Tafel.] 322 [October. 



consonant -; by pronouncing tliem quickly in succession the hard 

 consonant t: is made soft, and the semi-vowel ,a is almost reduced to 

 the indistinct sound which is heard before the English soft conso- 

 nant in soh, tub, &c. The same thing is done in the case of the 

 dental soft consonant, where the semi-vowel v is placed before r, 

 viz., vr. 



Dr. Briicke continues: ''The contraction of the glottis so as to be 

 ready to vibrate, thus constitutes the essential difference between 

 the soft and hard consonants; all other distinctions are adventitious 

 and thus unessential. It has been maintained that the soft conso- 

 nants are distinguished from the hard by being exploded with a 

 milder force, and that this fact can be noticed by holding the hand 

 opposite to the mouth and alternately pronouncing the hard and its 

 corresponding soft consonant. That in the pronunciation of the hard 

 consonant, in this case, a forcible breathing is ejected against the 

 hand, which is scarcely observed at all in the pronunciation of the 

 soft consonant. Again, that if, in exploding the hard consonant, you 

 lay your hand on your breast, you feel it collapse suddenly, which is 

 not the case in the pronunciation of the soft consonant. All this is 

 true, but these are merely incidental matters. In pronouncing the 

 soft consonants, the glottis is contracted, so as to be ready to vibrate, 

 and a sudden rush of the air from the lungs is thus prevented, even 

 after the station has been opened ; but in the pronunciation of the 

 hard consonant, the glottis is wide open, and hence the sudden and 

 violent gush of air from the lungs upon the opening of the station, 

 and hence also the corresponding collapse of the chest. Suppose 

 that the difference between the hard and soft consonants merely 

 consisted in the manner of their explosion, this distinction would be 

 lost entirely upon their being pronounced before their corresponding- 

 nasal semi-vowels; for in this case they are, indeed, sounded, but not 

 exploded, and the distinction between them is, nevertheless, clearly 

 observed, as in the English words midshipman and cluh-man. It 

 has also been maintained that the essential difference between these 

 two kinds of sounds consisted in the station being closed more firmly 

 in the pronunciation of the hard than in that of the soft consonants. 

 This is usually the case, but it is likewise merely an incidental mat- 

 ter. In the pronunciation of the hard consonants the glottis is wide 

 open; the pressure of the air is thus the same in the cavity of the 

 mouth as in the lungs, and the station must, therefore, be closed with 

 sufficient firmness to resist this pressure. But the case is different in 

 regard to the soft consonants ; in their pronunciation the glottis is 



