166 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 
prove the action to be uninterrupted-dly, night-tly, gallant-tly, 
unin ter rup ted ly. sepia 
oF uaa dS ae uel Ny yeaa 
gallantly. 
e————___ 
showing the compound of “ dly” and “tly” in the last syllables. 
ACCENTUATION. 
The function of accent is to regulate the relative amounts of 
force, and the relative intervals of time with which the syllables 
composing a word aré uttered. 
The time required for the utterance of the syllables themselves, 
when spoken separately, depends on the nature of the consonants 
and vowels employed in them. 
The space occupied by one syllable formed of compound con- 
sonants and a long vowel is sometimes more than that required 
for two syllables formed of simple consonants and short vowels 
including the pause between them. 
Tn short syllables accent operates on the duration of the pauses, 
In long syllables it operates on the duration of the vere sound 
as well as on the pauses. 
Whether the effect which accent produces on the intervals of 
time is a consequence of the variations of force, or a separate 
action, is not clear; but there is an apparent spmpathy between 
them. 
Comparing the diagrams of the words at’titude, at’tribute, 
majesty, with atten’tion, attri’ bute, majestic, it will be seen that the 
effect of changing the accent from the first to the second syllable 
is to increase the interval of time between them, and to change the 
position of the second syllable with regard to the first and third. 
a ttitude. attribute. majesty. 
atten'tion. attri bute. majestic. 
