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ARTICULATION.

Articulation includes the utterance of the sounds and syllables contained in words; it also includes syllabication, analysis, accent, and pronunciation.

A good articulation consists in giving every sound and every syllable perfectly, according to the established standard of pronunciation; and in making such a distinction between syllables of which words are composed that the ear shall, without difficulty, perceive their number and the syllable to which each sound belongs.

FAULTS IN ARTICULATION.

The worst faults in articulation are:

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First. A feeble utterance of the accented syllables. Second.-Omitting or touching too lightly some of the unaccented syllables.

Third. The omission or the indistinct utterance of subvocal or aspirate sounds.

Fourth.-The omission or imperfect utterance of the first or of the last syllable or sound of the word.

Fifth. The neglect of the short pauses by which words must be separated.

Sixth. Speaking too rapidly.

Articulation is the joining together of the elementary sounds into syllables and the syllables into words.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CORRECTION OF FAULTS IN ARTICU

LATION.

First.-Be always on the watch to detect your faults in articulation and pronunciation, and as soon as possible after you have discovered that you articulate imperfectly any word, write the word down in a page reserved for such words. Speak these words several times a day, taking pains

to utter them in your conversational key and manner, distinctly, and in all respects accurately; speak them very deliberately and with moderate force at first, then gradually increase the rapidity and the energy with which they are uttered.

Second. Select a considerable number of words containing such combinations of the aspirate and subvocal sounds as you find it difficult to speak distinctly and trippingly on the tongue, especially when the attempt is made to give several of them in rapid succession, and practice on them as above directed.

Third.—If you know what your faults in articulation are, let the exercises in which you engage for the purpose of correcting those faults be specially adapted to that end. Fourth. If your accent has been too light, direct your attention to making it more clear and bold. If you are addicted to the habit of omitting unaccented syllables, frequently and carefully engage in exercises in analysis and syllabication. If to omitting or giving too lightly the initial or first sound in your exercises in articulation, let your attention be specially given to the distinct and perfect utterance of these syllables and their sounds. If your pauses between words are too short, and your utterance too rapid, speak or read very deliberately.

Fifth.-Frequently practice upon the elementary sounds, on difficult words and difficult short passages, in a loud whisper. Also read, recite, declaim, and speak in a loud whisper; but when thus engaged, be sure that every word, syllable, and sound is heard as far off as you intend it to be heard. There is no better exercise for breaking up faults of utterance and acquiring an easy, clear and distinct articulation than that of speaking in a whisper. When talking to persons a short distance from you in the whisper, you discover that the only way by which you can be perfectly heard is through the force and accuracy of your articulation. The effort necessary to be distinctly heard, even at a

very short distance, when speaking in a whisper, will tax the lungs, the lips, and all the speaker's powers of articulation to a remarkable degree. Reading or speaking in a loud whisper, if carefully practiced, is one of the best exercises for both the speaking and the breathing organs.

EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION.

First.-Pronounce the following words in a very positive conversational tone, and prolong the sounds at the beginning and at the end of words, so as to make them distinct and audible at a considerable distance:

bd.-Orb'd, prob'd, rob'd, rub'd.

bdst.-Tumbled'st, fabled'st, stabled'st.

dlst.-Add'lst, padd'lst, pedd'lst.

fldst.-Baffl'dst, muffl'dst, fiddl'dst.

gdst.-Beg'dst, flog'dst, bag'dst.

ngd.-Rang'd, hing'd, hang'd, ring'd.

rgd.-Merg'd, charg'd, enlarg'd.

rmdst.-Arm'dst, form'dst, storm'dst.

rnd.-Burn'd, turn'd, spurn'd. rvd.-Curv'd, swerv'd, starv'd.

skst. Bask'st, mask'st, frisk'st.

thd.-Breath'd, wreath'd, sheath'd.

ths.-Breath's, wreath's, sheath's.

thst.-Breathd'st, wreathd'st, sheathd'st.

vdst.-Liv'dst, deceiv'dst, believ'dst.
zldst.—Dazzl❜dst, muzzl❜dst, puzzl’dst.
zms.-Chasms, spasms, bosoms.
nz.-Pris'n, ris'n, seas'n.

znd.-Imprison'd, reason'd, season'd.

Second.-Give the following passages slowly in a conversational tone, at first directing the attention to distinct articulation and correct pronunciation. When they can be spoken distinctly, correctly, rapidly, and with ease, then direct the attention to their delivery with pleasant and appropriate modulation, emphasis, and expression:

EXAMPLES.

1. He acted from pure and disinterested motives.

2. They peremptorily refused to enter the receptacle of the dead.

3. My lords, this, a tremendous and awful crisis.

4. Teach thine heart the holy art of humbly hearing truth.

5. A thousand shrieks for hopeless mercy call.

6. Alike the river's lordly pride,

Alike the humble rivlets glide

To that sad wave.

7. His inuendos and criticisms fall indiscriminately on every

thing that is lovely.

8. When all the sky is draped in black,
And beaten by tempestuous gales,

Thy shuddering barque seems all a wrack,
Then trim again thy tattered sails;
To grim despair be not a prey:
Remember, this will pass away.

9. From shingles grey the lances start,
The bracken bush sends forth the dart,
The rushes and the willow wand
Are bristling into axe and brand
On right, on left, above, below,
Sprang up at once the lurking foe.

10. In their ragged regimentals
Stood the old continentals,

Yielding not;

When the grenadiers were lunging,
And like hail fell the plunging

Cannon shot,

When the files

Of the isles

From the smoky night encampment,
Bore the banner of the rampant

Unicorn.

11. Life, like a dome of many-color'd glass,
Stains the white radiance of eternity.
12. He that is respectless in his courses

Oft sells his reputation at cheap market.
13. Full oft have letters caused their writers
To curse the day they were inditers.

ANALYSIS OF SOUNDS, SYLLABLES, AND

WORDS.

First.-Utter with great distinctness, and precision, and conversational force, the sounds which compose each letter of the alphabet. As you proceed, name with each sound the class to which it belongs. Thus, B: the first sound of the letter B is the subvocal B; the second sound of B is the open vowel sound of E.

Second.-Analyze the following words, express each element singly and with great precision. Designate the accented syllable, then pronounce the words with varying degrees of force, but always with a sufficient degree to mark the accent well, and to bring out clearly and distinctly every syllable and sound.

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The foregoing exercises, if faithfully practiced according to instructions, two or three times a day, will, in a few weeks, break up the worst faults in articulation, and greatly increase the compass, power, and flexibility of the voice.

PRONUNCIATION.

Pronunciation relates to the manner of uttering words with reference to accent, syllabication, and articulation.

A correct pronunciation is the utterance of words according to the usage of leading lexicographers and persons of the highest literary culture.

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