Footnote 1:
Persons who wish to become well acquainted with the principles of
English Grammar
by an easy process, are recommended to procure "The Useful Grammar," price 3d., published by Houlston and Sons.
return to footnote mark
Some Female Spiders Produce 2,000 Eggs.
182. Pronunciation
Accent is a particular stress or force of the voice upon certain syllables or words. This mark ' in printing denotes the syllable upon which the stress or force of the voice should he placed.
There are 9,000 Cells in a Square Foot of Honeycomb.
183. A Word may have more than One Accent.
Take as an instance aspiration. In uttering this word we give a marked emphasis of the voice upon the first and third syllables, and therefore those syllables are said to be accented. The first of these accents is less distinguishable than the second, upon which we dwell longer, therefore the second accent in point of order is called the primary, or chief accent of the word.
A Cow Consumes 100 lbs. of Green Food Daily.
184. When the full Accent falls on a Vowel
that vowel should have a long sound, as in
vo'cal;
but when it, falls on or after a consonant, the preceding vowel has a short sound, as in
hab'it
.
2,300 Silkworms Produce 1lb of Silk.
185. To obtain a Good Knowledge of Pronunciation
it is advisable for the reader to listen to the examples given by good speakers, and by educated persons. We learn the pronunciation of words, to a great extent, by
imitation
, just as birds acquire the notes of other birds which may be near them.
A Queen Bee Produces 100,000 Eggs in a Season.
186. Double Meaning
But it will be very important to bear in mind that there are many words having a double meaning or application, and that the difference of meaning is indicated by the difference of the accent. Among these words,
nouns
are distinguished from
verbs
by this means:
nouns
are mostly accented on the first syllable, and
verbs
on the last.
A Cow Yields 168 lbs. of Butter per Annum.
187. Noun signifies Name
Nouns
are the names of persons and things, as well as of things not material and palpable, but of which we have a conception and knowledge, such as
courage
,
firmness
,
goodness
,
strength
; and
verbs
express
actions, movements,
&c If the word used signifies that anything has been done, or is being done, or is, or is to be done, then that word is a
verb
.
It would Take 27,600 Spiders to Produce 1 lb. of Web
188. Examples of the above.
Thus when we say that anything is "an
in
'sult," that word is a
noun
, and is accented on the first syllable; but when we say he did it "to in
sult
sult' another person," the word in
sult
' implies
acting
, and becomes a verb, and should be accented on the last syllable. The effect is, that, in speaking, you should employ a different pronunciation in the use of the same word, when uttering such sentences as these:—"What an
in
'sult!" "Do you mean to in
sult
' me?" In the first sentence the stress of voice must be laid upon the first syllable,
in'
, and in the latter case upon the second syllable,
sult'
.
189. Meaning varied by Accentuation.
A list of nearly all the words that are liable to this variation is given in the following page. It will be noticed that those in the first column, having the accent on the first syllable, are mostly nouns; and that those in the second column, which have the accent on the second and final syllable, are mostly verbs:
190. Exceptions
Ce
ment
is an Exception to the above rule, and should always be accented on the last syllable. So also the word Con
sols
.
191. Hints to "Cockney Speakers."
The most objectionable error of the Cockney, that of substituting the
v
for the
w
, and
vice versâ
, is, we believe, pretty generally abandoned. Such sentences as "Are you going to Vest Vickkam?" "This is wery good weal," &c, were too intolerable to be retained. Moreover, there has been a very able schoolmaster at work during the past forty years. This schoolmaster is no other than the loquacious Mr.
Punch
, from whose works we quote a few admirable exercises:
Alum First Discovered A.D. 1300.
192. Correction
Londoners who desire to correct the defects of their utterance cannot do better than to exercise themselves frequently upon those words respecting which they have been in error.
193. Hints for the Correction of the Irish Brogue
According to the directions given by Mr. B. H. Smart, an Irishman wishing to throw off the brogue of his mother country should avoid hurling out his words with a superfluous quantity of breath. It is not
broadher
and
widher
that he should say, but the
d
, and every other consonant, should be neatly delivered by the tongue, with as little riot, clattering, or breathing as possible. Next let him drop the roughness or rolling of the
r
in all places but the beginning of syllables; he must not say
stor-rum
and
far-rum
, but let the word be heard in one smooth syllable. He should exercise himself until he can convert
plaze
into
please
,
planty
into
plenty
,
Jasus
into
Jesus
, and so on. He should modulate his sentences, so as to avoid directing his accent all in one manner—from the acute to the grave. Keeping his ear on the watch for good examples, and exercising himself frequently upon them, he may become master of a greatly improved utterance.
Tea First Used In England A. D. 1698.
194. Hints for Correcting the Scotch Brogue.
The same authority remarks that as an Irishman uses the closing accent of the voice too much, so a Scotchman has the contrary habit, and is continually drawling his tones from the grave to the acute, with an effect which, to southern ears, is suspensive in character. The smooth guttural
r
is as little heard in Scotland as in Ireland, the trilled
r
taking its place. The substitution of the former instead of the latter must be a matter of practice. The peculiar sound of the
u
, which in the north so of ten borders on the French
u
, must be compared with the several sounds of the letter as they are heard in the south; and the long quality which a Scotchman is apt to give to the vowels that ought to be essentially short, must he clipped. In fact, aural observation and lingual exercise are the only sure means to the end; so that a Scotchman going to a well for a bucket of water, and finding a countryman bathing therein, would not exclaim, "Hey, Colin, dinna ye ken the water's for drink, and nae for bathin'?"
195. Of Provincial Brogues
it is scarcely necessary to say much, as the foregoing advice applies to them. One militiaman exclaimed to another, "Jim, you hain't in step" "Bain't I?" exclaimed the other; "well, change yourn!" Whoever desires knowledge must strive for it. It must not be dispensed with after the fashion of Tummus and Jim, who held the following dialogue upon a vital question:—
Tummus
. "I zay, Jim, be you a purtectionist?"
Jim
. "E'as I be."
Tummus
. "Wall, I zay, Jim, what
be
purtection?"
Jim
. " Loa'r, Tummus, doan't 'ee knaw? "
Tummus
. "Naw, I doan't."
Jim
. "Wall, I doan't knaw as can tell 'ee, Tummus,
vur I doan't exakerly knaw mysel'!
"
196. Rules of Pronunciation.
Auctions Commenced in Britain in A.D. 1779.
197. Proper Pronunciations of Words often Wrongly Pronounced.