14 Dr. Hall on the 



those consonants which are pronounced with but little compres- 

 sion of the expired air. , 



I thought it not improbable, at one time, that the pendulous 

 vail of the palate was in part propelled against the posterior 

 orifices of the nostrils, by the force of the expired air, in the act 

 of pronouncing those letters which require the respiration to be 

 arrested for their articulation. But this opinion is altogether dis- 

 proved by the experiment of articulating these letters during 

 inspiration . The course of the air is not less interrupted in this 

 case than in the natural mode of speaking ; so that it is plain, 

 that it is by the action of its muscles alone, that the pendulous 

 vail of the palate performs its functions. 



The facts stated in the preceding part of this essay have been 

 greatly confirmed by observing the effects of a perforation of the 

 palate, which I have just had the opportunity of doing. The 

 perforation was about equi-distant from the teeth and from the 

 vail of the palate. The following phenomena were observed : — 

 The patient could not swallow, or smoke, or whistle ; on at- 

 tempting to pronounce the letters B, D, S, V, &c., the action of 

 the muscles of articulation was extremely imperfect, and at- 

 tended by a hissing noise occasioned by the escape of the air 

 through the perforation in the palate. The letters G and K could, 

 however, be pronounced perfectly, the tongue being brought, in 

 the enunciation of these letters, into contact with the palate, at 

 a part posterior to the situation of the perforation. 



Having made these observations on the physiology or mechanism 

 of speech, I shall conclude this essay by several remarks, which 

 may, probably, lead to some practical utility in the education of 

 the faculty of speech, if I may be allowed that expression. 



1. Infancy is, for two reasons, the period of life at which 

 alone it is possible to teach the pronunciation of a foreign lan- 

 guage perfectly ; for it is at this age that the functions of the 

 muscular system generally are fully developed, and that those of 

 any particular part of this system are most readily confirmed into 

 an easy habit. This fact is illustrated in the acquisition of ex- 

 ecution in music, which is attempted in vain, even during a long 



