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ARTICULATION.

Articulation is the act of forming with the organs of speech, the elements of vocal language.

"Without good articulation, it is impossible to be a correct reader or speaker. Those who have been accustomed to pronounce their words in a careless or slovenly manner, will find it difficult, even with their best efforts, to utter them distinctly. The organs of articulation, for the want of proper exercise, become, as it were, paralyzed. The pupil, therefore, at the very commencement of his studies, should be conducted through a series of exercises, calculated to strengthen the muscles of articulation."- Comstock.

"In just articulation, the words are not to be hurried over, nor precipitated syllable upon syllable; nor, as it were, melted together in a mass of confusion they should not be trailed, nor drawled, nor permitted to slip out carelessly, so as to drop unfinished. They should be delivered from the lips as beautiful coins newly issued from the mint, deeply and accurately impressed, neatly struck by the proper organs, distinct, in due succession, and of due weight."— Austin.

A vowel or tonic is a sound which has full and distinct vocality, being uninterrupted in its passage through the vocal organs.

A sub-vowel or sub-tonic is a sound which has vocality, though not so perfect as that of the vowel, being partially interrupted in its passage through the vocal organs.

An aspirate or atonic is a mere current of whispering breath.

Cognates are letters whose elements are produced by the same organs, in a similar manner; thus, p is a cognate of b, t of d, &c.

English philologists have, according to their real or affected nicety of ear, differed on the subject of the number of elements of their language. The differences refer to the character of the sounds, or to the time or manner of pronouncing them.

The arrangement by Dr. Comstock is deemed the best adapted for practical purposes of illustration and comparison. The alphabet thus consists of thirty-eight elements; these being divided into vowels, sub-vowels, and aspirates, or, into tonics, sub-tonics, and atonics.

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Pronounce each word in the three columns clearly and distinctly. Make a full inspiration, and dwell for two or three seconds on the initial element; utter the remainder of the word with a sudden and forcible expulsion of the breath.

(In the second and third columns -- omitting the words song and hut — this exercise will serve to designate the separate sound of each sub-vowe and aspirate.)

Utter each element with the falling slide of the voice, the vowels with explosive force.

Continue at pleasure any of the following exercises.

bà, bả, bả, bắ; bé, bẻ; bị, bì; bỏ; &c. Continue the exercise, prefixing to every vowel, each sub-vowel and aspirate in succession.

ab, ab, ab, ab; eb, eb; ib, ib; ob, &c., &c. Continue the exercise, affixing to every vowel, each sub-vowel and aspirate in succession.

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This exercise may be varied by changing the accent, or by increasing the number of syllables; thus:

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ba/-pa, ba-pa'; ba/-pa-pa, ba-pa/-pa, ba-pa-pa'; ba-pa-pa-ba', &c.

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The following combinations are well adapted for these exercises:

bră, brả, brå, brâ, brẻ, brẻ, &c.

dra, dra, dra, dra, dre, dre, &c.

bra-pra, bra-pra, bra-pra, bra-pra, &c.
bra-pra-pra, bra-pra-pra, &c.
bra-pra-pra-bra, bra-pra-pra-bra, &c.
bla, bla, bla, bla, ble, ble, &c.
bla-pla, bla-pla, bla-pia, pla-pla, &c.
bla-pla-pla, bla-pla-pla, bla-pla-pla, &c.
spra, spra, spra, spra, spre, spre, &c.
stra, stra, stra, stra, stre, stre, &c.
skra, skra, skra, skra, skre, skre, &c.
spla, spla, spla, spla, sple, sple, &c.

arb, arb, arb, arb, erb, erb, &c.

ard, ard, ard, ard, erd, erd, &c.

amd, amd, amd, amd, emd, emd, &c.

amds, amds, amds, amds, emds, emds, &c.

amdst, amdst, aridst, amdst, emdst, emdst, &c.

alst, alst, alst, alst, elst, elst, &c.

amst, amst, amst, amst, emst, emst, &c

anst, anst, anst, anst, enst, enst, &c.

arst, arst, arst, arst, erst, erst, &c.

adst, adst, adst, adst, edst, edst, &c.

armdst, armdst, armdst, armdst, ermdst, &c.

amdst, amdst, amdst, amdst, emdst, &c.
abl, abl, abl, abl, ebl, ebl, &c.

apl, apl, apl, apl, epl, epl, &c.
adl, adl, adl, adl, edl, edl, &c.

adld, adld, adld, adld, edld, edld, &c.
apld, apld, apld, apld, epld, epld, &c.
arld, arld, arld, arld, erld, erld, &c.
angs, angs, angs, angs, engs, engs, &c.
angd, angd, angd, angd, engd, engd, &c.

angst, angst, angst, angst, engst, engst, &c.

angdst, angdst, angdst, angdst, engdst, engdst, &c.

These exercises, as before stated, should be practised with every variety of emphasis, inflection, pitch, force, tone, movement, &c.

According to Dr. Wallis, the author of an English grammar in the reign of Charles the Second, words beginning with st always denote firmness and strength, analogous to the Latin sto; as, stand, stay, staff, stop, stout, steady, statue, stamp, &c.

Words beginning with str intimate violent force and energy; as, strive, strength, stress, stripe, &c. Thr implies forcible motion; as, throw, throb, thrust, threaten, thraldom, thrill; gl, smoothness or silent motion; as, glib, glide; wr, obliquity or distortion; as, wry, wrest, wrestle, wring, wrong, wrangle, wrath, &c.; sw, silent agitation, or lateral motion; as, sway, swing, swerve, sweep, swim; sl, a gentle fall or less observable motion; as, slide, slip, slide, slit, slow, slack, sling; sp, dissipation or expansion; as, spread, sprout, split, spill, spring.

Terminations in ash indicate something acting nimbly and sharply; as, crash, dash, rash, flash, lash, slash; terminations in ush, something acting more obtusely and dully; as, crush, brush, hush, gush, blush.

"Many more examples of the same kind seem to leave no doubt that the analogies of sound have had some influence on the formation of words. At the same time, in all speculations of this kind, there is so much room for fancy to operate, that they ought to be adopted with much caution in forming any general theory."- Chalmers.

"It is a fact familiar in the experience of most teachers, that, after the utmost care in the systematic cultivation of the utterance of young readers, by regular analytic exercises, the influence of colloquial negligence in habit is so powerful, that the same individual who has just articulated, with perfect exactness, the elements in a column, while he is kept mechanically on his guard against error by attention to details, will, immediately on beginning to read a page of continuous expression of thought, relapse into his wonted errors of enunciation. To correct this tendency, no resort is so effectual as that of studying analytically a few lines, previous to commencing the usual practice of a reading-lesson. The attention must first be turned to the words as such,- -as forms of articulation, then to their sounds in connection with their meaning.

The following will be found useful modes of practising such exercises as are now suggested. Begin at the end of a line, sentence, or paragraph, so as to prevent the possibility of reading negligently; then,

First: Articulate separately and very distinctly, every element in every word, throughout the line or sentence.

Second:- Enunciate clearly and exactly, every syllable of each word throughout the line or sentence.

Third: - Pronounce every word in the same style.

Fourth: Read the line or sentence from the beginning, forward, with strict attention to the manner of pronouncing each word.

Fifth Read the whole line or sentence with an easy, fluent enunciation, paying strict attention to the expression of the meaning, but without losing correctness in the style of pronunciation.

This is, apparently, a merely mechanical drill; but its effects are strikingly beneficial in a very short time. The habits of classes of young readers have thus been, in some instances, effectually changed in a few weeks, from slovenliness and indistinctness to perfect precision and propriety, united to fluency and freedom of style."—Russell.

Concrete and Discrete Sounds.

When the voice flows in one continuous, uninterrupted stream of sound, it is called a concrete sound or movement; but when this stream is interrupted by breaks, it is called a discrete sound or movement. The former resemble the tones of the organ, the latter the distinct tones of the pianoforte.

When the letter a, as heard in the word day, is pronounced simply as an alphabetic element, without intensity or emotion, and as if it were a continuation, not a close of utterance, two sounds are heard continuously successive; the first has the nominal sound of this letter, and issues with a certain degree of fulness; the last is the element e, as heard in eve, gradually diminished to an attenuated close.

This opening fulness of sound, here described, has been denominated by Dr. Rush, the Radical movement, "because the following or vanishing portion of the elementary rises (in the vanish) concretely from it as from a base or root; " the last part he calls the Vanishing movement, "because it becomes gradually weaker, until it finally dies away into silence."

Vowel Sounds.

The vowels are divided into Monothongs, Diphthongs, and Triphthongs.

The Monothongs consist of one kind of sound throughout their concrete movement, and consequently are simple elements; they are represented by the italics in the following words: arm, all, an, eve, end, in, on, up, and full.

The Diphthongs consist of two vowel sounds, which coalesce so intimately that they appear like one uniform sound; they are represented by the italics in the following words: ale, île, lose, tube.

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