Hingham has hung his harp on the hook where he hitherto hung his hope.

13 Sheba Sherman Shelly sharpened his shears and sheared his sheep. 14. Whelply Whewell White was a whimsical, whining, whispering whittling whistler.

15. Round the rough and rugged rocks the ragged rascals rudely ran. 16. Gibeon Gordon Grelglow, the great Greek grammarian, graduated at Grilgrove College.

17. Benjamin Bramble Blimber, a blundering banker, borrowed the baker's birchen broom to brush the blinding cobwebs from his brain.

18. Thirty-three thousand and thirty-three thoughtless youths thronged the thoroughfare, and thought that they could thwart three thousand thieves by throwing thimbles at them.

19.

20.

Ha! laugh'st thou, Lochiel, my vision to scorn?

When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw,

The line, too, labors, and the words move slow.

21. And I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 22. I battled with the waves, and stronger

Grew, as stronger grew the gale.

23. Thou light'n'dst his cares, strength'n'dst his nerves, and length'n'dst his life.

24. Thou mangl'dst his writings, trifl'dst with his affections, hurl❜dst him from his high position.

25. Thou kindl'dst his hopes, but robb'dst him of his peace; thou black'n'dst his character, and troubl'dst his life.

26. Thou bridl'dst thy tongue, wreath'dst thy lips with smiles, impris'n'dst thy wrath, and truckl'dst to thine enemy's power.

27. Thou reas'n'dst falsely, hard'n'dst thine heart, smother'dst the light of thine understanding, heark'n'dst to the words of lying lips, and doom'dst thyself to misery.

28. Thou lov'dst nature's wildest haunts; thou wander'dst through the deepest forests, climb'dst the loftiest mountains, explor'dst the deepest caverns, linger'dst by the noisiest streams, look'dst upon the ocean, and list'n'dst to its roar.

29.

That morning, thou, that slumber'dst not before,
Nor sleep'st, great ocean, laidst thy waves at rest,
And hush'dst thy mighty minstrelsy.

SECTION III.

ACCENTUATION.

Accent is that stress of voice applied to a certain syllable, which distinguishes it from other syllables of the same word.

Accent produces variety in speech, facilitates pronunciation, and, in a few instances, determines the meaning of words.

It is indicated by this mark ('), which is placed over the syllable that is to receive the distinguishing stress, thus: cap'tain, car'ni val, ig no'ble, de vo tee'.

All words of more than one syllable have one syllable distinguished by accent. The syllable to be accented is determined by custom. The decision of custom in regard to the accentuation of every word is ascertained by the orthoepist, and recorded in dictionaries, spelling-books, and other elementary works. Correct accentuation, therefore, can in no way be so thoroughly acquired as by reference to standard dictionaries, or to elementary works which conform in this particular to the best authorities.

Words of more than three syllables often receive two accents of different degrees of force, called primary accent and secondary accent. The primary accent is designated by the greater, and the secondary by the less, stress of voice. When a word has both accents, the primary may be indicated in the usual way, and the secondary by two marks ("), as, sat'is faction, com mu'nicate", lu'mi na'ry.

The following examples will serve to show that the meaning of words is sometimes determined by accent:

Con'jure, to practice charms.

In val'id, of no legal force.
De sert', merit or demerit.
Con fine', to imprison.
Gal lant', a fashionable man.

Con jure', to implore.

In'va lid, one who is sickly.
Des'ert, a wilderness.
Con'fine, a border.
Gallant, courageous.

Con'flict, strife.

Con'tract, a bargain.

Es cort', to accompany.

Con flict', to fight.
Con tract', to bargain.
Es'cort, a guard.

QUESTIONS.-What is accent? What are its effects? How indicated to the eye? Are monosyllables accented? How is accentuation determined? In what way most thoroughly learned? Do words ever receive more than one accent? When two are used, what are they called? Give examples of words whose meaning is determined by accentuation.

SECTION IV.

RULES FOR PRONUNCIATION.

Correct pronunciation consists in the utterance of words with due regard to articulation and accentuation. Imperfection in articulation, or an improper application of accent, will make pronunciation defective. The following rules may be of some use to the pupil in this important department of education.

RULE I.—O and u ending unaccented syllables have their first sounds, though somewhat shortened.

This rule is frequently violated by omitting the sound of o or u.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

RULE II.-U forming an unaccented syllable has the sound of yu.

This rule is violated by omitting and by changing the sound

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

RULE III.—E, i, and y, ending an unaccented syllable, have the first sound of e shortened.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

NOTE.-Extreme caution must be exercised in the use of this rule, or the sound of e will be made precisely like e long. It must be of the same quality or kind, but much shorter. It may also be remarked, in this connection, that the sound of long e shortened is the same as short i or y; so the student must not be perplexed if he find this sound variously represented by e, i, and y, in the works of different orthoepists.

This rule is violated by omission and by substitution.

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinuar »