sound. This error produces a harsh, flat, disagreeable sound that must be studiously avoided by all who aspire to a cultured and polished pronunciation.

23. B

Instead of taking up the consonant sounds in alphabetical order, the sub-vocals will be considered first, and afterward the aspirates.

Unlike the vowels, the consonant sounds are certain and fixed in their character. Singly and in easy situations, they are rarely incorrectly sounded. Although much faulty articulation is due to the consonant elements, it is to be ascribed to the difficult combinations of sounds rather than to any inherent difficulty in the individual sound.

The organs of speech find difficulty in passing rapidly from one extreme consonant position to the next, hence, often unconsciously, sounds are slighted or omitted, or easier but incorrect sounds are substituted.

The sound of b in its physical formation is very similar to that of m. As an individual sound it is often, by beginners, confounded with the m sound. The distinction is easily understood, and, with a little careful practice, is easily made.

In making the sound of m breath escapes through the nostrils. The m belongs, therefore, to the class of sounds called nasals. In the sound of b no breath escapes through either nose or mouth, hence the sound cannot be prolonged to any great extent. The student may be assisted in distinguishing between the sounds of b and m by having him grasp the nose firmly with the thumb and first finger so as to prevent the escape of breath. The resultant sound must be that of b.

The vanish of b is a very slight sound of p. The force of the b sound should be applied to the initial and not to the vanishing element. Caution should be observed not to

terminate the sounds of b, d, g, or any other consonant sounds with an obscure short u as buh, duh, guh.

Few persons are able to give the sound of b with as much power as is demanded in certain situations. The development of power is, therefore, important. To this end let the student utter a list of short words beginning with b, as boy, bay, book, bin, or arrange drill exercises like ba, be, bi, bo, bu, giving in each instance as much power and length to the b element as possible.

24. D

The sound of d bears nearly the same relation to n that b bears to m. Much, therefore, that was said in the last note will apply here. The vanish of d is a very slight sound of t.

Be sure to develop sufficient power in the making of the b and d sounds to enable them to be distinctly heard in difficult situations. In such words as sands, mends, finds, ponds, sounds, the d is often slighted, and sometimes entirely omitted.

25. G

The guttural g bears much the same relation to the nasal ng that b bears to m and d to n. It, too, is often lacking in power, and should be strengthened by judicious exercises. The vanish of g is a slight sound of k. (See Notes 23 and 24.)

26. J

The sound of j is not strictly elementary. The initial element is a clipped d and the vanish is zh, the sound heard in azure, measure, rouge.

27. L

The is a musical consonant, and, on account of the smoothness of its flow, is often called a liquid. Unlike

most of the other consonants, it is capable of forming a syllable by itself, as in epistle, the t and e being silent.

28. M

The nasal m is one of the easiest sounds to utter, and is rarely incorrectly made. When followed by born in the same syllable, it usually renders those letters silent, as in lamb, condemn.

29. N

The nasal n is also easy of utterance, and presents no difficulties to the ordinary student.

30. R

The most autocratic member of the kingdom of sounds is r. The influence of this sound is well-nigh imperial. No other consonant affects the vowel sounds to the extent that the r does. It will not follow long a nor long 0. Even when it follows long e and long i it steals their sharp edge, as in sere, hire. Placed before long u, it instantly changes that sound to long oo, as in rude, which is pronounced like rood.

The sound of r is often difficult for beginners in phonetics. It is easily distinguished by prolonging and listening to the last sound in the word sir.

When r precedes a vowel it should be trilled; when it follows a vowel it should be smooth. The degree of the trill is governed by the character of the sentiment. In bold, impassioned utterance, and in all forms of dignified discourse, the trill should be quite decided; in simple narration and plain description, and in the lighter conversational forms, it should be less marked. The trilled r is sometimes called the rolled r or the vibrant r. Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his Words on Language, calls it the British r. The English, Scotch, and Irish use the trilled

much more than the Americans do, and in some of the

European languages it is quite a prominent feature. The speech of most Americans would be improved by a larger use of the trilled r.

In many sections of the South the r is slighted, and in some instances entirely omitted where it should be sounded, as in care, hear, sire, more, sure, poor.

Many Americans have difficulty in producing the trilled r, especially where it is the first sound of the word, or when it is preceded by d, as in rate, drew. Such persons may find assistance in a drill exercise upon words beginning with th, as in a vigorous utterance of such words as three, thrice, thrall, thrash, thread, threat, thrift, thrill, thrive, throat, throb, throng, throne, thrush, through.

31. v

The sound of v, the cognate of f, is a simple elementary sound, and usually given correctly. The escaping breath should be thoroughly vocalized and the sound uttered with due force.

32. W

This sound approaches very closely to that of long oo. By prolonging a word like we and holding the initial sound, we are enabled to distinguish its peculiar quality. That it is not identical with long oo is evident in the pronunciation of woo, in which the change of the very close mouth position of w to the more open position of long oo is quite manifest. By some orthoëpists the w sound is regarded as semi-vowel. Like land r, it certainly partakes more of the character of a vowel than do the other consonants. Although it is vowel-like, it never performs the functions of a vowel.

The letter y represents both a vowel and a consonant sound. The vowel sound is heard in such words as by,

myth, myrrh, and as a vowel it is simply an equivalent for the vowel i. Its consonant sound is heard in yet, you, yore.

The consonant y partakes slightly of the vowel character, and approximates the sound of long e. The distinction between them is noticeable in the prolonged utterance of the pronoun ye, holding the y and also the e.

34.

The sound of z is often represented by the letter s, and sometimes by c and x as in days, wise, suffice, Xerxes. It is softer and more musical than its cognate s, and is sometimes employed to prevent a repetition of the unpleasant sibilant, as in gases, misses, blesses.

35. ZH

The digraph zh presents an anomaly. It is doubtful whether the combination zh is ever employed in any legitimate English word to represent the sound commonly called the zh sound. It is most frequently represented by the letters, as in measure, leisure, fusion; sometimes by z, as in azure; and occasionally by g, as in rouge.

36. TH

The vocalized th, like some of the other weaker sounds, needs strengthening by special drill exercises. The vigorous utterance of words beginning with this sound, as this, that, them, there, these, etc., will be found helpful.

Many words are mispronounced even by educated people, by substituting the aspirate th for the sub-vocal, as with, beneath, bequeath, booth.

37. NG

The sound of this nasal digraph is represented by ng at the end of a word, as song, long, and by n followed by k or g, as in ink, sank, fin-ger, lon ger, when in the middle of a word. It is never employed to begin an English word.