394 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



If this r is produced skillfully by the vibration of the uvula alone it 

 is to be distinguished from the lingual r only by a practiced ear, but 

 if as in Swiss, German, and certain Gallic dialects, the pillars of the 

 soft palate take an active part in its formation, it acquires a very 

 harsh and disagreeable character. The substitution of w for r, by 

 which real becomes weal, great, gweat, etc., is so far as personally 

 observed English and not American. It is also probable that the use 

 of w for V, as "weal for veal, wery for very, is cockney, and never 

 heard in the United States. 



Did space permit much might be added to this description of the 

 more patent differences of the elementary sounds of the mother-tongue 

 as spoken by Americans and Englishmen, but syllabic accent, inflec- 

 tions, and vocal timbre also claim some attention. 



Accent. — In all English words there is one syllable which receives 

 greater stress of voice than the others. In words of two syllables the 

 accent falls on the first one, and in polysyllabic words on the antepenult. 

 The exception to this rule and the general laws of accent can not re- 

 ceive any notice here, but it is to be kept in mind that nothing more 

 decidedly alters the phonetic character of English than changes in 

 syllabic accent. A good pronunciation is distinguished by a firm and 

 prompt attack of the accented syllables which are like the emphasized 

 notes of a song, and they sustain the rhythmical flow of speech. 



Apart from the primary accent there is a secondary and tertiary 

 one laid on other relatively less emphatic syllables, and in the misuse 

 of these is to be found one American peculiarity. In general. Eng- 

 lishmen have a more emphatic and superior delivery of the primary 

 accent, but they are more wont to slur over the remaining syllables. 

 This gulping of long words is offset by an opposite and equally great 

 defect among Americans, who sometimes give the secondary accent in 

 many words almost the same force as the primary, and their speech 

 thus becomes drawling. Instead of giving one they employ a double 

 decided accent as here marked in mil'ita'ry, niat'rimo'ny, ter'rito'ry, 

 cir'cumstan'ces, and also in words of fewer syllables there is a like fault 

 as in gi'gan'tic, im'men'se, rhu'barb, and a great many similar instances 

 in which there should be a strong primary, and a very light secondary 

 accent. To a native P]nglish car this slow division and double accent- 

 uation of words is one of the most striking of the many peculiarities 

 of American English. 



Emphasis, Inp^lkctions, a-std Vocal Timhee. — For the learned the 

 above orthoepical differences are all important, but for the great mass 

 of the people the vocal qualities embraced under the present heading 

 constitute the most striking distinctions which the unpracticed ear 

 recognizes between the vernacular of the two countries. Even the 

 child without knowledge or thought of correct jtronunciation is struck 

 by the foreign tone of voice and the novel inflections. The American 

 in London, though he may assume the dress and manners of the people. 



