Tafel.] 



302 



[October. 



father tlie tongue is as it were drawn back into the mouth, and the 

 space behind the lower teeth exposed ; if, now, the tongue is pushed 

 forward, so as to fill up the space behind the lower teeth, and if it is 

 at the same time raised on a level with the lower teeth, the sound of 

 a in fat is produced. This sound is peculiar to the English language, 

 and in most cases has superseded the sound of a in father, of which 

 it is a variation. If, on the other hand, we slightly lower the tongue 



from its position in the 

 pronunciation of a in age, 

 we obtain the sound of a 

 in fare. Both th^se 

 sounds are intermediate 

 sounds between a in 

 father and a in age ; a 

 in fat being nearer to a 

 in father, and a in fai'e 

 to a in age, as appears 

 from the annexed dia- 

 gram. 

 In addition to the variations of the general vowel-sounds, ob- 

 tained by this means, there is one sound which cannot be called a 

 variation of one general vowel-sound, but rather of all five together ; 

 for it is the indistinct sound into which all English vowels are 

 more or less resolved when they are unaccented and are pro- 

 nounced hurriedly, e. g. Again, altAr, calEndEr, lawlEss, modest, 

 acid, fragile, calamitY, martYr, dearlY, ehoiiY, vigor, j^arlour, 

 abandon, command, handsome, genus, injury, &c. Upon ana- 

 lyzing the nature of this sound we find that it bears much resem- 

 blance to the sound which is produced in heaving a sigh, or in 

 laughing and sobbing, or which, according to Max Miiller, page xlv, 

 is heard if we take the larynx of a dead body and blow through it, 

 while compressing the chordce vocales. On this account it is re- 

 garded by some linguists and physiologists as the primitive vowel, in 

 the form in which it leaves the glottis, and as the material from 

 which all the other vowels are developed. By emphasizing this 

 sound, as is done in all accented syllables, we obtain the sound of o 

 in love and u in hut. The sound of e in her, i in hird, u in hurt, is 

 an amalgamation of this sound with the palatal r. There is some 

 difiiculty in finding an appropriate sign for the representation of the 

 indistinct vowel-sound, and its variation by the palatal r. Ludolf, 

 Isenherg, and others, propose e, Bishop ]Yilkins, y, printed in italics. 



