Page images
PDF
EPUB

bear ance; dis tant, claim'ant, in'fant; es'sence, ca'dence, cre'dence; ar'dent-ly, pun'gent, vi'o-lent; gar'ment, treat'ment, im'ple-ment.

RULE 8. Avoid an imperfect utterance of the sub-vocals and aspirates in a succession of similar sounds, and the blending of the sound of the last letter of one word with the word following; as, Ole men, for Old men; The sweetes train, for The sweetest strain; No tear ris zin nis zye, for No tear is in his eye.

READ THE FOLLOWING. The rose is sweetest when it first opens. Fill the head and heart with good thoughts. The hoary head is a crown of glory. At anchor laid, remote from home. Prosperity gains friends, and adversity tries them. Must I endure all this? Then let us haste toward those piles of wonder. The world is full of poetry.

EXERCISE.

APPLICATION OF THE SPECIAL RULES IN ARTICULATION.

[In making a practical application of these rules, the teacher may give the erroneous pronunciation, then require the learner to correct it, to point out the error, and to repeat the rule which is violated. In the following piece some of the letters and syllables, most liable to be suppressed or mispronounced, are printed in Italics; and the words of the exercise in erroneous pronunciation, here introduced, may also be found in the reading lesson.]

ERRORS IN PRONUNCIATION. Avoid saying in'ter-es for in'ter-est [see Rule 1]; sence for sincé [see Rule 2]; mem'ry for mem'o-ry [see Rule 3]; föl'ler-ing for fol'. low-ing [see Rule 4]; be-long'in for be long'ing [see Rule 5]; prog'riss for progress [see Rule 6]; in'ci-dunt for in'ci-dent [see Rule 7]; Quite tad-vanced tin years, for Quite advanced in years [see Rule 8].

MY FIRST AND LAST THEFT.-AMERICAN MISCELLANY.

1. My Uncle Oliver, who is now quite advanced in years, has nevertheless a pretty good memory, and recollects dis-. tinctly a great many incidents connected with the history of

his boyhood.

I enjoyed the pleasure of entertaining the good old gentleman at my house not long since; and among the stories he told was the following, which carries its own

moral with it.

2. "When I was a boy," said my uncle, "I was very fond of watermelons, as most boys usually are. One day in summer, as I was passing a field belonging to one of our neighbors, I chanced to see a dozen or two of very fine melons. 3. "I watched their progress every day after that to see how they got along. They grew pretty fast, to be sure, though not half fast enough to suit me. Would you believe it? The reason why I took such an interest in these melons was, that I had wickedly determined to steal one of the finest of them some dark night when I was sure that I should not be seen in the act.

4. "Well, time passed on. The melons began to ripen. I had my eye on the largest. I marked well the spot where it lay, so that I need make no mistake in my contemplated visit to the field.

5. "One dark night, as dark as pitch, (there was no moon, and, according to the best of my recollections, no stars shining,) I sallied into the field where the melons grew. I was intent on securing the mammoth melon on which my eyes had feasted so long.

6. "I felt around among the vines, and, satisfying myself that I had captured the right melon, proceeded home. I felt, all the way, as I should suppose a sheep-stealer might feel; but let that pass. I got home with my prize, and deposited it safely in the barn, very deep in the hay-mow.

7. "Several days passed before I made up my mind to eat the melon. I did not want to call in any of my brothers to join me in the repast; because I was ashamed to reveal the matter of the theft to them; and because, too, I preferred to eat the whole myself.

8. "But one afternoon it happened that my father and all the boys, except myself, were away at work; and I knew

they would not be coming home until night. I then said to myself, 'Now for the big melon!'

9. "I took my mother's large carving-knife, and went straight to the barn, where I easily found what I was looking for. I cut it open; and, to my astonishment, it proved to be a green pumpkin!

10. "I felt very much disappointed, as you may suppose; but the disappointment, or the pricking of my conscience, one or both, had a happy effect upon me. That theft was the first of which I had ever been guilty; and it was the last one too.”

QUESTIONS. How may an application of the Special Rules in Articulation be made? Where are the words of the exercise in erroneous pronunciation found? What is the error in pronunciation when you say interes for interest? Repeat the rule that is violated. What is the error when you say sence for since? &c. Would the crime, committed by this boy, have been any greater if he had taken the watermelon }

CHAPTER II.

ACCENT.

ACCENT is a more forcible utterance of some one syllable in a word, so as to distinguish it from the others.

The primary object of accent is to give euphony to the pronun- . ciation of words; and, when properly applied, it does much to remove that indistinctness of utterance so often heard in reading and speaking, and to impart that elegance of expression which is ever agreeable to cultivated taste.

But no rules of accentuation can be given, which will be of so general application to the English language, as the rules which govern the ancient classics are to those languages. It is supposed, by some, that accent was originally placed on that syllable of a word which had naturally the greatest quantity, or which required

QUESTIONS.—What is accent? What is said of its importance? What has proba. bly the greatest influence in deciding the place of accent in words? Have we auy zules for accentuation of general application?

the longest time in its pronunciation. This, however, is not the case in the present state of our language. The derivation of words, and ease of utterance have now, doubtless, the greatest influence® in deciding which syllable should be accented. A correct ear, in most instances, will be a sufficient guide; but in cases of doubt, the dictionary must be referred to, in which all the accented syllables are properly marked.

There are two kinds of accent, called the Primary and the Secondary.

The Primary is the principal accent, or that which receives the greatest stress. It is marked thus ('); as in merchant, de-pend', a-bate'ment, con-tra-vene'.

The Secondary Accent is a stress less forcible than the Primary, and is confined to words of more than two syllables. It is marked thus ("); as in account'ant, con"tem-pla'tion.

RULE.

Each syllable on which the accent falls must be uttered with its proper and distinctive stress of voice.

EXAMPLES.

Primary Accent.

1. Mor'tal, sen'ior, ser'rate, tu'mid, se'cret, way'ward, stu'pid, heed'less, du'ly, dead'ly, hurt'ful, fa'tal, dis'tant, hid'den.

2. Ac-cord', as-sent', be-guile', con-fute', de-fer', ex-ceed', in-vent', re-cede', re-turn', re-store', re-tract', sus-tain', pro-long', in-crease'. 3. Coun-ter-mand', in-ter-vene', con-tra-dict', dis-re-spect', dis-embark', ob-li-ga'tion, con-tem-pla'tion, del-e-ga'tion, rep-e-ti'tion, expe-di'tion, mal-e-dic'tion.

[ocr errors]

4. Im'post, de-bate', du'el, de-sire', a-bate'ment, ab’ba-cy, manda-rin', as-sim'i-la-tive, bib-li-o-graph'ic-al, dis-in'ter-est-ed-ness, ex'em-pla-ri-ly, des'ul-to-ri-ly, des'ul-to-ri-ness.

QUESTIONS. - How may we ascertain the accented syllable of a word when there is doubt? How many kinds of accent are there? What are they called? What is the primary accent? How is it marked? What is the secondary accent? How is It marked? What is the rule for accent? Pronounce the first class of examples having the primary accent. Which syllable is accented? Pronounce the second class. Which syllable is accented? Pronounce the third class. Which syllable is accented' Pronounce the fourth class, &c.

Secondary Accent.

As 'cer-tain', in"cum'bent, mod'u-late", cer"e-mo'ni-ous, con"tigu'i-ty, in"di-vid'u-al, per"spi-cu'i-ty, ac"ci-dent'al, beat'i-tude, oc"cu-pa'tion, alter-ca'tion, in"de-struct'i-ble, in"dis'pu-ta-ble, des'pi-ca"ble, gen"er-al-i-za'tion.

EXERCISE.

DON'T GIVE UP.- TRUTH-TELLER.

[The teacher may require the class to point out the accented syllable or syllables in all the words of this exercise having two or more syllables 1

1. "I can't do it, father, indeed I can't."

2. "Never say can't, my son; it is n't a good word."

3. "But I can't, father; and if I can't, I can't. I've tried, and tried; and the answer won't come out right."

4. "Suppose you try again, Edward," said Mr. Williams, the father of the discouraged boy.

5. "There's no use," replied the lad.

6. Mr. Williams shook his head; and his countenance assumed a grave aspect. There was a silence of a few moments, and then the father said: "Let me relate to you a true story.

mates.

7. "Thirty years ago, two lads about your age were schoolBoth succeeded very well for a time; but as their studies grew more difficult, both suffered discouragement, and often complained just as you now have done.

8. "One of these boys, whose name was Charles, had a more brilliant mind than the other, and could sooner accomplish his task; but his father was very indulgent to him; and when he complained that his lessons were too hard, the teacher was requested to impose less difficult tasks upon him.

9. "But it was different with the father of Henry, the other boy. To every complaint he answered, 'Don't give

QUESTIONS.Pronounce the examples having both the primary and the secondary accent marked. Point out the syllable having the primary accent in each. Point out the syllable having the secondary accent.

« PreviousContinue »