PART IV.

PROSODY.

That part of grammar which ́ treats of the accent, and establishes the laws of versification, is called Prosody.

OBSERVATION.

In Orthography, pages 47, 48, 49, we spoke of accent as a written sign, denoting that the vowel upon which it is placed, must be pronounced with more force, than any other letter in the same word. The accent in prosody is taken in a different sense. It refers not to that orthographical mark, but to the stress, by which a certain letter of every word is distinguished from the

rest.

Majesty seems to be inherent in the Spanish language, and this quality is very apparent in its pronunciation. No syllable* or consonant is ever accented; vowels only are susceptible of this distinction. The consequence of this custom is, that every word has a vowel long, which must necessarily tend to render this language full and sonorous.

In some words, the vowel upon which the stress is placed, is distinguished by that mark or acute accent mentioned in Orthography. But, in some others, the vowel is considered sufficiently conspicuous without any sign whatever. Hence the student must not only know the accented vowel of every word, but those words which require this vowel to be designated by that orthographical accent. It is presumed that this task may, in a great measure, be compassed by carefully perusing the rules which are now laid down. They will, we are satisfied, guide the scholar in all instances, with regard to the laying of the

* Very frequently we speak of the accented syllable, instead of the accented vowel of a word.

stress on the right vowel of every word in reading; and if they do not, in the same manner, present to his view all the words that require the accent to be marked; practice will soon make him familiar with those few cases which theory could not have explained, but by numerous and confused rules.

The consideration that no individual can obtain a good pronunciation unless he be well acquainted with this part of grammar, has induced us to use our utmost exertions in endeavouring to render the Spanish accent precise, clear and easy of acquisition. If the student should find that this has been accomplished, we shall consider our toils fully repaid.

ACCENT.

RULE I.

*

Every monosyllable has a vowel long, without any accent; as, cal, lime; can, dog; sal, salt.f

EXCEPTIONS.

1. Those monosyllables which have two significations, are accented when they are slowly pronounced; as, el, the; él, he; se, itself; sé, I know.

2. The vowels a, e, o, u, when used by themselves, are accented; as, voi á Madrid, I am going to Madrid; padre é hijo, father and son; él ō yo, either he or I; diez ú once, ten or eleven.

RULE II.

In words of two or more syllables ending in a vowel, the stress is laid on the vowel before the last, without any marked accent; as, paño, cloth; verde, green; tintero, inkstand; hortelano, gardener; almirantazgo, admiralty-court.

* The vowel upon which the stress is laid, is, in Spanish, called aguda, or larga, [acute, or long.]

Some of these rules have already been given in Orthography. speaking of the accent as a sign.

EXCEPTIONS.

1. The accent will be written in those words composed of the first and third person of the preterite, or any person of the future indicative, and a pronoun; as, temile, I feared him; terminóse, it was terminated; concluyólo, he concluded it; amaránse, they will love themselves.

2. The esdrújulos* have always the antepenult vowel long; and it is always marked with the accent; as, impetu, impulse; cámara, chamber; santísimo, most holy; altilocuo, using high sounding words. Under these words are considered those which are formed from a verb and a pronoun; as, yeme, hear me; deténganse, let them stop.

3. Any tense of a verb to which two pronouns are affixed, have the fourth vowel (counting from the last,) long, and marked with the accent, except the tenses mentioned in the first exception of this rule, which have the antepenult long and accented; as deténgamelos, let them be stopped for me; digéronselo, they said it to them; buscantele, let them seek him for you; traeráselo, he will bring it to her; llevóselo, you took it away.

4. The adverbs terminating in mente, follow, in every respect, the adjectives from which they were formed; as, industriosa-mente, industriously; bárbara-mente, barbarously.

*The esdrújulos are those words which, ending in one or two vowels, and consisting of more than two syllables, are accented on the antepenult vowel. This is one of those instances in which theory could not show the number of these esdrújulos, unless they were given in a catalogue, which, as it would be very numerous, could not be acquired without considerable labour. The arrangement of the above rules, supersedes, we think, the necessity of all this trouble. The student knows well, that according to the 2d exception to Rule II. the esdrújulos are marked with the accent; no mistake can therefore be committed in pronouncing them. This kind of words is also very easily distinguished, and a little practice in reading, will educate the scholar's ear in a manner, as to place beyond difficulty, this part of Prosody.

5. There are some vowels, which, contrary to the present rule, have the last vowel long. In this case it always bears the accent; as, allá, there; aquí, here; café, coffee-house; Perú, Peru.

RULE III.

Words ending in a diphthong, or two vowels, have their penult vowel long, without being accented; as, "serio, serious; feria, fair; mutuo, mutual; duo, duetto; reo, culprit,

EXCEPTION.

1. The orthographical accent will be used in all those words, the last syllable of which is long;* as, minué, minuet; Monjuí, Monjuí, [a fortress in Catalonia.]

RULE IV.

Words of three or more syllables, terminating in the diphthongs ia, ie,† io, ua, ue, uo, have generally their penult long, without the marked accent; as, concordia, concord; emperio, empire; desaguo, discharge of water; desague, channel.

EXCEPTIONS.

1. When the above terminating vowels are not a diphthong, the accent must be written on which ever of the two vowels the stress happens to be laid; as, filosofía, philosophy; ganzúa, a picklock.

RULE V.

Words which end in ae, ao, au, eo, ea, oe, oo, (these letters not being diphthongs,) are accented on the penult without any mark; as, "bacalao, codfish; hermosea, he beautifies; arcabuceo, the act of shooting criminals; linaloe, aloes; Feijoo, Feijoo; (the name of a great Spanish writer] loo, I praise.

* A little practice will soon make the student acquainted with these.

A diphthong is considered like a single vowel, although both Towels are fully pronounced,

EXCEPTIONS.

When the above vowels are diphthongs, the word to which they belong, has the antepenult long, and marked with an accent; as, Cesárea, imperial; etérea, étherial; cutáneo, cutaneous; momentáneo, momentary; héroe, hero.

RULE VI.

Words ending in a consonant have the last vowel long, but not marked with the accent; as, caridad, charity; almacen, store-house; albañil, bricklayer; borrador, the rough copy of any writing; correr, to run; amar, to love; advertir, to take notice of.

EXCEPTIONS.

All words ending in a consonant, which have not the last vowel long; the vowel upon which the stress is laid, must be marked with the accent. The number of these words is very trifling, in comparison to those which come under the general rule, yet we think it too considerable for insertion. The following will serve as examples, and, it is believed, to guide the student in all the rest: árbol, tree; volúmen, volume; vírgen, virgin; mártir, martyr; crisis, crisis; alférez, ensign; Aristóteles, Aristotle.

RULE VII.

The plural follow the singular of words in every respect whatever; as, "árbol, árboles, trees; hortelano, hortelanos, gardeners; espiritu, espiritus, spirits.

RULES TO KNOW ON WHICH VOWEL TO LAY THE STRESS

1. If the termination of the tense of a verb be an a, e, or o, alone, or followed by n or s, the penult vowel

* They comprise all the regular, and many of the irregular verbs.