734 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION J. 



Method." This is first to study sentences, everyday idioms, to read 

 books, grasping and observing grammatical facts in these studies,. 

 but to leave a more systematic study of construction, etc., until 

 later. Reference to the native tongue is entirely omitted, the 

 instruction being given in the language in question, and translation in 

 all forms are left for a much later time in the course. The direct 

 method follows the means by which a child grasps its native tongue, 

 which is by imitation ; but as much of this ease and power of 

 imitation flies with childhood, those of riper years require scientific 

 aid. The difficulty of knowing what is the correct pronunciation of 

 a language has been surmounted by settling on a standard pro- 

 nunciation of every language phonetically treated. The standard 

 German is that of the German stage ; the standard French that pro- 

 nunciation heard in the districts round Paris ; and standard English 

 is that spoken by the educated in London and the neighbourhood. 

 The training for the acquirement of a phonetic understanding consists 

 mainly of practical exercises in sounds and sound combinations ; a 

 theoretical knowledge as to how these are formed ; phonetic 

 dictations ; reading aloud from the phonetic notation, and a study 

 of intonation, duration, stress, etc. By these means undesirable 

 peculiarities and artificialities of speech are corrected. With regard 

 to acquiring a good pronunciation, the same phonetic drillings are 

 necessary ; comparison between the native language and that being 

 studied, with practical exercises in the unfamiliar and dissimilar 

 sounds and peculiarities are a most important feature in this branch.. 



