SUBANU PHONETICS AND COMPOSITION MEMBERS. 59 
sonant scale of the Subanu in order to see where they lie in relation to 
neighboring speech-families. 
Because of the structure of the vocal organs we shall follow a natu- 
ral method of study of this consonant diagram if in certain areas we deal 
with its horizontal members, in other areas if we direct the attention 
more particularly upon its vertical columns. At three distinct points 
near the outer end of the vibrant column of air we possess organs 
whereby closures may be made and from these closures consonants may 
be produced. ‘These are the palate in the rear of the mouth-cavity, 
the tongue centrally situated within the cavity, the lips at the front of 
the cavity. Furthermore, at each of these closure-points the closure 
may be of any degree of completeness, and from this arises variety of 
sound there produced. 
Our first horizontal member includes the semivowels. ‘These are 
practically universal in human speech; upon a priori grounds we should 
expect so to find them; their general presence is confirmatory of the 
view that they represent the beginning of the acquisition of consonant 
power. All the vowels are formed with open throat ;the true consonants 
are made with closures by palate, tongue and lips. It will be seen by 
simple experiment how these semivowels are formed. A light applica- 
tion of the fingers to the throat and lips will readily enable any one to 
identify the position in which any given sound is made. Thus we are 
able to discover that the y semivowel is formed near the palate, the r 
and the lin slightly different forms near the center of the cavity where 
the tongue is dominant, the w near the lips. The same digital exami- 
nation will show after what manner they differ from the vowels proxi- 
mate to those positions, how i and y are not quite the same, a slightly 
varies from rand 1, u and w differ. It will be seen that the semivowels 
vary from the vowels in one direction, from the consonants in the other, 
in this important particular that the vibrant air-column is less open 
than in the case of the vowels, less closed than in the case of the conso- 
nants. In other words there is a constriction instead of a closure; the 
sounding pipe is not closed but it is constricted. Because this effect 
is an incomplete exercise of the power of each of these speech organs 
these semivowels are set upon our diagram not exactly in the palatal, 
lingual, and labial columns, but proximate thereto. 
The next horizontal member is a triplet of consonants denominated 
the nasals. Here we should pause for a moment in order to avoid con- 
fusion with an idea subsisting in our common speech and likely to lead 
us astray. Of certain individuals in all our English societies, even of 
certain groups of individuals where the blemish in speech is so frequent 
that we incline to consider it a dialectic character, we commonly say 
that they speak through the nose. We use this expression quia nemo 
scit; for the briefest examination of this speech-fault will convince us 
that “speaking through the nose” is really speech with the nasal cavity 
