labial. A tapers into e by the progressive ascent of the tongue, and o tapers into oo by the gradual approximation of the lips. Thus A>e, Ox obey> ee, 00 go> 00, ho> oope, &c. 66. It will be observed that in the lists of the 3d and 12th vowels, there is no word contaning the letter R after the vowel. This omission is not accidental. It brings us to another principle. 67. R in English is articulated but faintly, or not at all, in the two following positions; 1st, before any articulation or consonant;-2d, at the end of any word. In these situations, R has always a vowel sound—that of er or ir in the words her and sir—the 8th vowel. R has this vowel effect also when between two vowels, the first being long, as in weary, fiery, glory, fury. In words of this class, the R has both its vowel and its consonant sound. Thus, glory is not glō-ry, but gl112 (=glore-ry.) The vowel-quality of the R is most manifest after the closest radical vowels. The pronunciation pee-rage, poorest, &c., is characteristically Scotch. Such words, to be Anglicised must be pronounced pe-er-age, poo-er-est, &c. 68. Exercise on the Double Sound of R:-Eyry, earache, leering, nearer, peeress, merest, airy, unwary, fairy, Mary, heiress, garish, soaring, gory, boreas, jury, alluring, moorish, fiery, wiry, showery, towering. 69. The 3rd and 12th vowels are, as we have shown above, closing diphthongs—that is, the vowel aperture is sinaller at the end than at the begining of the sound. Now, a syllable may consist of either an opening or a closing combination of vowels, but it cannot combine with these any sound that reverses the progression — from open to close, or from close to open. The vowel sound of R, (No 8,) is a very open sound, and could not, therefore, be pronounced after the closing diphthongs Ae or Ooo in one syllable. Either the diphthongal A and O must be contracted into monophthongs, which might blend syllabically with the vowel sound of R, or the R must be articulated. The latter expedient would be un-English: the former is adopted. The closing diphthongal termination of the A and Ọ is dropped, and the radical vowel sound is slightly opened for greater fluency into the very open element 8. Thus, instead of No. 3, we pronounce No. 4, and instead of 12, we pronounce 11, before R in the same syllable. 70. In this way a distinctiveness is maintained in the pronunciation of such words as lair and layer, lore and lower, &c. The firsts of these pairs of words are monosyllables, (4_8 and 11_8,) and the seconds are dissyllables, (3.1_8. and 12._13_8.) 71. The 11th vowel is intermediate in formation to oh and aw. The rapid alternation of these sounds will blend them into No. 11; or the effort to pronounce an O without using the lips will probably at once give the exact effect. 72. The difference between English and Scotch pronunciation in such words as air and ore is very marked: the R being strongly articulated in Scotland, and the A and O having the same sound before R as before other articulations. VIII. SCOTTICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND. 73. VOWEL 1, too short; as in feet, people, mean, steel, &c., pronounced fěte, měne, stěle, &c.— Vowel 1, as No. 3, short; as in deal, meal, seat, conceit, &c., pronounced dăle, măle, săte, &c. 74. Vowel 2, too open; as in fill, crib, dig, him, &c., pronounced nearly as fell, crěb, děg, hěm, &c. - Vowel 2, as No. 1, short, as in religion, individual, vicious, &c., pronounced rěleegion, ĕndĕveedual, veecious, &c.Vowel 2, nearly as No. 9; as in will, wind, wish, &c., pronounced wŭll, wŭnd, wůsh, &c. 75. Vowel 3, a monophthong. Vowel 3, a diphthong compounded of the Scotch sound referred to in the note,* and No. 1; as in aye, pay, jail, tailor, &c., pro * The exact vowel in these cases is noted as No. 4 Lingual in the General Vowel Scheme, (par. 40.) nounced nearly as ěh-ee, pěh-ee, jěh-eel, &c.—Vowel 2, as No. 4, (long ;)as in nation, education, gracious, &c., pronounced něktion, grěhcious, &c;-Vowel 3, as No. 4, (short;) as in paint, lady, trade, &c., pronounced pěnt, lěddy, trěd, &c. 76. Vowel 4, as No. 1; as in deaf, breast, seven, &c., pronounced děěf, brěěst, sěěv'n &c.-Vowel 4, as No. 2; as in twenty, ever, never, &c., ef, em, en, ex, &c., pronounced twinty, ĭver, niver, if, im, in, ix, &c.—Vowel 4, long instead of short, as in guess, smell, &c., pronounced guehss, smēhll, &c.-Vowel 4, before R, as No. 3, (monophthong,) as in Mary, heiress, &c., pronounced Ma-ry, ai-ress, &c.-Vowel 4, (short;) nearly as No. 3, (monophthong,) as death, edify, &c., pronounced dăith, aidefy, &c.-Vowel 4, too open; as in very, perish, &c.; pronounced vǎrry, părish, &c.-Vowel 4, pronounced with the Scotch sound referred to in par. 74, cherry, &c. as in merry, 77. Vowel 5, as No. 3; as in apple, axe, pacify, &c.. pronounced ǎple, ǎiks, &c. -Vowel 5, as No. 4; as in cap, saturday, salary, &c., pronounced kěp, sěturday. &c.-Vowel 5, as No. 7, (short;) as in man, gas, am, cat, &c.; pronounced mähn, gåhs, căht, &c. -Vowel 5, as No. 10; as in wax, salmon, &c., pronounced wāux, sawmon, &c. 78. Vowel 6, as No. 7, (short;) as ask, bath, &c.; pronounced ǎhsk băhth, &c., -Vowel 6, as No. 4; as in brass, grass, nasty, &c.; pronounced bress, gress, něsty, &c. Vowel 6, as No. 2; as in sofa, idea, &c.; pronounced sofy, &c. 79. Vowel 7, too short; as in parcel, carpet, half, &c.; pronounced påhRs'l, căhrpet, hǎhf, &c. - Vowel 7, as No. 10; as in palm, papa, far, star, &c.; pronounced pawm, papaw, faur, stawr, &c. -Vowel 7, as No. 4; as in farm, heart, hearth, &c.; pronounced fěhrm, hěhrt, hěhrth, &c. Vowel 7, as No. 3; as in arm, guard, sergeant, &c.; pronounced airm, gaird, saiRgeant, &c. 80. Vowel 8, as No. 4; as in err, serve, person, *This is less a colloquial than an oratorical and especially a Pulpit Scotticism. term, &c.; pronounced ĕhRR, sehrve, pěhrson, těhrm, &c.-Vowel 8, too close, as in firm, circle, stir, virgin, acre, paper, &c.; pronounced with the Scotch sound noted as the 4th Lingual in the General Vowel Scheme, par. 40. 81. Vowel 9, too close; as in tub, cuff, cull,* &c. Vowel 9, (in unaccented termination,) as in attention, genius, atrocious, pronounced with the Scotch sound referred to in the preceding paragraph. — Vowel 9, (before R,) too short and close—the R strongly articulated— as in fur, turn, worm, &c.; pronounced fur, turn, wŮRm, &c. 82. Vowel 10, as No. 7; as in war, saw, call, walk, warp, quality, &c.; pronounced wahr, sah, wahk, wǎhRp, quahlity, &c,- Vowel 10, as No. 12; as in bought, cost, morn, fond, copy, clock, &c.; pronounced boat, coast, mourn, föhnd, cohpy, &c.. Vowel 10, as No. 9 as in body, nobody, &c.; pronounced buddy, nobuddy, &c. 83. Vowel 11, as No. 12(monophthong) as in four, door, sore, glory, story, &c.; pronounced fōh-R, dōh-R, glōhry, &c. Vowel 11, as No. 10; as in force, sport, fourth, &c.; pronounced force, sport, &c.-Vowel 11, as No. 13; as in coarse, court, pour, &c.; pronounced coorse, Coort, poor, &c. 84. Vowel 12 a monophthong;—Vowel 12, as No. 2, in unaccented syllables; as in fellow, analogy, &c., pronounced felly, analygy, &c.—Vowel 12, as No. 3, as in own, alone, toe, &c., pronounced āin, alāne, tãe, &c. Vowel 12, as No. 10; (short;) as in broken, loaf, coals, &c.; pronounced brocken, lof, colz, &c.-Vowel 12, as No. 10, (long); as in old, cold, fold, &c.; pronounced auld, cauld, &c.-Vowel 12, as a diphthong compounded of 9 and 13, as in bowl, soul, mould, &c. In boll, poll, (the head,) knoll, roll, &c., pronounced bow, pow, &c., the same vowel is heard, but the 7 is not sounded. 85. Vowel 13, too short; as in pool, fool, &c.; pronounced as pull, full, &c.-Vowel 13, as No. 9; as in woman, bull, full, push, &c.; pronounced wumman, &c.-Vowel 13, as the Scotch vowel referred to in par. 80; as in *The Scotch sound heard in such cases is noted as No. 6 Labial, in the General Vowel Scheme, par. 40. foot and put, pronounced nearly as fet and pět. — Vowel 13, as the 3rd Labio-Lingual, (û French ;) as in soon, fruit, goose, shoe, &c.; pronounced sûne, frûte, gûse, shû, &c.-Vowel 13, final, sometimes has the simple lingual formation correspondent* to the 3rd labio-lingual vowel; as in tae and dae, for too and do, &c. In some districts closer lingual vowels are used; as skill or skele for school, fill for fool, seen for soon, dee for do, &c. 86. Diphthong 7-1, as No. 1; in verbs ending in y; as in gratify, stupify, edify, &c., pronounced gråtifee, stupifee, ǎidifee, &c.-Diphthong 7-1, with the Scotch Vowel referred to in par. 80; as in find, blind, sight, &c., pronounced nearly fěnd, blend, sěcнt, &c.-Diphthong 7-1 as 7-2-the radical sound very long; as in fly, sky, &c.; pronounced flāh-y, skāh-y, &c.-Diphthong 7-1, as 4 or 5 (long,) instead of 7, followed by a very slight closing effect; as in I, high, prize, &c.; pronounced nearly as eh-y, heh-y, preh-iz, &c.-Diphthong 7-1,—as a compound of the Scotch vowel before referred to, and No. 1; as in ice, fine, smile, &c.; pronounced nearly as ĕh-ees, fěh-een, směh-eel, &c. 87. Diphthong 7-13, as 9-13; as in cloud, howl, vow, thou, &c.; pronounced clůh-ood, hŭh-ool, vůh-oo, thŭh-oo &c.-Diphthong 7-13, as No. 13; as in house, proud, cow, &c.; pronounced hŏŏs, prŏŏd, cōō, &c.—Diphthong 7-13, as No. 9; as in pound, ground, &c.; pronounced půnd, grund, &c. 88. Diphthong 10-1, as 12-2; as in boy, noise, &c.; pronounced bō-y, no-iz, &c.-Diphthong 10-1, pronounced with a compound of the Scotch vowel, No. 4; Lingual, (General Vowel Scheme,) and No. 1; as in oil, oyster, joint, &c.; pronounced nearly ěh-eel, ěh-eester, jěh-eent, &c. 89. In the foregoing list of Vowel Scotticisms, no notice is taken of dialectic changes of words, but only of vernacular pronounciations of words used and spelt as in English. * See the relative formation of these vowels in the General Vowel Scheme, par. 40. |