310 OF THE VOICE AND SPEECH. 



the compression is considerable. This is the case with v and /, which are 

 produced by approximating the upper incisors to the lower lip ; and which 

 stand in nearly the same relation to each other as that which exists between 

 d and , or b and p. The sibilant sounds, z and s, stand in nearly the same 

 relation to each other ; they are produced by the passage of air between the 

 point of the tongue and the front of the palate, the teeth being at the same 

 time nearly closed. The simple sound sh is formed by narrowing the channel 

 between the dorsum of the tongue and the palate ; the former being elevated 

 towards the latter, through a considerable part of its length. If, in sounding 

 s, we raise the point of the tongue a very little, so as to touch the palate, the 

 sound of t is evolved ; and in the same manner d is produced from z. This 

 class also includes the th; which, being a perfectly simple sound, ought to be 

 expressed by a single letter, as in Greek ; instead of by two, of which the 

 combination does not really produce any thing like it. For producing this 

 sound, the point of the tongue is applied to the back of the incisors, or to the 

 front of the palate, as in sounding t;* but, whilst there is complete contact of 

 the tip, the air is allowed to pass out around it. 2. In the second class of 

 continuous consonants, including the letters m, n, /, and r, the nostrils are not 

 closed; and the air thus undergoes very little compression, even though the 

 passage of air through the oral cavity is almost or completely checked. In 

 pronouncing m and n, the breath passes through the nose alone ; and the dif- 

 ference of the sound of these two letters, must be due to the variation in the 

 form of the cavity of the mouth, which acts by resonance. The letter m is a 

 labial, like b; and the only difference between the two is, that in the former 

 the nasal passage is open, whilst the mouth remains closed; whilst in the 

 latter, the nose is entirely closed, and the sound is formed at the moment of 

 opening the mouth. The same correspondence exists between n and t, or n 

 and g (the particular part of the tongue approximated to the palate not being 

 of much consequence in the pronunciation of n) ; and hence it is that the 

 transition from n to t, or from n to g, is so easy, that the combinations nt and 

 ng are found abundantly in most languages. The sound of / is produced, by 

 bringing the tip of the tongue into contact with the palate, and allowing the 

 air to escape around it, at the same time that a vocal tone is generated in the 

 larynx; it differs, therefore, from th in the position at which the obstruction is 

 interposed, as well as in the slight degree of the compression of the air which 

 it involves. The sound of the letter r depends on an absolute vibration of the 

 point of the tongue, in a narrow current of air forced between the tongue itself 

 and the palate. 3. The sounds of the third class are scarcely to be termed 

 consonants, since they are merely aspirations caused by an increased force of 

 breath. These are A, and the c/it of most foreign languages (the Greek *). 

 The first is a simple aspiration ; the second, an aspiration modified by the ele- 

 vation of the tongue, causing a slight obstruction to the passage of air, and an 

 increased resonance in the back of the mouth. This sound would become 

 either g or A;, if the tongue, whilst it is being produced, were carried up to 

 touch the palate 4 



418. These distinctions come to be of much importance, when we apply 

 ourselves to the treatment of defects of articulation. Great as is the number 

 of muscles employed in the production of definite vocal sounds, the number 

 is much greater for those of articulate language ; and the varieties of combi- 



* Hence it is easy to understand the substitution of t or d, for the English th, by 

 foreigners. 



f The English ch is merely a combination of t with sh; thus chime might be spelt 

 tshime. 



t The general classification prqposed by Dr. M. Hall is here adopted, with some modi- 

 fication as to the details. 



