524 VOWELS AND CONSONANTS STAMMERING. 



the act of preparation for sounding the succeeding consonant. 

 The sound of the English i is a compound one, being formed 

 in the act of transition from that of a in ah, to that of e as in 

 theme ; hence it cannot be prolonged ; and it is the very worst 

 vowel sound upon which to sing a long note, since it is impos- 

 sible to prevent its being heard as one of the sounds of which 

 it is composed. Much discussion has taken place withr efer- 

 ence to the true characters of the letters w and y, when 

 employed to commence words, as wall, yawl, wet, yet. A little 

 attention to the state of the mouth in pronouncing them will 

 show, however, that they are then really vowel sounds, rapidly 

 transformed into the succeeding ones ; for the sound of w in 

 this situation is oo ; and that of y is the long e ; so that wall 

 might be spelt ooall, and yawl eaul. 



690. Consonants are naturally divided into those which 

 require a total stoppage of the breath at the moment previous 

 to their being pronounced, and which cannot therefore be 

 prolonged ; and those in pronouncing which the interruption 

 is partial, and which can be prolonged like the vowels. The 

 former are termed explosive consonants ; the latter continuous. 

 The explosive consonants are 6 and p, d and t, the hard g and 

 k. All the others are continuous ; but the sound is modified 

 by the position of the tongue, palate, lips, and teeth ; and also 

 by the degree in which the air is permitted to pass through 

 the nose. 



691. The study of the mode in which the different conso- 

 nants are produced, is of particular importance to those who 

 labour under defective speech, especially that difficulty which 

 is known as stammering. This very annoying impediment is 

 occasioned by a want of proper control over the muscles con- 

 cerned in articulation ; which are sometimes affected with a 

 kind of spasmodic action. It is in the pronunciation of the 

 consonants of the explosive class, that the stammerer usually 

 experiences the greatest difficulty ; for the total interruption 

 to the breath which they occasion is frequently continued 

 involuntarily, so that either the expiration is entirely checked, 

 or the sound comes out in jerks. Sometimes, on the other 

 hand, in pronouncing vowels and continuous consonants, the 

 stammerer prolongs his expiration, without being able to 

 check it. The best method of curing this defect (where there 

 is no malformation of the organs of speech, but merely a want 



