VERBAL EXPRESSION

"There is no point where Art so nearly touches Nature as when it appears in the form of words."-HOLLAND.

Whether language was given us by the Creator, or whether man was obliged to evolve the power of communicating his thoughts to his fellow-man from the necessities of his existence, is less important to us, than the fact that we are in possession of language.

That we complacently accept our inheritance, and too often fail to appreciate its value, is an acknowledged fact. That we whose glorious legacy is the English language, rich in poetry, comprehensive in history, profound in philosophy, fertile in fiction, and destined in time to become the language of the world-that we, together with the other English-speaking nations, are especially unmindful of our inestimable heritage and of our exalted privilege, is greatly to be deplored.

The importance of the study of language has been recognized in all ages; and in our own time the opportunities for its study are so abundant that the humblest may avail himself of them. "For its beauty as a science," says an eminent writer, " for its usefulness as an art, for its disciplinary advantages as a study, language can scarcely be outranked in excellence by any other subject open to the contemplation of finite minds."

Language is what we speak. All articulate speech is made up of words. How few of us ever stop to consider the significance of words! Little things, many of them, but how fraught with meaning! And, singularly enough, not unfrequently their import is in inverse proportion to their size. "Words are the caskets in which are preserved forever the jeweled thoughts of the good and

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great." The spoken word is no less a casket than the written. That it may be a fitting repository of the jeweled thought, how careful should we be in the enunciation of our words.

Words," says Dr. Gilbert Austin," should be delivered out from the lips as beautiful coins newly issued from the mint, deeply and accurately impressed, perfectly finished." Few persons, even among the most cultivated and polished speakers, attain to this high ideal. The natural downward tendency in speech; the influence of careless habits acquired in childhood and youth; the indifference of the schools; the unconscious adoption of faults current in the community in which we dwell; the purposed imitation of those whose general scholarship is acknowledged or whose characters we admire-these and many other influences combine to render our pronunciation very faulty.

That more attention is being given to the subject of Orthoëpy than formerly is beyond question. That the improvement has kept pace with the general advance along educational lines is doubtful. That the ear as well as the organs of articulation require special training in order to secure an accurate and finished pronunciation is certain. That the later lexicographers in this dictionaryproducing age should incline toward the looser and more careless forms of pronunciation, already too prevalent, is, to those who are interested in securing a more perfect form of utterance, discouraging.

A careful study of the principles and a diligent practice of the exercises found in the following pages will promote that chaste and elegant pronunciation which should be earnestly coveted by all who have any appreciation of the worth and beauty and destiny of the English language.

ELEMENTARY SOUNDS

1. THE ALPHABET

From the foregoing table it will be observed that there are forty-seven sounds in the English language. A perfect alphabet of any language requires that it shall contain as many written characters as there are sounds in the spoken language. Since there are only twenty-six characters in the English alphabet, it is evident that it falls far short of being a perfect alphabet. And when it is remembered that three of the twenty-six characters (c, q, and x) are but duplicate representatives of sounds that are better represented by other letters, the deficiency becomes still more apparent.

2. MARKS OF NOTATION

The disparity between the number of sounds and the number of letters makes it necessary for one letter to represent several sounds, and, in other cases, to combine two or more letters to represent one sound. It is this that makes our language perplexing to spell and to pronounce, and difficult for ourselves as well as for foreigners to acquire. It has been estimated that about one-third of the school-life of every child is wasted in overcoming these disadvantages.

The letter a, according to our table, is made to represent seven different sounds. This is accomplished by the use of certain marks placed over or under the letter. These marks are called diacritical points.

The macron (-) is placed over the vowels a, e, i, o, u, to denote their long or name sounds. It is also placed over long oo. The breve (~) is placed over the same vowels to denote their short sounds. The diæresis () is placed over Italian a and under broad a. The caret (A) is placed over coalescents a, e, o, u, to denote their close

union with, and peculiar modification by, r. The obelisk (1) is placed over intermediate a. The period () is placed over obscure a. It is greatly to be regretted that lexicographers and orthoëpists have not adopted some uniform system of notation.

3. DIGRAPHS

The five vowels, with their various markings, represent eighteen sounds. The single consonants also represent eighteen sounds. The remaining eleven sounds are represented by digraphs. A digraph is the union of two written characters to express a single articulate sound; as, oi in toil, or sh in shop. A vowel digraph is called a diphthong. The distinctions of proper and improper diphthongs are not essential to our purpose. The union of three written characters to express a single articulate sound is called a trigraph; as, eau in beau, or sch in schist. If the three letters are vowels it is called a triphthong.

4. SIGNS AND SOUNDS

The written elements or signs are called letters; the spoken elements are called sounds. The letters are divided into vowels and consonants. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u. The remaining letters of the alphabet are consonants. The letter y often serves as an equivalent for i, and in such case it becomes a vowel. It is doubtful whether the letter w is ever used alone as a vowel. Following a, it gives that letter the sound of broad a; as law, paw. Following e, it represents the sound of long u; as new, few. Following o it is either silent, as in low, show, or helps to form the sound of diphthong ou, as in cow, how.

The sounds are usually divided into three groups, which, by different writers, are given various names. A common classification is the following: vocals, sub-vocals, aspirates. The vocals are represented by the vowels; the sub-vocals