RHETORICAL GRAMMAR.

THAT part of Rhetoric which relates to composition has been so elaborately treated both by the ancients and moderns, that I shall in some measure invert the common order, and at first chiefly confine myself to that branch of it which relates to pronunciation and delivery. Preparatory to which, it will be necessary to settle the pronunciation of several letters, syllables, and words, which are not only often mispronounced by the younger class of pupils, but which are frequently little understood by those who are more advanced in the art. Without quoting Quintilian, we may easily conclude, that, if these first principles of speaking are not distinctly and accurately learned, whatever we acquire afterward must be faulty and erroneous. I shall therefore begin with settling the true pronunciation of those letters, syllables, and words, which are the most liable to be mistaken by the generality of readers and speakers.

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL

FAULTS IN THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE GENERALITY OF PUPILS, WITH THE MЕТНODS OF CORRECTING THEM.

Too slightly sounding the accented Vowels.

ONE of the most general faults in reading is a slight, short, mincing pronunciation of the accented vowels. This produces a harsh, insignificant, and trifling sound of the words, instead of that bold, round, mellow tone, which ought to be considered as the basis of speaking. The vowels which ought most to be attended to, are, the a and o. E is the slenderest of all the vowels, and i and u are diphthongs which terminate in slender sounds, and do not afford a sufficient quantity of sound to gratify and fill the ear: but the a in all its three sounds in bare, bar, and war; fatal, father, and water; has a bold, full sound, which the ear dwells upon with pleasure. The sound of o likewise, when lengthened by e final, as in tone, or ending a syllable, as in noble, &c. may be prolonged with great satisfaction to the ear; and it is to a judicious prolongation of the sound of these vowels, that pronunciation owes one of its greatest beauties. Words of this kind should therefore be selected and pronounced, first by the teacher, and afterwards by the pupil, slowly and distinctly.

Too slightly sounding the unaccented Vowels. THERE is an incorrect pronunciation of the letter u when it ends a syllable, not under the

{

i

accent which prevails, not only among the vulgar, but is sometimes found in better company; and that is, giving the u an obscure sound, which confounds it with vowels of a very different kind. Thus we not unfrequently hear singular, regular, and particular, pronounced as if written sing-e-lar, reg-e-lar, and par-tick-e-lar; but nothing tends more to tarnish and vulgarise the pronunciation than this short and obscure sound of the unaccented u. It may, indeed, be observed, that there is scarcely any thing more distinguishes a person of a mean from one of a good education than the pronunciation of the unaccented vowels. When vowels are under the accent, the prince and the lowest of the people, with very few exceptions, pronounce them in the same manner; but the unaccented vowels, in the mouth of the former, have a distinct, open, and specific sound, while the latter often totally sink them, or change them into some other sound. Those, therefore, who wish to pronounce elegantly, must be particularly attentive to the unaccented vowels, as a neat pronunciation of these forms one of the greatest beauties of speaking.

The other vowels, when unaccented, are liable to nearly the same indistinctness and obscurity as the u. The first e in event, the first o in opinion, and the i in sensible, terrible, &c. are apt to go into an obscure sound approaching to short u, as if written uvvent, uppinion, sensubble, terrubble, &c.- while polite pronunciation, that is the least deliberate, requires these vowels to be heard nearly as distinctly, and with as much purity, as when under the accent. Thus the e in event should be pronounced nearly as e in

1

equal; the o in opinion as that in open; the i in the unaccented terminations ible, ity, and at the end of other syllables not under the accent, ought to have the sound of e, and this sound to be preserved distinct and pure as if written sense-ble, ter-re-ble, de-ver-se-ty, u-ne-ver-se-ty, &c. nay, so strong a tendency has a good speaker to open the vowels e and o, when ending a syllable immediately before the accent, that we frequently hear these vowels in the words effect, efface, occasion, offence, &c. pronounced as if the consonant were single: this is certainly a deviation from rule, but it is so general among polite speakers, and so agreeable to the ear, as to be a distinguishing mark of elegant pronunciation. For the sound of unaccented a, of e before r, and i when it has the diphthongal sound like eye, see Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, in the principles prefixed, at Nos 92, 98, 114, 115, &c. &c. 554.

Wavering and uncertain Pronunciation of Vorvels under the Secondary Accent.

THE Secondary Accent is that stress we may occasionally place upon another syllable, besides that which has the principal accent, in order to pronounce every part of the word more distinctly, forcibly, and harmoniously. Thus this accent is on the first syllable of conversation, commendation, and the principal accent on the third. But from a want of attending to the analogies of the language, our best orthoëpists have been at the greatest loss for the quantity of the vowel under the secondary accent, when followed by a single consonant. This may be seen at large in Principles prefixed to the Critical Pronouncing Dictionary, No 530, &c. It will be only necessary to observe here, that those polysyllables which have the principal accent on the third syllable, whether we place a secondary accent on first syllable or not, have every vowel, except u in that syllable, invariably short, unless an inverted diphthong succeed. Thus the o in the first syllable of proposition, provocation, profanation, the a in the first of lamentation, the ein demonstration, and the i in the first of diminution, are all short: but if an inverted diphthong succeed the first syllable, every vowel except i retains its open sound, as amiability, deviation, filiation, spoliation, dubiosity, &c. Where it may be observed that the u is always pronounced long and open, though under the secondary accent, as lucubration, accumulation, &c.

There is the greater necessity for the observation of this rule, as it tends to give a firmness and decision to a part of pronunciation which is very loosely and variously marked in most of our pronouncing dictionaries. A vague idea of the propriety of preserving the simple in the compound, and of distinguishing the inseparable preposition from the rest of the word, makes many, who are but superficially acquainted with the analogies of the language, willing to show their precision by pronouncing the o in proposition as open as that in propose, and the e in preparation like that in prepare; but a larger view of the language would have shown these critics, this would be to overturn the most settled analogies of pronunciation. If we attend to those sounds which the English ear has almost universally received and acknowledged, we shall