5. VOICE IS PRODUCED by the action of the breath upon the larynx.1 6. ORAL ELEMENTS ARE DIVIDED into three classes: eighteen TONICS, fifteen SUBTONICS, and ten ATONICS. 7. TONICS are pure tones produced by the voice, with but slight use of the organs of speech. 8. SUBTONICS are tones produced by the voice, modified by the organs of speech. 9. ATONICS are mere breathings, modified by the organs of speech. 10. LETTERS are characters that are used to represent or modify the oral elements. 11. THE ALPHABET IS DIVIDED into vowels and consonants. 12. VOWELS are the letters that usually represent the tonic elements. They are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.2 13. A DIPHTHONG is the union of two vowels in one syllable; as, ou in our. 14. A DIGRAPH, or Improper Diphthong, is the union of two vowels in a syllable, one of which is silent; as oa in loaf, ou in court. 15. A TRIPHTHONG is the union of three vowels in one syllable; as eau in beau, ieu in adieu. 16. CONSONANTS3 are the letters that usually represent either subtonic or atonic elements. They are of two kinds, single letters and combined, including all the letters of the alphabet, except the vowels, and the combinations ch, sh, wh, ng; th subtonic, and th atonic. 17. LABIALS are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the lips. They are b, p, w, and wh. M may be 1 Larynx.—The larynx is the upper part of the trachea or windpipe, consisting of five gristly pieces which form the organ of voice. 'W not a Vowel.-As w, standing alone, does not represent a pure or unmodified tone in the English language, it is not here classified with the vowels. nant, literally meaning, sounding with, is applied to these letters and combinations because they are rarely used in words without having a vowel connected with them in the same syllable, although their oral elements may be uttered separately, and without the aid of a vowel. Indeed, they frequently form syllables by them Consonant.-The term conso- selves, as in feeble (bl), taken (kn). regarded as a nasal labial, as its sound is affected by the F and v are labia-dentals. nose. 18. DENTALS are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the teeth. They are j, s, z, ch, and sh. 19. LINGUALS are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the tongue. They are d, l, r, and t. N is a nasal-lingual; y, a lingua-palatal, and th, a linguadental. 20. PALATALS are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the palate. They are g and k. NG is a nasalpalatal. 21. COGNATES are letters whose oral elements are produced by the same organs, in a similar manner; thus, ƒ is a cognate of v; k of g, &c. 22. ALPHABETIC EQUIVALENTS are letters, or combinations of letters, that represent the same elements, or sounds; thus, i is an equivalent of e, in pique. IN II. ORAL ELEMENTS. N sounding the tonics, the organs should be fully opened, and the stream of sound from the throat should be thrown, as much as possible, directly upward against the roof of the mouth. These elements should open with an abrupt and explosive force, and then diminish gradually and equably to the end. In producing the subtonic and atonic elements, it is important to press the organs upon each other with great firmness and tension; to throw the breath upon them with force; and to prolong the sound sufficiently to give it a full impression on the ear. The instructor will first require the pupils to pronounce a catch-word once, and then produce the oral element represented by the figured vowel, or italic consonant, four times-thus; àge,—à, à, à, à; āte,—ā, ā, ā, ā: åt,—å, å, å, å; ǎsh,—ă, ă, ǎ, à, &c. He will exercise the class until each pupil can utter consecutively all the elementary sounds as arranged in the following 1 Long and Short Vowels.-The attention of the class should be called to the fact that the first element, or sound, represented by each of the vowels, is usually indicated by a hori. zontal line placed over the letter, and the second sound by a curved line. " A Fifth.—The fifth element, or sound, represented by a, is its first or Alphabetic sound, modified or softened by r. In its production, the lips, placed nearly together, are held immovable while the student tries to say, a. 'A Sixth.-The sixth element represented by a, is a sound intermediate between a, as heard in at, ash, and a, as in arm, art. It is produced by prolonging and slightly softening å. 'E Third. The third element represented by e, is e as heard in end, prolonged, and modified or softened by r. 'O modified. The modified oral element of o, in this work, is repre sented by (8 or Ŏ) the same marks as its regular second power. This modified or medium element may be produced by uttering the sound of o in not, slightly softened, with twice its usual volume, or prolongation. It is usually given when short o is immediately followed by ff, ft, 88, st, or th, as in öff, sõft, cross, còst, broth; also in a number of words where short o is directly followed by n, or final ng, as in gone, begone; lõng, along, prong, song, strong, thong, throng, wrong. SMART says, To give the extreme short sound of o to such words is affectation; to give them the full sound of broad a (a in all), is vulgar. F COGNATES. IRST require the student to pronounce distinctly the word containing the atonic element, then the subtonic cognate, uttering the element after each word thus: lip, p; orb, b, &c. The attention of the pupil should be called to the fact that cognates are produced by the same organs, in a similar manner, and only differ in one being an undertone, and the other a whisper. 1R trilled. In trilling r, the tip of the tongue is made to vibrate against the roof of the mouth. R may be trilled when immediately followed by a vowel in the same syllable. When thus situated in emphatic words, it should always be trilled. Frequently require the stu dent, after a full inhalation, to trill r continuously, as long as possible. 2 Wh. To produce the oral element of wh, the student will blow from the center of the mouth-first compressing the lips, and then suddenly relaxing them while the air is escaping. THE ALPHABETIC EQUIVALENTS. HE instructor will require the students to read or recite the table of Alphabetic Equivalents, using the following formula: The Alphabetic Equivalents of A first power are ai, au, ay, e, ea, ee, ei, ey; as in the words, gain, gauge, stray, melee', great, vein, they. I. TONIC ELEMENTS. For à, ai, au, ay, e, ea, ce, ei, ey; as in gain, gauge, stray, melee', great, vein, they. For å, ai, ua; as in plaid, guaranty. For å, au, e, ea, ua; as in haunt, sergeant, heart, guard. For â, au, aw, eo, o, oa, ou; as in fault, hawk, George, cork, broad, bought. For å, ai, e, ea, ei; as in chair, there, swear, heir. For è, ea, ee, ei, eo, ey, i, ie; as in read, deep, ceil, people, key, valise, field. For è, a, ai, ay, ca, ei, eo, ie, u, ue; as in any, said, says, head, heifer, leopard, friend, bury, guess. For ê, ea, i, o, ou, u, ue, y; as in earth, girl, word, scourge, burn, guerdon, myrrh. For ì, ai, ei, eye, ie, oi, ui, uy, y, ye; as in aisle, sleight, eye, die, choir, guide, buy, my, rye. For i, ai, e, ee, ie, o, oi, u, ui, y; as in captain, pretty, been, sieve, women, tortoise, busy, build, hymn. |