McGuffeys Sixth Eclectic Reader | Page 4

and force. This result can be secured only by careful practice, which must be persevered in until the learner has acquired a perfect control of his organs of speech.

ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. (12)
An Elementary Sound is a simple, distinct sound made by the organs of speech.
The Elementary Sounds of the English language are divided into Vocals, Subvocals, and Aspirates.

VOCALS. (12)
Vocals are sounds which consist of pure tone only. They are the most prominent elements of all words, and it is proper that they should first receive attention. A vocal may be represented by one letter, as in the word hat, or by two or more letters, as in heat, beauty. A diphthong is a union of two vocals, commencing with one and ending with the other. It is usually represented by two letters, as in the words oil, boy, out, now.
Each of these can he uttered with great force, so as to give a distinct expression of its sound, although the voice be suddenly suspended, the moment the sound is produced. This is done by putting the lips, teeth, tongue, and palate in their proper position, and then expelling each sound from the throat in the same manner that the syllable "ah!" is uttered in endeavoring to deter a child from something it is about to do; thus, a'--a'--a'--.
Let the pupil he required to utter every one of the elements in the Table with all possible suddenness and percussive force, until he is able to do it with ease and accuracy. This must not he considered as accomplished until he can give each sound with entire clearness, and with all the suddenness of the crack of a rifle. Care must be taken that the vocal alone be heard; there must be no consonantal sound, and no vocal sound other than the one intended.
At first, the elementary sounds may be repeated by the class in concert; then separately.

TABLE OF VOCALS. (13)
Long Sounds.
Sound as in

a hate
e err
a hare
i pine
a pass
o no
a far
oo cool
a fall
u tube
e eve
u burn

Short Sounds.

Sound as in

a mat
o hot
e met
oo book
i it
u us
Diphthongs. oi, oy, as in oil, boy.
ou, ow, as in out, now.
REMARK I.--In this table, the short sounds are nearly or quite the same, in quantity, as the long sounds. The difference consists chiefly in quality. Let the pupil determine this fact by experiment.
REMARK II.--The vocals are often represented by other letters or combinations of letters than those used in the table: for instance, a is represented by ai as in hail, by ea as in steak, etc.
REMARK III.--As a general rule, the long vocals and the diphthongs should be articulated with full, clear utterance; but the short vocals have a sharp, distinct, and almost explosive utterance. Weakness of speech follows a failure to observe the first point, while drawling results from carelessness with respect to the second.

SUBVOCALS AND ASPIRATES (13)
Subvocals are those sounds in which the vocalized breath is more or less obstructed.
Aspirates consist of breath only, modified by the vocal organs.
Words ending with subvocal sounds may be selected for practice on the subvocals; words beginning or ending with aspirate sounds may be used for practice on aspirates. Pronounce these words forcibly and distinctly, several times in succession; then drop the other sounds, and repeat the subvocals and aspirates alone. Let the class repeat the words and elements, at first, in concert; then separately.

TABLE OF SUBVOCALS AND ASPIRATES. (14)
Subvocals. as in
b babe
d bad
g nag
j judge
v move
th with
z buzz
z azure (azh-)
w wine
Aspirates. as in
p rap
t at
k book
ch rich
f life
th smith
s hiss
sh rush
wh what
REMARK.--These eighteen sounds make nine pairs of cognates. In articulating the aspirates, the vocal organs are put in the position required in the articulation of the corresponding subvocals; but the breath is expelled with some force, without the utterance of any vocal sound. The pupil should first verify this by experiment, and then practice on these cognates.
The following subvocals and aspirate have no cognates:
SUBVOCAL as in
l mill
ng sing
m rim
r rule
n run
y yet

ASPIRATE.
h, as in hat.

SUBSTITUTES. (14)
Substitutes are characters used to represent sounds ordinarily represented by other characters.
TABLE OF SUBSTITUTES.
Sub for as in
a o what
y i hymn
e a there
c s cite
e a freight
c k cap
i e police
ch sh machine
i e sir
ch k chord
o u son
g j cage
o oo to
n ng rink
o oo would
s z rose
o a corn
s sh sugar
o u worm
x gz examine
u oo pull
gh f laugh
u oo rude
ph f sylph
y i my
qu k pique
qu kw quick

FAULTS TO BE REMEDIED. (15)
The most common faults of articulation are dropping an unaccented vowel, sounding incorrectly an unaccented vowel, suppressing final consonants, omitting or mispronouncing syllables, and blending words.
1. Dropping an unaccented vocal.
EXAMPLES.
CORRECT INCORRECT
gran'a-ry gran'ry
a-ban'don a-ban-d'n
im-mor'tal im-mor-t'l
reg'u-lar reg'lar
in-clem'ent in-clem'nt
par-tic'u-lar par-tic'lar
des'ti-ny des-t'ny
cal-cu-la'tian cal-cl'a-sh'n
un-cer'tain un-cer-t'n
oc-ca'sion oc-ca-sh'n
em'i-nent em'nent
ef'i-gy ef'gy
ag'o-ny ag'ny
man'i-fold man'fold
rev'er-ent rev'rent
cul'ti-vate cult'vate
2. Sounding incorrectly an unaccented vowel.
EXAMPLES.
CORRECT INCORRECT
lam-en-ta'-tion lam-un-ta-tion
ter'ri-ble ter-rub-ble
e-ter'nal e-ter-nul
fel'on-y fel-er-ny
ob'sti-nate ob-stun-it
fel'low-ship fel-ler-ship
e-vent' uv-ent
cal'cu-late cal-ker-late
ef'fort uf-fort
reg'u-lar reg-gy-lur

EXERCISES. (16)
The vocals most likely to