Bàt càt hát màt pát sàt, rat vat blab sack lad staff, had mall tan dram scrap pass, have has glass class mass grass, asp grasp clasp vast past fast, last mast ash hash sash mash, waft raft graft grant craft shaft, slant gland dance lance glance trance.

A as in Wash.

Not separately marked by Walker, but given as the same with the fourth sound of o.

The common errors in the articulation of this sound, are that of making it too strikingly like that of o; thus, whot, or rather wot, for what, and that of making the a too like that of the word far; thus, whatt for what.

Wàd squad swáb,* wan was wasp, want wast wash, wand swan squad.

A, Ai, and Ay, before R final or R followed by a vowel:

The errors commonly made in the following class of sounds, are (1st.) giving a too broad a sound, or the fourth' or shut sound, instead of one nearly resembling the first' or name sound; thus åer for

*The practice on inflection is now varied to the commencing series; the voice sliding upward at the terminating word of each clause, in the manner of incomplete expression, suspended or interrupted sense. The application of these inflections, however, is not strictly necessary, and may, as mentioned before, be omitted, if found difficult and embarrassing.

air, and (2d.) giving the long name sound too exactly, or too flat; thus, aer for air.

The true sound of a, ai, or ay situated as mentioned above, avoids these extremes, the former as coarse and vulgar, the latter as too precise and studied. The true sound approaches nearer to the latter than to the former. It cannot be expressed to the eye, and can only be generally described as the 'first' sound of a rendered a little obscure, by deviating very slightly towards the fourth.'

Bàre care dare fáre, mare pare tare ware, yare air fair lair, hair rare prayer careful.

E as in Me: Ee as in Eel: Ea as in Eat: Ie as in Field: or the 'first' sound of e, in Walker's notation.

The errors in the articulation of this sound arise chiefly from not observing the nature of the consonant which follows it, and consequently making it too long or too short. E, as a final sound, or occurring before a liquid, is long, as in Bee, eel, seem, seen; before a dental letter it is shorter; as in feed, feet; and before a palatic letter it is shorter still; as in week, seek.

Beè fee the me mète feél, seem team plea yield wield, weep seen queen, beef weed.

E as in Met: Ea as in Head.

6

Or the second' sound of e, in Walker's notation.
The error to be avoided in this class of sounds, is

that of allowing e to become somewhat like a in fate ; or thus, Baid, aig; for bed, egg; stade for stead.

E`ll el`k el`m el`se he`nce fénce, let get yet yest yesterday kept, felled abed felt set less rest.

E as in Err: Ear as in Heard: Ir as in Firm.

Marked in the orthoepy of Walker, as the second' sound of e, but explained as not being precisely that sound, nor yet that of u in turn, as it is very commonly but erroneously pronounced. The true sound of e before r followed by a consonant, is thus described in Smart's Practice of Elocution. 'Er and ir are pronounced by unpolished speakers just like ur, as indeed, in some common words, such as her, sir, &c. they are pronounced, even by the most cultivated: but in words of less common occurrence, there is a medium between ur and air, which elegant usage has established, as the just utterance of e and i joined to the smooth r. '*

There are two errors to be avoided in practising the following words,-1st, that of making no discrimination between er followed by a consonant and er followed by a vowel, which leads to the fault of pronouncing the word mercy with the same sound of e as the word merit,-a fault which characterises the pronunciation of foreigners who are learning to speak the English language, and who are guided by analogy instead of custom in this point. This sound should

*The Practice of Elocution, &c., by D. H. Smart, London, 1826. 8vo.

be carefully avoided, as not belonging to English enunciation, or as being too analytical and pedantic. At the same time the 2d error, that of substituting the sound of u in turn for that of e, should be avoided as a careless vulgarism.

He'rd e`arn, term germ, earth stern, earl fern, learn serve, person mercy, firm virtue, perfect pearl, girl sermon.

[The following words may be used as aids of contrast to illustrate one of the sounds which should be avoided in the above class of words,-Merit very merry error terror; and the following to illustrate the other incorrect sound which is also to be avoided, Bird first her sir.]

I as in Pine: Y as in Rhyme.

The 'first' sound of i, in Walker's notation.

There are two extremes to be avoided in the enunciation of this vowel,-the coarse error of giving it a broad and drawling sound, dwelling on the first part of the letter, and thus making it resemble the a of fall; the too nice or flat sound, which commences with nearly the sound of a in ale, the result of avoiding too anxiously the errors just mentioned.

The true sound of long i Walker represents as commencing with the sound of a in father, and diminishing to that of long e. These two sounds must be exactly proportioned, and nicely blended.

Is'le time, mile vile, vine dine, my life, knife sign, mine try, light child, bind time.

I as in Pin: Y as in Hymn.

The 'second' sound of i, in Walker's notation. The error commonly made in this sound is that of obscuring it by careless articulation, so that it is made to resemble in some degree the sound of a in fate or of ai in fail; thus, Tain for tin, faish for fish.*

The true sound of i short is very nearly, though not exactly, that of e in me much shortened.

Sin hi'll pri`m, pit wish fill, dim din skin, whim fit will, till sill since, prince wince.

O as in No: Oa as in Oak: Ou as in Course: Ow as in Own.

The 'first' sound of o, in Walker's notation.

The errors in the sound of this letter are substituting for it the o of nor; as in force for fōrce; sôrce for source, &c. shortening this sound of its proper length, as in hom for home, whol for whole, &c.

This is properly the longest vowel in our language, and should receive great length of sound.

O`h hò ol'd home, bone cone tone stone, hope hold note coat, coach source sword. O as in Move: Oo as in Mood: U as in True.

The second' sound of o in Walker's notation.

*It is impossible to reduce this error to an exact spelling; and the above attempt to represent it, is unavoidably a caricature rather than a copy. A true idea of the error intended may, however, be formed, by due allowance, from the notation used above.