390 THE POPULAR SCIE2^CE MONTHLY. 



like day, pay, etc., in which y represents the vanishing sound of the 

 vowel. The long sound of this vowel in the article a before words 

 beginning with a consonant — e. g., a man, a book, etc. — instead of the 

 short and obscure sound, is also very common in the United States, 

 but seldom heard in England. 



Again, a before r, in such words as care, rare, and in many like 

 positions, is also a double sound, Avith a primary vocal element resem- 

 bling short a, and a final one, like a in are, according to some writers. 

 This final clement is more open as given by Englishmen, and ap- 

 proaches nearly Italian a, and the r is so slightly sounded, even by 

 correct speakers, that in the mouths of many it probably has no or- 

 ganic formation, and thus corresponds to the provincial pronunciation 

 given by some Southerners to the final syllable of words like door, 

 drawer, etc., in which the open a, as in ah, is heard. As pronounced 

 by most Americans, the linal sound in these words is ur, and the final 

 r has a real value, of which further mention will be made under the 

 head of this lettei'. A few New Englanders and Southerners differ 

 but little from the English usage, either with radical or terminational 

 elements of a in the above instances. 



A, as in walk, water, awe, fall, etc., is produced with a deeper and 

 broader sound by Englishmen than by Americans. Some of the latter, 

 in fact, pronounce such words so that they have more nearly the sound 

 of short o than the deeply-formed vowel which issues from native 

 British throats, and which is more profoundly formed than the Ger- 

 man gutturals. 



There is a corresponding difference, also, in the open and brief 

 sound of a in what, wash, wallow, was, and in other words in which 

 a has the value of o in odd. 



The varieties of the vowel e also illustrate well the phonological 

 differences of the vernacular of the two countries. The sound of ac- 

 cented e before r, not followed by a vowel or another r, as in her, 

 term, mercy, etc., is that of u in fur, as uttered by most Americans, 

 but English speakers give it a less guttural and more open sound, 

 verging toward a in arc, which sound is fully heard in a few instarfces 

 as in clerk, pronounced dark in England. The correct sound between 

 u in fur and e in met is only formed by the minority of speakers in 

 this country. 



The American long e, as in evil, is produced by a closer approxi- 

 mation of the tongue to the palate. The English name-sound of this 

 e has less firmly closed lingual points of lateral contact. 



The short e, as in met, contrary to American custom, resembles 

 Bomewhat in quality long a as pronounced by many Englishmen, The 

 latter always give a brief and obscure sound to e in the definite ar- 

 ticle before words beginning with a consonant, as the man, the book, 

 etc., but in this country long e is often heard in these instances. 



The long i in ice, shine, time, find, etc., like most vowels, is a pho- 



