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II. SYLLABICATION.

I.

DEFINITIONS.

SYLLABLE is a word, or part of a word, uttered by a single impulse of the voice.

2. A Monosyllable is a word of one syllable; as, it. 3. A Dissyllable is a word of two syllables; as, lil-y. 4. A Trisyllable is a word of three syllables; as, con-fine-ment.

5. A Polysyllable is a word of four or more syllables; as, in-no-cen-cy, un-in-tel-li-gi-bil-i-ty.

6. The Ultimate is the last syllable of a word; as, ful, in peace-ful.

7. The Penult, or penultimate, is the last syllable but one of a word: as māk, in peace-mak-er.

8. The Antepenult, or antepenultimate, is the last syllable but two of a word; as ta, in spon-ta-ne-ous. 9. The Preantepenult is the last syllable but three of a word; as cab, in vo-cab-u-la-ry.

II.

RULES IN SYLLABICATION.

INITIAL CONSONANTS.-The elements of conso

nants that commence words should be uttered distinctly, but should not be much prolonged.

2. Final Consonants.-Elements that are represented by final consonants should be dwelt upon, and uttered with great distinctness; as,

He gets gold, and attempts by his acts to conceal his faults.

3. When one Word of a Sentence ends and the next begins with the same consonant, or another that is hard to produce after it, a difficulty in utterance arises that should be obviated by dwelling on the final consonant, and then taking up the one at the beginning of

the next word, in a second impulse of the voice, without pausing between them; as,

It will pain nobody, if the sad dangler regain neither rope.

4. Final Cognates.—In uttering the elements of the final cognates, b, p, d, t, g, and k, the organs of speech should not remain closed at the pauses of discourse, but should be smartly separated by a kind of echo; as, I took down my hat-t, and put it upon my head-d.

5. Unaccented Syllables should be pronounced as distinctly as those which are accented; they should merely have less force of voice and less prolongation; as, The thoughtless, helpless, homeless, girl did not resent his rudeness and harshness.

Very many of the prevailing faults of articulation result from a neglect of these rules, especially the second. the third, and the last. He who gives a full and definite sound to final consonants and unaccented vowels, with out stiffness or formality, can not fail to articulate well.

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EXERCISES IN SYLLABICATION.'

HIRTY years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day. A blazing sun, upon a fierce August day, was no greater rărity in Southern France then, than at any other time, before or since.

2. Every thing in Märseilles, and about Marseilles, had stâred at the fervid sky, and been (bin) stared at in return, until a stâring habit had become universal thêre.

3. Strangers were stâred out of countenance by stâring white houses, staring white walls, staring white streets, staring tracts of ǎrid road, staring hills from which verdure was bûrnt away.

4. The only things to be seen not fixedly stâring and glâring were the vines drooping under their load of grapes. These did occasionally wink a little, as the hot air moved their faint leaves.

1 Direction.-Students will give the number and names of the syllables of words, and tell what rule

for the formation of syllables each
Italic letter illustrates.
2 Marseilles (mär sālz').

5. There was no wind to make a ripple on the foul water within the harbor, or on the beautiful sea without. The line of dēmärkātion between the two colors, black and blue, showed the point which the pure sea would not påss; but it lay as quiet as the abominable pool, with which it never mixed.

6. Boats without awnings were too hot to touch; ships blistered at their moorings; the stones of the quays (kēz) had not cooled for months.

7. The universal stâre made the eyes ache. Toward the distant line of Italian (i tăl'yăn) coast, indeed, it was a little relieved by light clouds of mist, slowly rising from the evaporation of the sea; but it softened nowhere else.

8. Far away the stâring roads, deep in dust, stâred from the hillside, stared from the hollow, stared from the interminable plain. Far away the dusty vines overhanging wayside cottages, and the monotonous wayside avenues of parched trees without shade, drooped beneath the stare of earth and sky.

9. So, too, drooped the horses with drowsy bells, in long files of carts, creeping slowly toward the interior; so did their recumbent drivers, when they were awake, which rârely happened; so did the exhausted laborers in the fields.

10. Every thing that lived or grew (groo) was oppressed by the glâre; except the lizard, påssing swiftly over rough stōne walls, and the çieădă, chirping his dry hot chirp, like a rattle. The very dust was scorched brown, and something quivered in the atmosphere as if the âir itself were pånting.

11. Blinds, shutters, eûrtains, awnings, were all closed to keep out the stâre. Grant it but a chink or keyhole, and it shot in like a white-hot årrōw.

12. The chûrches were freëst from it. To come out of the twilight of pillars and arches-dreamily dotted with winking lamps, dreamily peopled with kneeling shadows and the cool pallor of saints in marble-was to plunge into a fiery river, and swim for life to the nearest strip of shade.

13. So, with people lounging and lying wherever shade was, with but little hum of tongues or barking of dogs, with occasional jangling of discordant church bells, and rattling of vicious drums, Märseilles, a fact to be strongly smelt and tasted, lay broiling in the sun one day.

III. ACCENT.

I.

DEFINITIONS.

CCENT is the peculiar force given to one or mōre syllables of a word.

A

2. In Words which have two Syllables accented, the more forcible accent is called primary, and the less forcible, secondary; as hab-i-TA-tion.

Accent

Trimary
Secondary

3. The Mark of Acute Accent ['], heavy, is used to indicate primary accent; light, ['] secondary; as, id'i ot'ic.

4. The Mark of Grave Accent, ['] is here used to indicate, first, that the vowel forms a separate syllable; and, secondly, that the vowel is not an alphabetic equivalent; as,

A learned man caught that wingèd thing. Her goodness [not goodniss] moved the roughèst [not roughist]. The agèd should not be thoughtless.

Require the pupil to give the office of each mark below.

EXERCISES IN ACCENT.

1. Hónèst stúdents learn the greátnèss of húmílity.

2. That bléssèd and belóvèd child loves évèry winged thing. 3. The agree'able ar'tisan' made an adʼmirable părʼasol' for that beau'tiful Russian (rush'an) la'dy.

4. No'tice the marks of ae'çent and al'ways accent' correct'ly words that should have but one ac'cent, as in sen'sible, vaga'ry, cir'cumstances, difficulty, in'teresting, etc.

5. Costume, mánnèrs, ríchès, cívilizátion, have no pérmanènt ínterèst for him.-His héedlèssnèss offénds his trúest friends. 6. In a crowded life, or in the obscúrèst hámlèt, the same bléssèd élemènts offer the same rich choices to each new cómer.

II.

WORDS DISTINGUISHED BY ACCENT.

MANY Words, or parts of speech, having the same

form, are distinguished by accent alone. Nouns and adjectives are often thus distinguished from verbs, and, in a few dissyllables, from each other.

EXAMPLES.

1. Note the mark of ac'cent, and accent' the right syllable. 2. Perfume' the room with rich per'fume.

3. My in'crease is taken to increase' your wealth.

4. Desert' us not in the des'ert.

5. If they reprimand' that officer, he will not regard their rep'rimand.

6. Buy some cem'ent and cement' the glass.

7. If that project fail, he will project' another.

8. If they rebel', and overthrow' the government, even the reb'els can not justify the o'verthrow.

9. In August, the august' writer entered into a compact to prepare a compact' discourse.

10. Within a min'ute I will find a minute' piece of gold. 11. In'stinct, not reason, rendered the herd instinct' with spirit.

III.

ACCENT CHANGED BY CONTRAST.

ΤΗ

HE ordinary Accent of Words is sometimes changed by a contrast in sense, or to express opposition of thought.

EXAMPLES.

1. He did not say a new ad'dition, but a new e'dition.

2. He must in'crease, but I must de'crease.

3. Consider well what is done, and what is left un'done.

4. I said that she will sus'pect the truth of the story, not

that she will expect it.

5. He that de'scended is also the same that as'cended.

6. This corruptible must put on in'corruption; and this mortal must put on im'mortality.