ENGLISH PHONOLOGY. 391 



netic compound, and it has Italian a as the radical and long e as the 

 vanish, and the American transition from the former to the latter is 

 quicker. The English i is more diphthongal and the radical element is 

 a more open sound. In fact, this distinctly audible separation of the 

 pharyngeal and lingual modifications of the vowel elements constitutes 

 an important point in the comparative phonology of British and 

 American English. 



For the relative differences in i before r in accented syllables, as in 

 virgin, third, etc., reference is "made to the above description of e un- 

 der like circumstances. 



Short ?*, as in pin, as the equivalent of y final in beauty, badly, phi- 

 losophy, etc., is the usual pronunciation in the United States, but Brit- 

 ish usage is a sound like a in quality, but more nearly identical with 

 the open c {e ouveri) of the French. In fact, the frequent recurrence of 

 this sound in English mouths at the present day is probably a relic of 

 the influence of Norman French upon the Anglo-Saxon vernacular. 

 The short i in pin has in American articulation its correct shut and ex- 

 plosive sound, such as exists in few other languages, but it more closely 

 approaches long e in quality in British usage. 



The long sound of o, as in home, bone, etc., has an initial element, 

 formed more deeply in the throat than Italian a with a slight vanish 

 in 00. The American differs from the English pronunciation in two 

 ways — first, in that the labial modification is more decided with lips 

 more nearly approximated ; and, secondly, in that the secondary ele- 

 ment is omitted, and the o approaches short u among many New 

 Englanders, as in stone, home, broke, spoke, whole, and many similar 

 words. In most Americans, however, the difference is in the labial 

 modification alone, and if the lower jaw is allowed to drop slightly in 

 the articulation of the word blow, for instance, the long with the 

 enlarged labial aperture becomes almost identical with the native 

 English sound of the same letter. On the other hand, there is in 

 England a cockney and provincial separation of the posteriorly and 

 anteriorly formed elements of this vowel which is not to be found 

 among natives of the United States. 



The short o, as in hot, odd, cot, etc., is formed by Englishmen with 

 more laryngeal depression and greater posterior oral enlargement. 

 The American short o issues from a less deep throat-formation, is not 

 as broad, and is usually a less abrupt sound. The long sound of 

 double as in food, moon, etc., is one of the extremes of the scale of 

 vowel elements, and it is uttered by Americans with greater labial 

 contraction than is customary among Englishmen. New Englanders 

 are wont to substitute for it the short sound of 00 in foot, in words 

 like broom, roof, root, and in a large number of similar words. British 

 custom always retains the long double o in these instances. There is 

 a British fault in Yorkshire and other northern parts of giving the 

 long instead of the short double o in cook, book, etc., for although 



