Imatges de pàgina
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emphasis on it, as in the former example, it should certainly be sounded exactly in the same distinct manner in both places.

That the word not in a simple negative sentence does not require an accent, but is pronounced like an unaccented syllable of the word that precedes it, may be gathered from the colloquial contraction of the negative phrases, cannot, shall not, do not, into ca'n't, sha'n't, don't &c. It is true that these contractions ought never to appear in print, except in comedies and farces, where the language of the lowest vulgar is often adopted; but it is perhaps impossible to refuse them a place in spoken language, where the subject is common and familiar; though even here they should be indulged as little as possible: but be this as it may, they certainly tend to show that a simple negative lays no stress on the negation, or custom would never have so much obscured it in the contraction. It may be observed in passing, that as these contractions have disappeared in print; they have been gradually vanishing from polite conversation; and as they ought never to have place in public speaking, so those speakers in private may be looked upon as the most elegant who make the least use of them.

How to pronounce the Participial Termination

ING.

THE participial termination ing is frequently a cause of embarrassment to readers who have a desire to pronounce correctly; nor is it easy to solve the difficulty. We are told, even by teachers of English, that ing in the words singing, bringing, and swinging, must be pronounced with the ringing sound which is heard when

the accent is on these letters, in words of one syllable, as king, sing, and wing, and not as if written without the g, as singin, bringin, swingin. No one can be a greater advocate than I am for the strictest adherence to orthography, as long as the public pronunciation pays the least attention to it; but when, from the nicest observation of the best speakers, I find letters given up, with respect to sound, I then consider them as ciphers. It is from observation I can assert, that our best speakers do not invariably pronounce the participial ing so as to rhyme with sing, king, and ring, but sometimes only as the preposition in. In the first place, whenever the verb ends with ing, as to sing, to bring, or to fling, the repetition of the ringing sound in the syllables immediately following each other would have a very bad effect on the ear, and, instead of singing, bringing, or flinging, our best speakers universally pronounce them singin, bringin, and flingin: for the very same reason, we ought to admit the ringing sound when the verb ends with in; for if, instead of sinning, pinning, and beginning, we should pronounce sinnin, pinnin, and beginnin, we should fall into the same disgusting repetition as in the former examples. That ing

should not always have its ringing sound when a participial termination, is not very wonderful, when we consider how much it is the custom of pronunciation to shorten and obscure vowels, in final syllables, that are not under the stress. What a trifling omission is the g after n in these syllables, to the mutilation of oient in the plurals of French verbs into a! But trifling as it is, it savours too much of vulgarity to omit it in any words but where the same sound immediately precedes, as in singin, bringin, flingin, &c.; without saying any thing of the ambiguity it

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may possibly form by confounding it with the preposition in. Writing, reading, and speaking, therefore, are certainly preferable to writin, readin, and speakin, wherever the language has the least degree of precision or solemnity, and more particularly in reading or speaking in public.

How to pronounce the word To, when succeeded by the Pronoun You.

I HAVE frequently observed some little embarrassment in readers, when they have met with these words without any accentual force on them; as in the phrases, "I spoke to you "about it long ago."-" He went to you about "some important business."-In these phrases, where you is without accent or emphasis, and is according to the foregoing rule, pronounced ye, we sometimes hear the to sounded as if written te; as, I spoke te ye about it long ago," &c. But it may be observed, that though the you may very properly in this situation be sounded like ye, yet to must always preserve its true sound, as if written two, at least when we are reading, however it may be suffered to approach to te when we are speaking; for it must be ever kept in mind, that there will always be a slight difference between easy or cursory conversation, and reading or oratorical speaking; or, in other words, between speaking and talking the one will admit of many contractions and slightnesses in pronunciation, which would be wholly inexcusable in the other. Writers on this subject commonly content themselves with referring us to the prac. tice of the best speakers; and without all question, this is the principal object of attention; but

with the same advice that others give, I have attempted to add a few rules, by way of rendering the advice more useful.

Having premised these observations on words, we shall next proceed to sentences; as words, arranged into sentences, may be properly called the subject matter of the Art of Reading.

Reading defined. Its Relation to Speaking.

READING is not ill defined by a late writer on the subject, where he calls it artificial speaking*. It is an imitative art which has eloquent speaking for its model, as eloquent speaking is an imitation of beautiful nature. Reading, therefore, is to speaking, what a copy is to an original picture; both of them have beautiful nature for their object: and as a taste for beautiful nature can scarcely be better acquired, than by a view of the most elegant copies of it, speaking, it is presumed, cannot be more successfully taught, than by referring us to such rules as instruct us in the art of reading.

The art of reading is that system of rules, which teaches us to pronounce written composition with justness, energy, variety, and ease. Agreeably to this definition, reading may be considered as that species of delivery, which not only expresses the sense of an author, so as barely to be understood, but which, at the same time, gives it all that force, beauty, and variety, of which it is susceptible: the first of these considerations belongs to grammar, and the last to rhetoric.

The sense of an author being the first object of reading, it will be necessary to inquire into those divisions and subdivisions of a sentence,

* Rice's Introduction to the Art of Reading.

which are employed to fix and ascertain its meaning this leads us to a consideration of the doctrine of punctuation.

Punctuation may be considered in two different lights, first, as it clears and preserves the sense of a sentence, by combining those words together that are united in sense, and separating those which are distinct; and, secondly, as it directs to such pauses, elevations, and depressions, of the voice, as not only mark the sense of the sentence, but give it a variety and beauty which recommend it to the ear; for in speaking, as in other arts, the useful and the agreeable are almost always found to coincide, and every real embellishment promotes and perfects the principal design.

In order, therefore, to have as clear an idea of punctuation as possible, it will be necessary to consider it as related to grammar and rhetoric distinctly. A system of punctuation may be sufficient for the purposes of grammar; or, in other words, it may be sufficient to clear and preserve the sense of an author, and at the same time be but a very imperfect guide to the pronunciation of it. The art of speaking, though founded on grammar, has principles of its own principles that arise from the nature of the living voice, from the perception of harmony in the ear, and from a certain superaddition to the sense of language, of which grammar takes no account. These principles necessarily influence our pronunciation, and direct us to pauses, which are entirely unknown to every system of punctuation in use.

But though the punctuation in use does not answer all the purposes of reading and speaking, it must, nevertheless, be allowed to be of considerable advantage. It does not indeed give us

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