The Grammar of English Grammars Part 180

"Not only the nature of the thoughts and sentiments, but the very selection and arrangement of the words, gives English poetry a character, which separates it widely from common prose."--_Id., ib._, p. 178.

"Men of sound, discriminating, and philosophical minds--men prepared for the work by long study, patient investigation, and extensive acquirements, have labored for ages to improve and perfect it, and nothing is hazarded in a.s.serting, that should it be unwisely abandoned, it will be long before another equal in beauty, stability and usefulness, be produced in its stead."--_Id., ib._, p. 191.

"The Article _The_, on the other hand, is used to restrict, and is therefore termed _Definite_. Its proper office is to call the attention to a particular individual or cla.s.s, or to any number of such, and is used with nouns in either the singular or plural number."--_Id., ib._, p. 193.

"Hence also the infinitive mood, a participle, a member of a sentence, or a proposition, forming together the subject of discourse, or the object of a verb or preposition, and being the name of an act or circ.u.mstance, are in construction, regarded as nouns, and are usually called 'substantive phrases;' as '_To play_ is pleasant,' '_His being an expert dancer_ is no recommendation,' 'Let your motto be _Honesty is the best policy_.'"--_Id., ib._, p. 194.

"In accordance with his definition, Murray has divided verbs into three cla.s.ses, _Active, Pa.s.sive_, and _Neuter_, and includes in the first cla.s.s _transitive_ verbs only, and in the last all verbs used intransitively"--_Id., ib._, p. 200.

"Moreover, as the name of the speaker or the person spoken to is seldom expressed, (the p.r.o.nouns _I_ and _thou_ being used in its stead,) a noun is very seldom in the first person, not often in the second, and almost never in either, unless it be a proper noun, or a common noun personified."--_Bullions, Pract. Les._, p. 13.

"In using the above exercises it will save much time, which is all important, if the pupil be taught to say every thing belonging to the nouns in the fewest words possible, and to say them always in the same order as above."--_Id., ib._, p. 21.

"In any phrase or sentence the adjectives qualifying a noun may generally be found by prefixing the phrase 'What kind of,' to the noun in the form of a question; as, What kind of a horse? What kind of a stone? What kind of a way? The word containing the answer to the question is an adjective."--_Id., ib._, p. 22.

"In the following exercise let the pupil first point out the nouns, and then the adjectives; and tell how he knows them to be so."--_Id., ib._, p.

23.

"In the following sentences point out the improper ellipsis. Show why it is improper, and correct it."--_Id., ib._, p. 124.

"SINGULAR p.r.o.nOUNS. PLURAL p.r.o.nOUNS.

1. I--am being smitten. 1. We--are being smitten.

2. Thou--art being smitten. 2. Ye _or_ you--are being smitten.

3. He--is being smitten. 3. They--are being smitten."

_Wright's Philos. Gram._, p. 98.

CHAPTER II--UTTERANCE.

Utterance Is the art or act of vocal expression. It includes the principles of articulation, of p.r.o.nunciation, and of elocution.

SECTION I.--OF ARTICULATION.

Articulation is the forming of words; by the voice, with reference to their component letters and sounds.

ARTICLE I.--OF THE DEFINITION.

Articulation differs from p.r.o.nunciation, in having more particular regard to the elements of words, and in not embracing accent[470]. A recent author defines it thus: "ARTICULATION is the act of forming, with the organs of speech, the elements of vocal language."--_Comstock's Elocution_, p. 16.

And again: "A good articulation is the _perfect_ utterance of the elements of vocal language."--_Ibid._

An other describes it more elaborately thus: "ARTICULATION, in language, is the forming of the human voice, accompanied by the breath, in some few consonants, into the simple and compound sounds, called vowels, consonants, and diphthongs, by the a.s.sistance of the organs of speech; and the uniting of those vowels, consonants, and diphthongs, together, so as to form syllables and words, and const.i.tute spoken language."--_Bolles's Dict., Introd._, p. 7.

ARTICLE II--OF GOOD ARTICULATION.

Correctness in articulation is of such importance, that without it speech or reading becomes not only inelegant, but often absolutely unintelligible.

The opposite faults are mumbling, muttering, mincing, lisping, slurring, mouthing, drawling, hesitating, stammering, misreading, and the like. "A good articulation consists in giving every letter in a syllable its due proportion of sound, according to the most approved custom of p.r.o.nouncing it; and in making such a distinction between the syllables of which words are composed, that the ear shall without difficulty acknowledge their number; and perceive, at once, to which syllable each letter belongs. Where these points are not observed, the articulation is proportionably defective."--_Sheridan's Rhetorical Grammar_, p. 50.

Distinctness of articulation depends, primarily, upon the ability to form the simple elements, or sounds of letters, by the organs of speech, in the manner which the custom of the language demands; and, in the next place, upon the avoidance of that precipitancy of utterance, which is greater than the full and accurate play of the organs will allow. If time be not given for the full enunciation of any word which we attempt to speak, some of the syllables will of course be either lost by elision or sounded confusedly.

Just articulation gives even to a feeble voice greater power and reach than the loudest vociferation can attain without it. It delivers words from the lips, not mutilated, distorted, or corrupted, but as the acknowledged sterling currency of thought;--"as beautiful coins newly issued from the mint, deeply and accurately impressed, perfectly finished, neatly struck by the proper organs, distinct, sharp, in due succession, and of due weight."--_Austin's Chironomia_, p. 38.

OBS.--The principles of articulation const.i.tute the chief exercise of all those who are learning either to speak or to read. So far as they are specifically taught in this work, they will be found in those sections which treat of the powers of the letters.

SECTION II.--OF p.r.o.nUNCIATION.

p.r.o.nunciation, as distinguished from elocution, or delivery, is the utterance of words taken separately. The correct p.r.o.nunciation of words, or that part of grammar which teaches it, is frequently called _Orthoepy_.

p.r.o.nunciation, or orthoepy, requires a knowledge of the just powers of the letters in all their combinations; of the distinction of quant.i.ty in vowels and syllables; and of the force and seat of the accent.

ARTICLE I--OF THE POWERS OF LETTERS.

The JUST POWERS of the letters, are those sounds which are given to them by the best readers. These are to be learned, as reading is learned, partly from example, and partly from such books as show or aid the p.r.o.nunciation of words.

It is to be observed, however, that considerable variety, even in the powers of the letters, is produced by the character and occasion of what is uttered. It is noticed by Walker, that, "Some of the vowels, when neither under the accent, nor closed by a consonant, have a longer or a shorter, an opener or a closer sound, according to the solemnity or familiarity, the deliberation or rapidity of our delivery."--_p.r.o.nouncing Dict., Preface_, p. 4. In cursory speech, or in such reading as imitates it, even the best scholars utter many letters with quicker and obscurer sounds than ought ever to be given them in solemn discourse. "In public speaking," says Rippingham, "every word should be uttered, as though it were spoken singly.

The solemnity of an oration justifies and demands such scrupulous distinctness. That careful p.r.o.nunciation which would be ridiculously pedantic in colloquial intercourse, is an essential requisite of good elocution."--_Art of Public Speaking_, p. x.x.xvii.

ARTICLE II--OF QUANt.i.tY.

QUANt.i.tY, or TIME in p.r.o.nunciation, is the measure of sounds or syllables in regard to their duration; and, by way of distinction, is supposed ever to determine them to be either _long_ or _short_.[471]

The absolute time in which syllables are uttered, is very variable, and must be different to suit different subjects, pa.s.sions, and occasions; but their relative length or shortness may nevertheless be preserved, and generally must be, especially in reciting poetry.

Our long syllables are chiefly those which, having sounds naturally capable of being lengthened at pleasure, are made long by falling under some stress either of accent or of emphasis. Our short syllables are the weaker sounds, which, being the less significant words, or parts of words, are uttered without peculiar stress.

OBS.--As quant.i.ty is chiefly to be regarded in the utterance of poetical compositions, this subject will be farther considered under the head of Versification.

ARTICLE III.--OF ACCENT.

ACCENT, as commonly understood, is the peculiar stress which we lay upon some particular syllable of a word, whereby that syllable is distinguished from and above the rest; as, _gram'-mar, gram-ma'-ri-an_.

Every word of more than one syllable, has one of its syllables accented; and sometimes a compound word has two accents, nearly equal in force; as, _e'ven-hand'ed, home'-depart'ment_.[472]

Besides the _chief_ or _primary_ accent, when the word is long, for the sake of harmony or distinctness, we often give a _secondary_ or less forcible accent to an other syllable; as, to the last of _tem'-per-a-ture'_, and to the second of _in dem'-ni-fi-ca'-tion_.

"Accent seems to be regulated, in a great measure, by etymology. In words from the Saxon, the accent is generally on the root; in words from the learned languages, it is generally on the termination; and if to these we add the different accent we lay on some words, to distinguish them from others, we seem to have the three great principles of accentuation; namely, the radical, the terminational, and the distinctive."--_Walker's Principles_, No. 491; _L. Murray's Grammar_, 8vo, p. 236.

A full and open p.r.o.nunciation of the long vowel sounds, a clear articulation of the consonants, a forcible and well-placed accent, and a distinct utterance of the unaccented syllables, distinguish the elegant speaker.