Consonants.

This diagram represents a vertical section through the larynx, the hinder part of which is removed, showing the narrowing through which the breath has to pass.Epiglottis.Left vocal chord.Right vocal chord.

This diagram represents a vertical section through the larynx, the hinder part of which is removed, showing the narrowing through which the breath has to pass.

Epiglottis.

Left vocal chord.

Right vocal chord.

Cases of mouth-breathing, usually due to adenoid growths, cannot be cured by the teacher; but it is his duty to take the earliest possible notice of such a case, and to ensure that those in charge of the child are warned of the danger incurred by delay in consulting a medical man.

The breath on leaving the lungs passes through the windpipe—and in ordinary breathing there is nothing in its way. In speaking, however, there is often something in its way: a beautiful contrivance, capable of the most varied and delicate adjustment, and known as thevocal chords.They are situated where, in a man, we see the "Adam's apple."

View of the vocal chords opened to their widest extent, showing the windpipe to its bifurcation.

The accompanying illustration will serve to explain their nature. It will be seen that the vocal chords spring from both sides of the windpipe. They are really rather of the nature of flexible ridges or shallow flaps than cords. By means of muscles acting on certain cartilages they can be brought closely or lightly together. They consist of a soft fleshy part at one end, and a harder cartilaginous part at the other.

The position of the vocal chords, in other words the nature of theglottis(i.e.the opening between the vocal chords), modifies the breath in many ways.

When they are apart, in what we may call the rest position, the breath passes through unhindered.When we want a particularly large supply of breath, as in blowing, we keep them still more apart. When we wish to "hold our breath," we close them firmly. When we wish to "clear our throat," we press them together and then let the breath come out in jerks; if this is done violently and (as a rule) unintentionally, a cough is produced; sometimes we do it slightly before the opening vowel of a word spoken emphatically (this is commonly the case in German, and is known as the "glottal stop").

We may also close only the fleshy ends, and leave the cartilaginous ends open; then we speak in a whisper.

7.If we neither leave the vocal chords apart nor bring them together quite closely, but let them touch lightly, then the air as it passes out will make them vibrate; and breath accompanied by this vibration isvoice[5]in the narrower application of the word. In ordinary speech this vibration is an essential part of all vowels and of many consonants. They are accordingly calledvoiced[6]sounds; those produced without vibration of the vocal chords arevoiceless.[7]

The vibration can be felt in several ways. Utter a longsand then a longz(the sounds at the beginning ofsealandzealrespectively), again longs, again longz, and so on; at the same time put your fingers to your throat, or put your hands to both ears, or lay your hand on the top of your head, and you cannot failto notice the vibration every time you utterz. Try it also withf v f v f v, etc., and with the sounds writtensinsureandzinazure, and the sounds writtenthinthistleandthinthis. Then proceed topandb,tandd,kandg(as ingo). Lastly, utter a longahwith full voice, and then whisper the same sound softly. Ascertain in each case which sound is accompanied by vibration of the vocal chords.

Utter a longfand suddenly separate the lower lip from the upper teeth, and nothing more will be heard; but utter a longvand again suddenly separate the lip from the teeth, and you will hear the "voice," with a sound like the [ə] described in § 38. (It is the sound uttered when we hesitate in our speech, and is usually represented in writing by "er ... er.")

It is important that the vibration should be good. If it is slow, the pitch will be low; if it is quick, the pitch will be high. But whatever the pitch, the vibration must be uniform. To practise this, dwell on various voiced sounds for a long time, emitting the breath slowly and regularly.

Only the voiced sounds can be produced with varying pitch; they are musical, the rest are noises. Notice, in church for instance, how the tune is carried by the voiced sounds; the voiceless ones seem to break the course of the tune.

When the vocal chords are short they vibrate more quickly than when they are long, and quicker vibrations give a higher pitch. This explains why the average pitch of a woman's voice is higher than that of a man. When a boy's voice "breaks," thisis due to certain changes affecting his vocal chords; it is important that the voice should not be subjected to any excessive strain when it is in this stage.

Certain affections of the throat interfere with the action of the vocal chords, and they become incapable of vibrating; then we "lose our voice." When we "lower the voice," we make the vibrations slower, and lower the pitch. When we "drop the voice to a whisper," we are intentionally preventing them from vibrating. This much diminishes the carrying power of the voice, and we thereby ensure that our words are heard only by those who are quite close. A peculiar variety is the "stage aside," when the actor tries to convey the impression that his words are not heard by those near him, yet desires them to be heard by the spectators, many of whom are much farther away. This is a very loud whisper; it naturally requires a considerable effort and is very tiring.

8.The breath which has passed between the vocal chords and issues from the windpipe passes through the mouth, or through the nose, or through both. This is rendered possible by a soft movable flap which can at will be made to close the way through the nose, or—hanging loosely—to leave both passages open. Take a small mirror and look at the inside of your mouth, standing so that as much light as possible falls into it; you will see this flap, thevelum, hanging down with a kind of ᐯ in the centre, the lower extremity of which is known as theuvula. Still watching your mouth, inhalethrough the nose and exhale through the mouth; see how the velum moves as you do this. After a little while try to move the velum, closing and opening the nose passage, without uttering a sound and without breathing.

In French there are fournasal vowels(occurring inun bon vin blanc) in which the velum hangs loose, and breath passes through nose and mouth. In standard English such vowels do not exist, but another form of nasal vowel, producing a "twang," is sometimes heard in many forms of what may be called dialect speech. The Londoner is often careless about closing the nose passage, and some breath is allowed to pass out by that way so as to be perceptible to the ear in the form of friction, and to impair the quality of the vowels. The "nasal twang" is very noticeable in some forms of American English.

The nasalising tendency may also be observed in untrained singers and public speakers; it is undoubtedly a means of increasing the carrying power of the voice, and of reducing the effort of making oneself understood by a large audience. The same effect can, however, be produced by training the muscles of the chest by means of breathing exercises, and with more agreeable results to the ear.

Pupils who show a tendency to nasalising can be cured by frequent exercises in uttering the mouth (or oral) vowels.

It is, however, maintained by some teachers of voice production that the best vowel sounds are produced when the velum does not quite prevent the passage of air through the nose.

In producing anasal consonant(such asm), we stop the breath somewhere in the mouth (e.g.at the lips when we utterm), and let it pass out through the nose.

A cold in the nose often prevents the breath from passing through it; and this renders it impossible to produce the nasal consonantsm,n, andng(as insing), the kindred soundsb,d, andgbeing substituted for them. A similar difficulty is experienced by children with adenoid growths. This is commonly called "speaking through the nose"; it is just the reverse.

9.In speaking, as a rule, the passage to the nose is closed and the breath finds its passage through the mouth. The shape of this passage can be modified in many ways, because severalorgans of speechare movable.

The lower jaw can be moved up and down.

The lips can be closed, or kept lightly touching, or the lower lip may touch the upper teeth; or the lips may be apart, assuming various shapes, from a narrow slit to a large or small circle. They may also be thrust forward, protruded.

The tongue is capable of an even greater variety of position. Again watch the inside of your mouth by means of your little mirror. Saye(as inhe),a(as infather),o(as inwho), and observe the movements of your tongue; then make the same movements, but without uttering the sounds. You will soon feel how your tongue moves, without needing to look at it. This consciousness of the muscularaction of your tongue is valuable, and you must take pains to develop it. Watch the movements of your tongue as you utter other vowel sounds; they will be treated systematically in due course.

By means of these movable organs of speech the mouth passage assumes various forms; it may still be wide enough to leave a free course for the breath, or it may be quite narrow, or it may be closed at some point.

If the passage is free, the result is avowel; if not, it is aconsonant.[8]

10.If the passage is so narrow at some point that the breath cannot pass through without rubbing or brushing, we have acontinuant(sometimes called a fricative). Thus when we sayforv, the breath passes out through the teeth; the only difference between the two sounds being that in sayingv, the breath is also engaged in setting the vocal chords vibrating. Saye(as inhe) and gradually raise the tongue still further, thus narrowing the passage; you will reach a point when you no longer produce a vowel, but a continuant, namely the sound heard at the beginning ofyes. These sounds are called continuants, because we can prolong them at will; indeed, we can dwell on them until no more breath is left in the lungs.

11.If the passage is closed altogether at some point, we have astop; the breath is stopped. Sayhopeorwitorluckand notice how in each case there is a closureat the end. Stops consist of two parts: the closing of the passage, and the subsequent opening of it; this opening resembles a little explosion, and stops are accordingly sometimes called plosives or explosives. Observe that the ear does not require to perceive both the closure and the opening; one is enough to give the impression of the sound. When you sayhopeorwitorluck, you need only hear the closing of the passage; you can leave your mouth shut, yet to the ear the word will seem complete. (The sound will, however, carry further if you open the passage again; and in public speaking it is therefore to be recommended.) Similarly, in uttering the wordspain,tell,come, only the opening of the passage is audible; yet the ear is satisfied. In the middle of a word likenight-time, carefully pronounced, we hear both the closure and the opening; and the interval between the two gives our ear the impression that there are twot's.[9]In quick speech, however, the closure is usually inaudible in such words or, more correctly, the sounds overlap.

12.The narrowing or closing of the passage may be effected at various points. The lips may be partially or completely closed; the lower lip may be pressed against the upper teeth; different parts of the tongue may be pressed against the teeth, or the gums, or the palate. Pass your finger along the roof of your mouth, and notice that only the front of it is hard; we distinguish the hard palate and the soft palate.

13.When we are eating or drinking, the food passesdown the gullet, behind the windpipe. To prevent food entering the windpipe, which causes a choking sensation and coughing, there is theepiglottis(see the diagram on p.10), a cartilaginous flap which covers the top of it; this flap is raised when we are breathing. Hence the wisdom of the rule, not to speak while you are eating.

14.In order that speech may have its full effect, it is necessary that the hearer should hear well; this is by no means so common as is generally supposed. The importance of testing the eyesight is now recognised; but thehearingis usually neglected. Attention must be drawn to this matter, as teachers often regard pupils as inattentive and dull and reprimand them, when they are really hard of hearing. The teacher's mistake is to some extent pardonable, because the defect is easily overlooked, especially as a pupil may hear badly in one ear and not in the other, and thus seem inattentive only when the teacher happens to be standing on the side of his defective ear. Further, it is a defect which often varies in intensity from day to day, according to the pupil's general condition of health. These considerations point to the urgent necessity of instituting an inspection of the hearing in our schools. The teacher can himself apply the simple test of seeing at what distance the pupil is able to hear whispered double numbers, such as 35, 81; each ear should be tested separately, a cloth being pressed against the other. The teacher will note down the two distances for each pupil, and will probably be surprised at thevariations observed. It is clear that defective hearing should constitute a strong claim for a front seat in the class-room, more so than defective eyesight, which can usually be rectified by the use of suitable spectacles.

It is hardly necessary to point out that lack of cleanliness in the ears may interfere with the hearing, and that carelessness with regard to the teeth may lead to their loss and to defects of speech, apart from other unpleasant consequences. It is clear that anything in the nature of tight-lacing renders good breathing impossible; and the fashion of letting the hair cover the ears is also to be discouraged, as rendering the hearing more difficult. In men, tight collars and belts often interfere with the breathing.

15.Lastly, teachers (particularly male teachers) require to be warned againstshouting; this only tires them and irritates the nerves of their pupils, while the same object can be achieved by careful articulation. Where it is used "to keep the class in order," the teacher should earnestly consider how it is that others can keep order without shouting; usually his difficulties in maintaining discipline are due to ill-health, overstrain, or general incapacity.

When the throat is relaxed, a gargle with some astringent will be found a simple remedy; a solution of alum in water may be recommended for this purpose, or a bit of borax may be held in the cheek.

16.From a very early time the attempt has been madeto represent the spoken language by means of signs.Picture writing is a primitive and clumsy expedient. It was a great step forward when signs were used to represent syllables, a still further improvement when a separate sign was used for each separate sound.

At first writing was roughly phonetic, in other words, one sign was intended to represent one sound (or set of sounds), and one only; and this is still what is required of an ideal alphabet. It is a commonplace remark thatthe English alphabetlargely fails to fulfil this requirement. The same sign represents different sounds (sign,sure, easy); the same sound is represented by different signs (catch,kill,queen, lack). Some signs are superfluous (c,x); sometimes a sound is written, but not pronounced (lamb,knee); sometimes two signs, which separately express two sounds, when used together designate a third sound altogether different from these two (chinchat and rich).

17.How are we to explain this bewildering state of things?

It is due to two causes—the natural development of the language, and the pedantic interference of the learned.

Language is constantly changing. The rate of change is not perhaps always the same, but change there always is. As we have seen above, the older generation and the younger do not speak exactly alike. Now the changes in the spoken language are gradual, and quite unconscious; but a change in the recognised spelling of words is something tangible. It conflicts with a habit we have acquired.

In mediæval times, when there was no printing, no daily paper, no universal compulsory education, there was a good deal of freedom in the spelling, and people wrote very much as they pleased—phonetically, if they were not spoilt by "a little knowledge." But the invention of printing and the dissemination of learning changed all this. A uniform spelling came to be recognised; the nation acquired the habit of regarding it as correct, and would tolerate no deviation from it. Though it represents the pronunciation of a former age, we still use it; and we are quite upset when we read the spellingslabor,center,therefor, nay even when two words are, contrary to our usage, run together, as inforever.

When our spelling received its present form not only was the language very differently pronounced, but the pedantic had already been able to wreak their wicked will on it. Thus the "learned" men of mediæval France spelledparfaict, though thecof Latinperfectumhad developed into theiofparfait, and they did not pronounce thecwhich they introduced into the spelling. The word passed into English, and here also thecwas at first only written; later on it came to be pronounced. The "learned" similarly introduced abinto the French wordsdouteranddette(because of the Latindubitareanddebita), but had the good sense to drop it; we have it still indoubtanddebt, though we leave it unpronounced. In later times we find something similar: the learned force us to spellphilosophywithphand notf. The word comes from Greek through Latin; the Greeks pronounced thephactually aspplushat thetime when the Romans took to spelling Greek words in their language, and these continued to spellpheven when the Greeks no longer pronouncedpplush, butf, as we do now.

18.The subject ofspelling reformis not within the scope of this book; but it presents itself naturally to all who take an intelligent interest in the language. It seems probable that much good will be achieved by the Simplified Spelling Society (44 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.; annual subscription from 1s.), which has been recently established and will undoubtedly profit by the experience of the sister society in the United States. Such spellings aswel,ful,tho,thoro,bred,plesure, will surely commend themselves as soon as the eye of the man in the street has been made familiar with them and the etymological sentimentalist has realised the astounding weakness of his arguments.

However distant may be a complete reform, it is certainly helpful to be conscious of the evil; only thus can we neutralize some of its bad effects. The most obvious of these is the lack ofear trainingin our schools, where the mother tongue has been learnt on the basis of the written and not the spoken language. The only method for teaching English reading and writing which can commend itself to the student of the language no less than to the student of childhood is the method identified with the name of Miss Dale. Apart from the sympathy and love of children pervading all her work, it is of unusual importance because she has solved the problem ofstarting from the spoken language, while avoiding all phonetic symbols.

19.It is, however, convenient for the student of phonetics to have a set of generally accepted signs; otherwise he would be unable to express in writing the pronunciation in such a way that other students could understand what he meant. Without phonetic symbols the designation of sounds becomes awkward. It was one of Miss Dale's many happy thoughts to connect sounds and their written form with definite words, for instance the "moon oo" and the "fern er"; but however suitable that is for the little ones, it is inconvenient for the grown-up student.

There are many phonetic alphabets; all else being equal, the one most widely used is clearly the most valuable. We have therefore chosen for this bookthe alphabet of the Association phonétique internationale,which is already well known in England owing to its use in a number of books for elementary instruction in French, German, and even Latin. It will commend itself to the student by its great simplicity. What will really present difficulty is rather the determination of the actual nature of the spoken word, than the representation of the sounds when once determined.

20.We now give the sounds occurring normally in standard English, and their phonetic signs; the signs for consonants which are likely to be unfamiliar are enclosed.

Attention should be paid to the signs for these, as many are unfamiliar. The examples given will convey only a general idea of the sounds, which are discussed in detail in§ 36and foll. The signːindicates length, andˑhalf length.

The following sentences written in the conventional and the phonetic spelling will give some idea of the use of this alphabet for representing connected speech as spoken (a) very carefully, (b) quite colloquially.

For purposes of convenience the ɪ and ᴜ are not used in ordinary transcript, as there is no danger of confusion.

FOOTNOTES:[2]Another defective method of breathing consists in raising the shoulders for the purpose of increasing the capacity of the lungs. The shoulders should, however, not be moved at all in breathing.[3]The custom of insisting on tightly-folded arms is not to be encouraged.[4]The exercises suggested by Mr Burrell inClear Speaking and Good Reading(p.16and foll.) are also recommended.[5]Also called tone.[6]Or, toned.[7]Or, untoned, breathed.[8]This definition has its drawbacks, as will be seen later.[9]Consider what happens in the case of such words asvintner,lampman.[10]It is doubtful whether this can be called a sound of standard English; see § 31.[11]It is most important that you should not confusesoundwithletter. Thus in bead we have the letterseanda, which represent vowels inbedandbad; but theeinbeadhas quite a different value from theeinbed. The two letterseainbeadtogether represent two sounds which are described in § 42.[12]In theSpecimens of Englishthe diphthongs here represented by [uw] and [ij] are simply printed [uː] and [iː].[13]Observe that the accent [´]precedesthe stressed syllable. In theSpecimens of Englishthe vowel of the stressed syllable is printed inthis type.

[2]Another defective method of breathing consists in raising the shoulders for the purpose of increasing the capacity of the lungs. The shoulders should, however, not be moved at all in breathing.

[3]The custom of insisting on tightly-folded arms is not to be encouraged.

[4]The exercises suggested by Mr Burrell inClear Speaking and Good Reading(p.16and foll.) are also recommended.

[5]Also called tone.

[6]Or, toned.

[7]Or, untoned, breathed.

[8]This definition has its drawbacks, as will be seen later.

[9]Consider what happens in the case of such words asvintner,lampman.

[10]It is doubtful whether this can be called a sound of standard English; see § 31.

[11]It is most important that you should not confusesoundwithletter. Thus in bead we have the letterseanda, which represent vowels inbedandbad; but theeinbeadhas quite a different value from theeinbed. The two letterseainbeadtogether represent two sounds which are described in § 42.

[12]In theSpecimens of Englishthe diphthongs here represented by [uw] and [ij] are simply printed [uː] and [iː].

[13]Observe that the accent [´]precedesthe stressed syllable. In theSpecimens of Englishthe vowel of the stressed syllable is printed inthis type.

Consonants—stops.

21.The sounds which present least difficulty to the student are the stops, in producing which the flow of breath is completely checked. We have already seen in § 11 that every stop, strictly speaking, consists of three parts, the closing and the opening of the passage and the pause between, and that only the closing or only the opening need be heard for the ear to distinguish the sound. The interval between the closure and the opening may be noticeable, in which case we call the consonant double.

Stops may be voiced or voiceless, that is, they may be produced with or without vibration of the vocal chords (see § 7).

Stops may be produced by stopping the breath at some point in the mouth and then letting it burst through the obstacle; these areoralstops.

The breath, stopped at some point in the mouth, may be allowed to pass out through the nose; the sounds thus produced are callednasal.[14]

Utter the following sounds, and determine whether they are voiced or voiceless, oral or nasal:

[p, g, n, t, b, k, m, d, ŋ.][15]

According to the place of articulation we distinguish lip[16]stops, point[17]stops, front (palate)[18]stops and back (palate)[19]stops.

22. Lip stops.—When the breath is stopped at the lips, three different sounds may be produced.

1. [p], when there has been no vibration of the vocal chords.

In precise or emphatic speech, sufficient breath escapes after the opening of the passage to give the effect of [h][20]; thusPay, pay![21][pͪei, pͪei]. This occurs mostly before accented vowels, and sometimes finally[22]:I hope[ai houpͪ].[23]

[p] is writtenporpp; rarelyph(as in a common pronunciation ofdiphtheria[dipθiːᵊriə], for which see § 27).

Notice the spelling ofhiccough[hikʌp].

2. [b], when there has been vibration of the vocal chords.

[b] is writtenborbb.

3. [m], when the velum is lowered and part of the breath passes out through the nose. (Generally speaking, this sound is voiced; but when it is immediately followed by a voiceless sound, it may be partly voiced, then voiceless (phonetic sign: mˑ). Thenlampis strictly [læmmˑp]. We may say: [m] isunvoicedordevocalizedbefore a voiceless stop.) Notice the difference in length of [m] inlamb, hammer, glum, moon; in which of these words is it short?

Incomfort, triumphthe [m] is often labiodental: the breath is stopped by the upper teeth and lower lip, not by both lips.

Inprism, schismthemmay havesyllabicvalue; it then does the work usually performed by a vowel. We say [prizəm] or [prizm̩], where [m̩] is the sign for syllabicm.

[m] is writtenmormm.

23.In the production of the lip stops the tongue plays no part, except by leaving a free passage; but it is active in the production of the stops we next have to consider. This is therefore the right place to give the names by which we designate the variousparts of the tongue. We distinguish

thepoint,

theblade(above and behind the point when the tongue lies flat),

thefront(yet further behind), and

theback; also

theridgeordorsum(an imaginary line drawn along the middle of the top of the tongue from end to end), and

therim(running all round the edge of the tongue when it lies flat).

When the narrowing or closure of the passage is made by the front rim of the tongue, we say it is ofapicalformation; when it is made by the surface of the tongue behind the front rim, we say it is ofdorsalformation.

24.Point stops.[24]—The breath is stopped by the action of the point of the tongue touching the teeth (in which case we have true dentals) or the upper gums (this is known asalveolararticulation, "alveoli" being the learned word for the gums). In English the point of the tongue rarely touches the teeth; usually it touches the upper gums, sometimes the hard palate (this should be avoided), in which case it approaches [k]. See the diagram on p.126.

Hence in careless speechat lastsometimes becomes [ə´klɑːst].[25]Little children are heard to say [ikl] forlittle; compare also the change from Latintremereto Frenchcraindre.

Three different sounds may be produced with this stoppage:

1. [t], when there has been no vibration of the vocal chords.

In precise or emphatic speech, sufficient breath escapes after the opening of the passage to give the effect of [h]; thustake it![tʰeik it]. This occurs mostly before accented vowels, and sometimes finally;he sent me such a charming note[hi sent mi sʌtʃ ə tʃɑːmiŋ noutʰ].[26]

In certain kinds of uneducated southern English speech [t] is occasionally dropped between vowels, in such words aswater,butter.

[t] is writtentortt;din theedof verbs after voiceless sounds, as instopped[stɔpt]; rarelyth, in words of foreign origin.

2. [d], when there has been vibration of the vocal chords.

[d] is writtendordd.

3. [n], when the velum is lowered and the breath passes out through the nose. (Generally speaking, this sound is voiced; but when it is immediately preceded or followed by a voiceless sound, it may become voiceless (n̥) in part. Thensneeris strictly [sn̥niə],hint[hinn̥t].) Notice the difference in length of [n] inmine,own,manner,an,name; in which of these words is it long?

Inmonth,anthemthe [n] is a true dental: the tongue touches the teeth.

Inlisten,openwe may have syllabicn[n̩]. Compare what was said about syllabicmin § 22.

[n] is writtennornn.

25. Front and back stops.—The breath is stopped by some part of the ridge of the tongue meeting

the front or hard palate, givingfront stops; orthe back or soft palate, givingback stops.

Say [ku] and then [ki]; now whisper them. In which case is the closure more forward in the mouth? Compare with these the place of closure when you say [kɑ].

From these examples it will be seen that the effect for the ear is very much the same, and we shall here make use of the same signs for front and back stops.

In cockney speech there is a distinct tendency to make the closure so far forward that the [k, g] are perceptibly modified. (This pronunciation is suggested by the spellinggyarden,kyind, employed by those who try to represent cockney speech.) The "palatalizing" tendency is not to be encouraged; a more effective [k] is produced by distinctly backward articulation. Slight variations in the place of closure due to the place of articulation of neighbouring sounds in a word are inevitable.

Three different sounds may be produced with this stoppage.

1. [k], when there has been no vibration of the vocal chords.

In precise or emphatic speech, sufficient breath escapes after the opening of the passage to give the effect of [h]; thuscome, come![kʰʌm, kʰʌm]. This occurs mostly before accented vowels, sometimes finally,give him a good shake![giv im ə gud ʃeikʰ].[27]

[k] is writtenc,k,ck,cc(as inaccuse[ə´kjuwz]),ch(as inchord[kɔːd]),q(as inqueen[kwijn]); [ks] asks,cc,x,xc.

2. [g], when there has been vibration of the vocal chords.

Sometimes [g] is pronounced with the tip of thetongue so that it sounds like [d]; thusglorybecomesdlory[dlɔːri]. The way in which [l] is produced (see § 33) explains this.

[g] is writtengandgg; rarelygh(as inghost[goust]). For [ks] and [gz] written x see § 30.

3. [ŋ], when the velum is lowered and the breath passes out through the nose. (Generally speaking, this sound is voiced; but when it is immediately followed by a voiceless sound, it may be at first voiced, then voiceless [̇ŋ̇]; the [ŋ] may be unvoiced (see § 23, 3) before a voiceless stop. Thenlengthis strictly [leŋŋ̇θ] or [leŋŋ̇kθ].) Notice the difference in length of [ŋ] insing, singer, drink, bang; in which of these words is it short?

[ŋ] is writtenng, as inlong[lɔŋ], andnbeforeg,k, orx, as inlonger[lɔŋgə],lank[læŋk],lynx[liŋks]. What does ng represent insinger? infinger? inEnglish?

The "dropping of g" is really an incorrect term. There is no [g] in the ending-ing[iŋ];[28]what does take place is the substitution of [n] for [ŋ]. This occurs in baby speech, in vulgar speech, and in the speech of some sections of society. It is on no account to be tolerated.

The opposite mistake is made only by the uneducated, who pronouncekitchenas [kitʃiŋ],chickenas [tʃikiŋ], andsuddenas [sʌdiŋ].

Notice the substitution of this sound by the uneducated for the unfamiliar palatal nasal [ɲ] inBoulogne[bulɔɲ], the uneducated [bulɔŋ],[29]and for the equally unfamiliar nasal vowel [ɑ̃] in the French wordcontinent[kɔ̃tinɑ̃], the uneducated [kɔntinɔŋ].

For [n] becoming [m] or [ŋ] by assimilation, see § 49.

26. Consonants—continuants.

It will be seen that the articulations of these sounds are more difficult to analyse than those of the stops. There is, roughly speaking, only one way of closing a passage entirely; but there are various ways of closing it partially.

The continuants usually go in pairs, one being voiceless, the other voiced.

Lip continuants.—The breath passes between the two lips (hence the termbilabials); the tongue is in a position somewhat closer than the [u] position,i.e.bunched up at the back (see § 43), and we may therefore call these sounds lip-velar continuants.

The voiced sound [w] is that commonly used in standard English, whether the spelling beworwh. In northern English and in Scotch the voiceless [ʍ] is used where the ordinary spelling haswh.

It is very doubtful whether [ʍ] has a right to be regarded as a normal sound in standard English. It is taught by professors of elocution, and is therefore commonly heard at recitals and also at amateur theatricals. On the regular stage it is by no means the rule, and in the pulpit it is probably the exception. If it comes naturally to pupils, who bring it with them from the North, they need not be interfered with; there is certainly no good reasonwhy it should be forced on speakers of southern English, who generally produce a grossly exaggerated and quite ludicrous travesty of the northern sound. Which do you use yourself? If [ʍ], is it natural to you, or acquired? Do the rest of your family use it? Any of your friends? What proportion of children in your class?

It may be noted that after voiceless sounds [ʍ] sometimes takes the place of [w], even in standard English;twentyis pronounced [twenti] or [tʍenti] andswim[swim] or [sʍim]. Sometimes also the sound [ʍ] is heard inwherepronounced with great emphasis, in the case of speakers who do not ordinarily use it.

It should be noted that these sounds are not continuants in the strict sense of the term, for the lips are gradually brought nearer and gradually drawn apart. The sounds do notcontinuein the same position at all; hence they have been described as "gliding," not "held."

The wordconqueris sometimes pedantically pronounced [kɔŋkwə] instead of [kɔŋkə]; but it is the rule to sound the [w] inconquest. Compareliquor[likə],exchequer[eks´tʃekə].

Awhas often influenced a followinga. Consider the following cases:

was,warm,squabble,quality,quack,quarrel,quaff,wasp,water,waft,walk,swallow.

27. Lip teeth continuants.—The breath passes between the lower lip and the upper teeth (also between the interstices of the upper teeth); thesounds produced in this way are also calledlabiodentals.

The voiceless sound [f] is usually writtenforff, alsoph(in words taken from Greek); note also theghinlaugh, etc.

Notice our reluctance to pronouncephth[fθ], as shown in the dropping ofphinphthisis, and the frequent substitution ofpforphindiphtheria,diphthong,naphtha,ophthalmia, which is, however, avoided by careful speakers.

The voiced sound [v] is usually writtenv.

Sounds very like [f, v] can be produced with both lips. Though they do not ordinarily occur in English, it will be good practice for you to produce them.

When [v] is final, it is not voiced to the end, but passes into whispered [v] (symbol v̥), which sounds very much like voiceless [f]; in other words, the vocal chords cease to vibrate before the breath ceases to pass between the lower lip and the upper teeth. We may say: final [v] is devocalised.

Observethief, butthievesandto thieve;loaf, butloaves;shelf, butshelvesandto shelve.

Thephinnephewis pronounced [v], but [f] is heard in dialects.

28. Point continuants.—We have seen above (§ 24) that in English the tongue, as a matter of fact, rarely touches the teeth in the case of point stops. Similarly the narrowing of the passage which leads to the production of point continuants (except[θ,ð]) is not necessarily between the tongue and the teeth; in some cases it is indeed a good deal farther back.

The point continuants include:

1. The hushing, hissing,[30]and lisping sounds, and thersounds, in which the place of articulation is along the middle line of the mouth (medialformation); and

2. Thelsounds, the narrowing for which is between the side rim or rims of the tongue and the side teeth (lateralformation).

Thersounds and thelsounds are sometimes calledliquids.

29. The hushing sounds.—For the production of theshsounds the passage is narrowed between the blade (see § 23) of the tongue and the hard palate. A broad current of air is broken against the edge of the teeth. There is some friction between the tongue and the gums, but that against the front teeth is more noticeable.

Watch a Frenchman uttering these sounds, and see what he does with his lips. Do you use your lips in the same way?

The voiceless [ʃ] is usually writtensh; alsosafter consonants (as intension[tenʃən],censure[senʃə]). It is writtenss,cortbefore a front vowel (eori), (as inpassion[pæʃən],capricious[kə´priʃəs],station[steiʃən]). In all these cases [ʃ] arose from [sj].

Observe the colloquial pronunciation ofthis yearas [ðiʃ jəː];six years[sikʃ jəːz].

The combination [tʃ] is very common, and is usually writtenchortch. In some cases it arises from [tj], whentfollows the chief accent of the word and precedes either a front vowel (eori) oru[31]which goes back to [juː] (as inrighteous[raitʃəs],nature[neitʃə]). The combination [kʃ] similarly goes back to [ksj] inanxious[æŋkʃəs] (noticeanxiety[æŋ(g)´zaiəti]).Luxuryis [lʌkʃəri], butluxuriousis [ləg´zuːriəs] or [ləg´zjuːriəs], sometimes [ləg´ʒuːriəs].

The pronunciation ofassociateas [ə´sousieit],[32]officiateas [o´fisieit], instead of [ə´souʃieit, o´fiʃieit], is pedantic; [pro´pisieit] is also faulty for [pro´piʃieit].

The voiced [ʒ] standing alone between vowels is not common in English, being found only wheresis followed by a front vowel, or byuwhich goes back to [juː]. Here the development is from [sj] to [zj] and then to [ʒ]. Examples arevision[viʒən],measure[meʒə]. The spellingzis found only inazure[æʒə] or [eiʒjə], sometimes [æʒjuə].

Observe the careless pronunciation ofas usualas [æʒ juwʒuəl],praise ye the Lordas [preiʒ jij ðə lɔːd].India rubberis generally pronounced [indʒə rʌbə].

On the other hand, the combination [dʒ] is quite common. This is writtenj(as injet[dʒet]),gbeforeeori. (as ingem[dʒem],gin[dʒin],age[eidʒ]; observe alsogaol[dʒeil]), and sometimesdg(as inedge[edʒ]). It is spelledchinostrich,sandwich,Greenwich,Harwich,Woolwich, and inspinach.

What is the value ofngin the following words:—hang,longing,lounging,language,engage,hunger,hinge,ungraceful?

30. The hissing sounds.—Distinguish clearly the voiceless [s] as insealand the voiced [z] as inzeal. Compare the manner of production of the hissing and the hushing sounds: utter [ʃ] and [s]. (Why will these show the distinction more clearly than [ʒ] and [z]?) You will find that the breath is more widely diffused when you utter [ʃ]; in producing [s] your tongue forms a narrow channel and the breath is thus directed against a point. See the diagram on p.126.

The usual spelling of both voiceless [s] and voiced [z] iss. Notice that

1. Thesof inflections is [z] after a voiced sound: comparefills[filz],glances[glɑːnsiz],dogs[dɔgz],faces[feisiz], buthits[hits],cats[kæts].

2. The finalsof some words of one syllable is [z]:as,has,is,his,was; butthis,us.

3. Sometimes the verb has [z], the substantive or adjective [s]:

(Notice the difference in the length of the vowel.)

Back to Index Next