expiration while the lips are steadily closed, and if the cheeks and lips be not allowed to inflate, the pharynx will distend, and may be felt distending by grasping the neck close to the chin. After continuing the expiratory pressure for a few seconds, quickly separate the lips, and allow the breath within the mouth to escape, but without being followed by the least emission from the glottis. The same mode of practice may then be adopted with the actions T and K, and with the correspondent vocal forms of these articulations, as explained farther on.

The want of pharyngeal power manifests itself in various ways: by distension of the lips and cheeks for P, B, as above noticed; by protrusion of the tongue, with incontinency of breath, for T, K, D, G; by laborious actions of the chest and diaphragm, to create the explosive audibility of these letters; by their frequent inaudibleness from feebleness of action; by scattering the saliva for S, F, and other continuous elements; and by general indistinctness of articulation, and visible laxity of the lips and tongue, giving a cumbrously lumpish and lazy appearance to the mouth.

The continuous use of the chest instead of the pharynx, would be painfully fatiguing in speech; and its inordinate employment in forcible utterance, seems to be often productive of serious pulmonary disease.

It is difficult to make this subject sufficiently clear by a brief description; and it would be still more difficult perhaps to get the generality of readers to study a lengthened explanation: but with a little thought, and a little experiment, what we have said will suffice. As an inducement to those who feel interested in the subject, to bestow upon it the necessary attention, we may add, that the practical effect of the closure of the glottis, buoyancy of the chest, and proper pharyngeal action of which we have spoken, is such as to enable a person to enounce with each expiration, eight or ten times as many syllables as he could without these measures. The difference between the two modes of articulation is indeed precisely analogous to that between the two obvious methods of extinguishing a flame of gas-namely, blowing out the flame, and turning off the gas by the stop-cock. The former method would tell expensively upon the meter, and the analogous mode of finishing articulations, acts most destructively upon the lungs.

A common defect in the formation of P, T, K, consists in making these letters merely stops of the voice, without any audible effect

in themselves. This arises generally from feebleness of actionfrom organic indolence. If it were confined to conversational carelessness, it would be less worthy of notice; but it is too common even in public speaking, and it is then very manifestly a defect. Pronounce the syllables ap, at, ak, without the explosive finish which we have stated to be essential to the correct formation of these letters, and it will be a very sharp and attentive ear which can recognise a difference between them. The public speaker must not trust to such a degree of eager watchfulness in his hearers to unriddle his ambiguities. His mouth must be so trained as to utter no "uncertain sounds."

The organs employed in forming the shut articulations P, T, K, are the lips, for the first, the fore part of the tongue and front of the palate, for the second,—and the back of the tongue and palate, for the last. The mode of articulation is, complete and firm contact of the organs, with pressure of breath, followed by the rapid disjunction of the organs;-the disjunctive action being made audible by the percussive ejection of the breath that is compressed between the glottis and the articulating organs. perfect contact, we designate the

FIRST MODE OF ARTICULATIVE ACTION.

This

P, T, K, are shut breath articulations. If while the organs are in contact for their formation, we make an exertion of VOICE, we shall convert them respectively into B, D, G ; which are therefore shut Voice Articulations of the same mechanism as P, T, K. It is important to have the power of producing the shut voice in these elements fully and firmly. The sound cannot be prolonged indefinitely; it can only be continued while the cavity of the pharynx-into which the vocal stream is forced-is capable of receiving more breath. The student may, by grasping his neck close to the chin, feel the effect of the pharyngeal distention which takes place in these elements. The explosive finish of the articulations must be heard the same as in P, T, K.

Many persons are unable to produce voice in these shut articulations; and consequently numerous words containing them are liable to be confounded with such as have the correspondent breath forms in the same combinations—as dart with tart, daunt with taunt, bill with pill, brawn with prawn, gold with cold, glass with class, &c. The Welsh always thus mispronounce English; but a little elementary practice will supply the deficient power

to any person who is conscious of the defect, and desirous of its correction.

In practising for the acquirement of vocal power in these letters, care must be taken that the sound does not find vent through the nostrils.* The expansion of the pharynx and the explosive cessation of contact, will be sufficient to keep the student from this fault.

P, T, K, are commonly called mutes, and B, D, G, semi-mutes; the extraordinary name "demi-semi-VOWELS," is given to them in Chambers's Elocution; sometimes these terms are exchanged for sharp and flat, hard and soft, &c.; but such names are unphilosophical and worthless, as they convey no just idea of the real difference between the elements. From the existence of such a nomenclature, it would seem as if a veil of most impenetrable mystery shrouded the vocal principles from observation-or else, as if those who have invented and applied the names had never troubled themselves to become observers at all. Such descriptions as the following do not certainly indicate a very great depth of observation. We quote from well known books of reference; and counterparts may be seen under many authorships.

"B is pronounced by pressing the whole length of the lips together, and forcing them open with a strong breath."

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P is formed by a slight contraction of the anterior part of the lips."

"D is a dental articulation, having a kind of middle sound between the t and th; its sound being formed by a stronger impulse of the tongue to the upper part of the mouth than is necessary in the pronunciation of t."

"T is numbered among the mutes or close articulations; and it differs from D chiefly in its closeness, the strength with which the breath is emitted in pronouncing t, being all that distinguishes them."

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K is usually denominated a guttural, but is more properly a palatal, being formed by pressing the root of the tongue against the upper part of the mouth, with a depression of the lower jaw, and opening of the teeth."

* In Chambers's Elocution, the student is actually directed to commit this barbarism. We read as follows: "The same disposition of the organs (as for P, T, K,) with the sound directed to go forth partly through the nose, and partly through the mouth, form B, D, and the sound of G in game.”

"G has two sounds; one called that of the hard G, because it is formed by a pressure, somewhat hard, of the fore part of the tongue against the upper gum. The other sound, called that of the soft G, resembles that of J." Then, if we turn to J, to be informed what this indefinable sound of soft G-J is, we are told," J has invariably the same sound with that of g in giant."

B and P are thus made to differ only in the quantity of lip compressed: D has a stronger impulse of the tongue than t, and is a middle sound between t and th; while, we are told, t is distinguished from d by nothing else than the strength with which the breath is emitted. No analogous connexion is hinted at with reference to k and g; but, on the contrary, k is said to be formed by the root of the tongue acting upwards, and g by the fore part of the tongue acting forwards. In the latter case, the writer has evidently been thinking of the name of the letter (jee,) though, strangely enough, this illustrates the "soft" sound of the letter. "Hard G" does not employ the fore part of the tongue, or the upper gum at all.

To those who really want the information, such careless misdirection must be most perplexing. No variation of the mode, or degree of labial contact, would ever convert pillow into billow, or blunder into plunder; nor could any alteration of lingual pressure, or strength of expiration ever make tame become dame, or drudge trudge. P and B, T and D, K and G, are pairs of articulations formed by exactly the same organic motions, the only difference being in the material which the actions modify; whispered breath, in the one case, vocalized breath, in the other.

Every possible action of the mouth may modify breath or voice, and thus, from each action may be produced two distinct elements of speech. The classification into BREATH and VOICE ARTICULATIONS thus reduces the number of the elemental actions of speech to half its apparent amount.

The above six letters, (three formations,) are all the English articulations which altogether obstruct the breath; and indeed it may be questioned whether there can be any other obstructive articulation produced by the mouth. Minute differences in these formations* there may be in different languages, but we believe

* In English usage we sometimes have the formation T-D, finished by the extrusion of the breath over the sides of the tongue, while the fore-part remains on the palate; this occurs only before l in the same word, as in bridle, saddler,

there can be no organically distinct articulation of this class in any language.

We subjoin a table of the six shut articulations, in combination with the thirteen English vowels, which we commend to the student's practice. He should take one syllable at a time, and reiterate it as often as he can with one breath, giving a strongly percussive finish to the articulation. The number he can manage will afford a sure test of his power to regulate the breath, the chest, and the glottis. With a little practice, after he has acquired the knack of striking off the articulations without waste, he should be able to produce, with energy and ease, from 60 to 80 or 100 repetitions of the syllables with each expiration. VOWELS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

These three organic actions yield another set of elements by direction of the voice into the nostrils, while the mouth is shut up. From the labial formation P-B, is produced in this way, M ; from the anterior lingual formation T-D, is produced N; and from the posterior lingual formation K-G, is produced NG.

The actions of the mouth for M, N, and NG are precisely the same as for B, D, and G: and though the former gain but little audibility by the cessation of contact, yet they cannot, any more than the latter, be considered finished until the organs are separated. There is breath within the mouth, pressing against the conjoined organs, as well as a free current in the nostrils: and though the voice may be perfectly finished by merely closing the glottis, the Articulation would be imperfect, if the breath within medley, cattle, motley, butler, &c. We also permit the explosive effect of these letters to be heard in the nose, before n in the same word, as in bidden, midnight, mutton, fitness, &c. In separate words, however, the t and d before and n must be regularly finished.