1807, ] 
Lo the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR 
NE of the greatest difficulties in 
learning the modern languages, is 
the attainment of a proper or even an 
intelligible pronunciation. So few at- 
tempts have been made to reduce it to a 
system, that many have been led to give 
up all thoughts of being able to converse 
with foreigners, and have contented them- 
selves with studying French and German 
in the same way they do Latin and Greek. 
Thus, while they avail themseves, with ad- 
vantage of the literarytreasures of other na- 
tions, theyare debarred from the pleasure 
and the profit of colioquial intercourse. 
It must be mortifying for two men of Jct- 
ters, of different countries, who may have 
corresponded on the most interesting sub- 
jects for years, to find, on a first mter- 
view, that the happiness they promised 
themselves from a personal acquaintance 
is considerably lessened by the misfor- 
tune of not being ableto understand each 
other sufficiently even to support a com- 
mon conyersation. They are perfectly 
well versed in each others idiom, but, 
from having carelessly accustomed them- 
selves to pronounce it according to their 
own rules of orthoépy, their attempts at 
discourse create a confusion of tongues, 
like that at the Tower of Babel. 
With respect to the French language, 
one would imagine that every difficulty 
of that nature in this country might be 
easily obviated. There are so many able 
teachers of that idiom, natives of France, 
im every considerable town in Great. Bri- 
tain, that a few months’ instruction from 
them ought to prepare any student to 
speak their language with fluency and pro- 
priety.. But although these teachers are 
able to give the most correct examples of 
true pronunciation, they are most of them 
defective in their knowledge of the prin- 
ciples of elocution. For instance, they 
can utter to their pupils the true sound of 
w, but they cannot direct them in the true 
adaptation of the organs of speech, so as to 
~ produce thatsound. It is the same with 
the nasal n and m, the gn, the ev, and the 
cau, These and many similar cases, per- 
petually occur, in which, after repeated 
trials, the pupil is left without any pros- 
pect of attaining the true utterance, but 
by his facility of imitation. 
If these difiiculties occur in the French 
language, what must be those attendant 
on the study of the Spanish, the Italian, 
and, particularly, of the German. This 
Jatter, owing to the peculiarity of its pro- 
hunciation, has been falsely called one of 
Montury Mac. No, 162, 
On the Pronunciation of Foreign Languages. 295 
the harshest languages in Europe. Cer- 
tainly, when pronounced badly, it is 
harsher than the others; but that is no 
proof of any defect or discord in the lan 
guage itself; for who would be as absurd 
as to suppose the violin an imperfect or 
dissonant instrument on hearing it un- 
skilfully played?) The German ch is li- 
able to this harshness in the first attempts 
of Enelish learners, but, by a little atten- 
tion to the exercise of the guttural orgaus, 
it is easily obviated, 
I subjoin a few instances in French 
pronunciation, with what I conceive to be 
effectual diredtions to the English stu- 
dent in the use of them. 
U is pronounced like ee in the English, 
with the lips protruded as in the act of 
saying u. 
Gn. To produce this sound, the middle 
of the tongue must touch the palate, and 
the pupil must utter 2 as the tongue quits 
that position, as agneau. 
The nasal n or m at the end of words 
may be produced by suffering the sound 
to vibrate slightly through the nose, the 
tongue remaining at rest. 
From these examples it may be found 
that the pronunciation of the words of 
any langnage is reducible to specific 
rules. The country is greatly imdebted 
to Mr. Thelwall for his system of elocu- 
tion; and his happy facility of elucidating 
it, leadsmetothink, that, were he to turn 
his attention to the difficulties of pros 
nouneing fureign languages, he would be 
able to remove them all and thus more 
generally extend the benefits of his discos 
veries, which are at present neither suffie 
ciently known, nor duly appreciated, 
The organs of speech in the human spe- 
cies are the samethrough every diversity 
of climate and ceuntry; in the various 
habits of adapting them to certain modes 
of utterance, lies the difficulty of pro- 
nouncing different dialects; a difficulty by 
no means insurmountable, if these modes’ 
were duly analyzed and investigated. 
: Your's, &c. . 
London, PuILoLocus, 
August 7, 1807. 
SE 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
YE insolent and ihberal language 
of the Anti-Bucerist would have 
been treated by me with silent contempt, 
had the subject in dispute only affected 
myself; but as it concerns the character 
of a man deservedly held in high estima- 
tion for his learning and piety, 1 think it 
Gg a duty 
ee ee a 
