The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing Part 40

Avoid such exclamations as "G.o.d bless me!" "G.o.d deliver me!" "By G.o.d!"

"By Gos.h.!.+" "Holy Lord!" "Upon my soul!" etc., which are vulgar on the one hand, and savor of impiety all the other, for--"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy G.o.d in vain."

ACCENT AND p.r.o.nUNCIATION.

Accent is a particular stress or force of the voice upon certain syllables or words. This mark in printing denotes the syllable upon which the stress or force of the voice should be placed.

A word may have more than one accent. Take as an instance aspiration. In uttering the word we give a marked emphasis of the voice upon the first and third syllables, and therefore those syllables are said to be accented. The first of these accents is less distinguishable than the second, upon which we dwell longer; therefore the second accent in point of order is called the primary, or chief accent of the word.

When the full accent falls on a vowel, that vowel should have a long sound, as in vo'cal; but when it falls on or after a consonant, the preceding vowel has a short sound, as in hab'it.

To obtain a good knowledge of p.r.o.nunciation it is advisable for the reader to listen to the examples given by good speakers, and by educated persons. We learn the p.r.o.nunciation of words, to a great extent, by imitation, just as birds acquire the notes of other birds which may be near them.

But it will be very important to bear in mind that there are many words having a double meaning or application, and that the difference of meaning is indicated by the difference of the accent, Among these words, nouns are distinguished from verbs by this means: nouns are mostly accented on the first syllabic, and verbs on the last.

Noun signifies name; nouns are the names of persons and things, as well as of things not material and palpable, but of which we have a conception and knowledge, such as courage, firmness, goodness, strength; and verbs express actions, movements, etc. If the word used signifies has been done, or is being done, or is, or is to be done, then that word is a verb.

Thus when we say that anything is "an in'sult," that word is a noun, and is accented all the first syllable; but when we say he did it "to insult' another person," that word insult' implies acting, and becomes a verb, and should be accented on the last syllable.

Simple Rules of p.r.o.nunciation.

C before a, o and u, and in some other situations, is a close articulation, like k. Before e, i and y, c is precisely equivalent to s in same, this; as in cedar, civil, cypress, capacity.

E final indicates that the preceding vowel is long; as in hate, mete, sire, robe, lyre, abate, recede, invite, remote, intrude.

E final indicates that c preceding has the sound of s; as in lace, lance, and that g preceding has the sound of j, as in charge, page, challenge.

E final in proper English words never forms a syllable, and in the most used words in the terminating unaccented syllables it is silent. Thus, motive, genuine, examine, granite, are p.r.o.nounced motiv, genuin, examin, granit.

E final, in a few words of foreign origin, forms a syllable; as syncope, simile.

E final is silent after l in the following terminations: ble, cle, dle, fle, gle, kle, ple, tle, zle; as in able, manacle, cradle, ruffle, mangle, wrinkle, supple, rattle, puzzle, which are p.r.o.nounced a'bl, mana'cl, cra'dl, ruf'fl, man'gl, wrin'kl, sup'pl, puz'zl.

E is usually silent in the termination en; as in taken, broken; p.r.o.nounced takn, brokn. OUS, in the termination of adjectives and their derivatives, is p.r.o.nounced us; as is gracious, pious, pompously.

CE, CI, TI, before a vowel, have the sound of sh; as in cetaceous, gracious, motion, partial, ingratiate; p.r.o.nounced cetashus, grashus, moshun, parshal, ingras.h.i.+ate.

SI, after an accented vowel, is p.r.o.nounced like zh; as in Ephesian, coufusion; p.r.o.nounced Ephezhan, confushon.

GH, both in the middle and at the end of words is silent; as in caught, bought, fright, nigh, sigh; p.r.o.nounced caut, baut, frite, ni, si. In the following exceptions, however, gh is p.r.o.nounced as f: cough, chough, clough, enough, laugh, rough, slough, tough, trough.

When WH begins a word, the aspirate h precedes w in p.r.o.nunciation: as in what, whiff, whale; p.r.o.nounced hwat, hwiff, hwale, w having precisely the sound of oo, French ou. In the following words w is silent:---who, whom, whose, whoop, whole.

H after r has no sound or use; as in rheum, rhyme; p.r.o.nounced reum, ryme.

H should be sounded in the middle of words; as in forehead, abhor, behold, exhaust, inhabit, unhorse.

H should always be sounded except in the following words:--heir, herb, honest, honor, hour, humor, and humble, and all their derivatives,--such as humorously, derived from humor.

K and G are silent before n; as know, gnaw; p.r.o.nounced no, naw.

W before r is silent; as in wring, wreath; p.r.o.nounced ring, reath.

B after m is silent; as in dumb, numb; p.r.o.nounced dum, num.

L before k is silent; as in balk, walk, talk; p.r.o.nounced bauk, wauk, tauk.

PH has the sound of f; as in philosophy; p.r.o.nounced filosofy.

NG has two sounds, one as in singer, the other as in fin-ger.

N after m, and closing a syllable, is silent; as in hymn, condemn.

P before s and t is mute; as in psalm, pseudo, ptarmigan; p.r.o.nounced salm, sudo, tarmigan.

R has two sounds, one strong and vibrating, as at the beginning of words and syllables, such as robber, reckon, error; the other is at the termination of the words, or when succeeded by a consonant, as farmer, morn.

Common Errors in p.r.o.nunciation.

--ace, is not iss, as furnace, not furniss.

--age, not idge, as cabbage, courage, postage, village.

--ain, ane, not in, as certain, certane, not certin.

--ate, not it, as moderate, not moderit.

--ect, not ec, as aspect, not aspec; subject, not subjec.

--ed, not id, or ud, as wicked, not wickid or wickud.

--el, not l, model, not modl; novel, not novl.

--en, not n, as sudden, not suddn.--Burden, burthen, garden, lengthen, seven, strengthen, often, and a few others, have the e silent.

--ence, not unce, as influence, not influ-unce.

--es, not is, as pleases, not pleasis.

--ile should be p.r.o.nounced il, as fertil, not fertile, in all words except chamomile (cam), exile, gentile, infantile, reconcile, and senile, which should be p.r.o.nounced ile.

--in, not n, as Latin, not Latn.

--nd, not n, as husband, not husban; thousand, not thousan.

--ness, not niss, as carefulness, not carefulniss.