PART FIRST.

REA

READING.

EADING is the art of assuming written thoughts, feelings and sentiments, and expressing them truly with the voice.

1. Rules of Reading are obtained by observing the manner in which persons naturally speak in common conversation, or in expressing real joy, sorrow, love, hate, fear, scorn and the like.

2. The best guide, therefore, to correct reading, is to read as Nature teaches us to speak.

3. In order to read a given exercise correctly, the student must do three things.

First. He must study the lesson well, and be able to utter all the sounds represented by the letters in every word, and to pronounce the words themselves correctly.

Second. He must understand the meaning of the words and find what thoughts, feelings and sentiments are expressed by them.

Third. He must assume, or take upon himself as his own, for the time, those thoughts, feelings and senti

ments, and express them truly by a proper management of the voice.

4. It is clear, then, that the Art of Reading has two general divisions; ORTHOEPY and EXPRESSION.

Reading

Orthoëpy,
Expression.

ORTHOEPY relates to the correct pronunciation of words.

EXPRESSION is the utterance of the thoughts, feelings and sentiments contained in written composition in such a manner as to convey them truly to the hearer.

ORTHOËPY.

Orthoepy is the correct pronunciation of words. It embraces Articulation, Syllabication and Accent.

Orthoëpy

·

Articulation,
Syllabication,
Accent.

ARTICULATION is the distinct utterance of the sounds represented by the letters of the alphabet, in syllables and words.

SYLLABICATION relates to the formation and correct utterance of syllables.

ACCENT is the stress or force of voice laid upon a certain syllable of a word, which makes pronunciation smooth and musical.

I. ARTICULATION.

I.

Definitions.

ORAL ELEMENTS are the sounds represented by the letters of the alphabet, which, uttered separately or combined, form syllables and words.

THE ALPHABET consists of twenty-six letters, of which a, e, i, o, u, are always, and w and y sometimes, vowels. THE OTHER LETTERS of the alphabet are called consonants, from the fact that they are rarely used in syllables without having a vowel sounded with them. I and y are consonants at the beginning of syllables.

ORAL ELEMENTS are divided into three classes: VOWEL SOUNDS, SUBVOWEL SOUNDS and ASPIRATES.

VOWEL SOUNDS are pure tones of the voice, represented by the vowels of the alphabet.

SUBVOWEL SOUNDS are undertones of the voice, ending with a slight whisper, represented by consonants. ASPIRATES are mere whispers, or breathings, and have no vocal sound. They are represented by conso

nants.

THE ORAL ELEMENTS are made by the voice and the organs of speech.

THE VOICE is produced by the action of the breath upon the upper part of the windpipe, called the larynx. THE ORGANS OF SPEECH are the lips, the teeth, the tongue, and the palate.

THE CAREFUL EXERCISE of the organs of speech enables us to articulate clearly and correctly.

oi or oy, as in oil, boy. ou or ow, as in out, owl.

As the above tables have been prepared with reference to their future use, as a key to the system of marking employed in the spelling and defining exercises, many substitutes, not usually included in a list of Oral Elements, have been given.

III.

Oral Substitutes.

ORAL SUBSTITUTES are other letters or combinations of letters used to represent the oral elements; as

ai, au, ey, in the words gain, gauge, they, for ā.

A LIST OF ORAL SUBSTITUTES has not been given, for the reason that they are hard to remember when standing alone, and they will be marked as they occur in the spelling and defining exercises.