1897-98.] Mr R. J. Lloyd on Consonant- Sounds. 245- 
way very far. Under these circumstances there is a palpable on- 
glide and off-glide added to the consonant, as described for x — 
longest, of course, for u, and shortening for o and a successively. 
The above results can he conveniently represented in their 
entirety as a kind of struggle between the vowel striving to 
impose something like its own oral resonance on the consonant, 
and the consonant striving to realise its own untrammelled articula- 
tion and “ neutral ” resonance, and even to bring the oral resonance 
of the vowel, as far as it will come, towards the same standard. 
The order of steadfastness in the vowels is i, e, a, o, u — the last 
the least steadfast. The relative steadfastness of these consonants, 
the spirate fricatives, may be exhibited as under. The figures 
refer to my own voice. 
Spirate 
Fricative. 
Range of 
Resonance. 
Neutral 
Type. 
Influence of 
Neutral Type. 
h 
v . d . 287-2816 
1320 
Imperceptible. 
f 
704-2816 
1408 
Very slight. 
e 
880-2816 
1584 • 
Slight. 
X 
528- 
1491 
Moderate. 
X 
-2982 
2500 
Strong. 
f 
792-3168 
2046 
Very strong. 
S 
792-3168 
2570 
V ery strong. 
The higher the position of a consonant in the above list is, 
the more closely does the oral resonance of the vowel succeed 
in assimilating the resonance of the consonant to itself ; and 
the lower, the less closely. But in the latter case the transition 
is not abrupt, hut gliding, — much more so than appears to the 
ear. 
The other possible combinations of spirate fricative and vowel 
need not detain us long. They are all to a certain extent 
more complex cases, and had better wait until we have actual 
phonograms to work from. It seems likely that a spirate 
fricative, beginning from silence, will begin from the neutral 
type, where that type is strong ; hut less near to it, where 
that type is weak. But as it approaches the vowel the same 
mutual influences will pass between them as in the case where 
the vowel flanked the consonant on both sides : and if there is 
