THE ELEMENTS OF SPEECH A TEXTBOOK DESIGNED TO PROMOTE SPEECH-PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BY JAMES MILTON O'NEILL CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH IN AND ANDREW THOMAS WEAVER CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH IN LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON TORONTO COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. First Edition, September, 1926 Reprinted, August, 1927 Made in the United States. 206583-4 PREFACE This book is intended to cover, in an elementary way, beginning college work in the field of speech. It is not a textbook on public speaking exclusively; it is concerned with the private speech of the student as well as his public speech. Furthermore, this is not an exhaustive treatment of all the phases of speech with which it deals. Our aim has been to present, on the topics treated, only material which seems to us of primary and fundamental importance. For example, in the chapter on Oral Reading, we have not tried to furnish a complete textbook in Interpretative Reading, rather we have endeavored to discuss only those elementary principles which should be studied if reading is made any part of a first course in speech. Likewise, in dealing with the psychological aspects of speech, we have simply set down that minimum of psychological theory which we believe ought to be presented to any beginning student. The beginning course in speech should have, we believe, two objectives — knowledge and proficiency. These two objec tives are complementary. Knowledge promotes proficiency; proficiency clarifies and deepens knowledge. The best that any course in speech can do for the student is to acquaint him with those principles upon which proficiency must be established and to start him on the way toward the successful application of those principles in his own speech. In determining upon the order of the chapters of this book, we have constantly kept in mind the thought that various people will doubtless want to take up these chapters in various arrangements to suit the demands of different courses. In some courses parts of this text will perhaps be omitted. For example, one teacher may omit the chapter on Phonetics; another, that on Oral Reading. Our desire has been to include elementary discussions of all the various aspects of speech most likely to be included in beginning courses of any kind, and we have planned definitely on an organization that will make easy both various arrangements and various omissions. We have deliberately used the term "speech" in different senses in different connections. In each case it has seemed to us the best word to use. Obviously, the word is widely used in several different but related meanings. We believe that our intended meaning is clear in each instance. The psychological theory in this book has been stated in modern psychological terminology and, for that reason, may be less familiar to some readers than would be the case had an older terminology been used. We have been as eclectic as possible in our choice of terms. In our treatment of this phase of our subject, we have sought for two qualities, viz., first, accuracy, and, second, a psychological terminology that would be particularly apt and illuminating in discussions of speech psychology. Many students of the older psychology, therefore, will find here frequently, not new principles, but rather old acquaintances under new labels. Parts of this book are not easy reading. They will require hard study. We feel that a number of the topics here treated cannot be explained in a few easy paragraphs; they do not admit of monosyllabic exposition. We see no reason why college students should not study just as hard in speech as they do in chemistry, physics, or philosophy. We have tried to write as simply as a due regard for accuracy would allow; but where we have had to choose between treating a principle simply or treating it accurately, we have always chosen to be accurate. We do not believe that any of this discussion is really beyond the understanding of college students who are willing to work in speech as diligently as they work in other subjects. We desire to acknowledge our indebtedness to the large number of college and university teachers who have gone |