A ae Se a et ee ee ge ee ee ee ee 
S. Porter on the Vowel Elements in Speech. 303 
Arr. XLU.—The Vowel Elements in Speech ; by SAMUEL Porter, 
of Hartford, Conn. 
[Concluded from page 189.] 
THERE are certain modes of action of the organs in vowel utter- 
ance, which are to be noticed as the ground of some important 
properties and relations. It is observable that the open vowels 
: eee 
fectly natural on mechanical and physiological principles. ‘The 
vowel in téte, &c., is unquestionably such as to be accounted fo 
ble of the same abrupt, explosive quality ; and, when prolonged, 
usually tend to become more close, or, when at the closest, to 
move forward into a contiguous or otherwise related vowel of 
another group. These effects, again, we ascribe to the peculiar 
ode of action of the tongue, as, after coming into line for the 
group, it has to be raised to the proper degree of closeness: it 
is like raising the arm a little way after extending it. This mo- 
tion cannot well be suddenly and firmly arrested so as to pro- 
duce an abrupt or explosive utterance. It is also more natural . 
to continue this motion than to hold it arrested so as to prolong 
the vowel unchanged. Obviously, also, the effect of continuing 
