This exercise, however, must be performed on the column which contains the orthoepy, and not on that which contains the orthography; as errors would otherwise escape unnoticed. The following will be found an easy way of committing to memory the words which are marked as above mentioned. Let the learner compose a sentence comprising all the words which he has marked in one reading; and by repeating such a sentence several times daily, the correct pronunciation of the words will soon be permanently impressed on his mind. A steady course of such application. will, in a few months, enable the student to pronounce correctly every word in the English language, and save him from embarrassment and errors in reading or speaking in public.

Errors in pronunciation may regard either the quality of sound in letters, or the placing of accent on syllables. The former may be classed alphabetically, for the convenience of referring easily to particular letters.

VOWELS.

The letter 4.

The errors committed in obscuring the sound of this and other letters, have been already pointed out, under the head of articulation. The following errors do not necessarily imply any indistinctness in articulating, but rather a mistake regarding the particular sound to be given to this letter, in different circumstances.

Errors. The indefinite article is often pronounced with the sound of a in fate for

that of a in fat; thus, I saw a man for I saw ǎ man. This is merely a childish error, continued from the elementary schools, and should be avoided, as rendering pronunciation formal, precise, and mechanical.

A in unaccented initial syllables, is mispronounced in the same way; thus abate for ăbate:-so is a final, as in Cuba for Cubă: and, generally, a unaccented in the following and similar syllables: honorary, obduracy, peaceably, for honorary, obdurăcy, peaceăbly.

RULE. The letter a, constituting an unaccented syllable, or occurring at the end of an unaccented syllable, has the sound of a in that, as in the words, Atone, lunacy, habitual, algebra, &c., which must not be pronounced Aytone, lunacy, habitual, &c.; but ǎtone, lunăcy, hăbitual, &c.

Examples for Practice.

Abash* abandon abed abet abettor ability above about abode aboard abolish abominate abortion abreast abyss acclamation acute adamant adept admirable adore

* Where two As occur in the same word, the one which is mispronounced is in Italic type.

adorn adoption adult adrift afar afresh afloat again agree agreeable alarm alas alert alike amass amaze amend amid amuse apart apace apology are araneous aright arise arcana Asia atone Athens atrocious avail avenge avert aver avow awake aware away bade canal cadaverous calamity cadet caliginous calumniate canine canonical canorous caparison capitulate caress catarrh cathedral censurable chimera commendable conversable convalescent contumacy comfortable conformable constable contrary corollary creditable curvature customary decalogue declaration demagogue despicable dictatorial dilatory dilemma diploma drama Persia privacy.

In one class of words the opposite error of giving the sound of a in fat instead of a in fate, is prevalent, as in Mătron for

mätron.

The same error is often heard in the pronunciation of words of Hebrew, Greek or Latin origin, as in Drăma for drāma, Achăia for Achaia, Isiah for Isaiah.

Examples for Practice.

Patron patriot patriotism matronly satyr

Saturn datum desideratum arcana transparent transparency azure stratum Diana Caius Isaiah Sinai.

Patriotic patronage patronised,

Note. are exceptions.

E.

Errors: The sound of e in me, for that of e in met, as in re-creant for rec-reant. Examples for practice: Recreate recreation relaxation reformation heroine heroism defalcation preface recreant.

Error. The sound of e in met, for that of e in me, as in es-tate for e-state. Examples for practice: Esteem establish escape especially.

For other errors, see lesson and exercises on articulation.

1.

Error: The sound of i in pine, for that of i in pin, as in Di-rect for direct, [derect,] masculine for masculin.

Examples for practice: Diverge vivacity vicinage divert.

Adamantine amaranthine bitumen digress dilate digestible digest (verb) digression dilacerate dilute diminish diminution

diminutive diploma direction directors di version divorce diversity diversify divest divinity divisible divulge feminine fertile finesse fiducial financier finance febrile hostile juvenile liquidity litigious mercantile minute minotaur minuteness minority philosophical philosophy piano piazza pilosity reptile sinistrous.

For other errors, see as above.

0.

Error: The sound of o in no, for that of o in not, as in Progress, process, produce (noun), extol; mispronounced Prō-gress, &c. for prog-ress, &c.

The sound of o in not, for that of o in no, as in Revolt, sloth, portrait; mispronounced Revolt, &c. for revolt, &c.

The sound of o in no, for that of o in done, as in Testimony, patrimony, matrimony, nugatory, dilatory, none; mispronounced Testimony, &c. for testimony, [testimůny].

For other errors, see lesson and exercises on articulation.

U and Y.

For errors in the sounds of these letters, see as above.