Richmond Indiana palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1837-1839, 1838-12-08

.'a'e words with ease, 1t not to read with Hueucy
! an carrier introduction of tho Speilia. Book ap
pedFs % me to retnrd the progress of the p;tpii in
feadins' a-ld to give him hes;tsiing habit oil
enumeration, arising from perpeius ii disposition
" Examine the letters--to spell the words
"a. al whatever period the Spelling Book is pu,
INTO the hands of the scholar. it is of ire hiabes,
Importance that should be pure in lis ,-.ncin,es
OF orihoepy. We are informed in tn, baols
belonging 10 the Eclectic series. Ina, ,hev ARC
s'efeots ped; from which would iuier tina, orea
care had oeen exercised in rectifving the tvpop-
raphy and otherwise perfec,ing the work. re-
aio' ~ say mat notwithstanding all This Implied
care, tho book abounds in errors of the press in
.. inconsistency. and IN OF principle
VI all the books, this should be the frees, from
literary iinpertec,ions; but it is the most defec
tive of the series
Were the author Of Spelling Book I should
oief no Key iof pronunciation, to the pupils at
tcntlon: the teacher is the proper source of in
sfruetion In vocal sounds But this Spelling Book.
IN conformity to the usual practice contains n
scheihe oil notation, winch the author considers IL
important that the pupil should be perfectly fa-
msstar with. lie also informs us that he has
siinpiled the ordinary vowel sounds,' This he
has done because the difference between some of
ihose SOUNDS 'seems too nice to be appreciated bv
an anpractised carr ''ihese dstinctons' SAYS
ne, oeing unnecessary and tending to emba rrass
the learner, have not been retainedt' If there is
difference, as there certainly IS, there should be
a distinction; and that difference the ear should
be taught 10 perceive; and that distinct ton the
tongue should be taught to make. Forunti. then
IT Is obvious, the ear must remain 'unpractised y
ANA thefe Is no tune suitable TO acquire correct
haoits OF pronunciation, as earliest youth. Every
one knows how extremely difficult II is nav it is
almost impossible, for one long accustomed ia
French or German sounds, to attain an accurate
enunciation OF English words. The juvenile ear
'hen should be Pcrseveringy exercised upon all
the vowel sounds, as they occur in roris: it is n
sure means OF ob"iating the objection of an sun
practIsed ear"
Will now exhibit the authors system Of nota-
tion; and endeavor TO show that the vowe sounds
winch ne omits, are neither .1unnecessarvr nor
calculated Ito embarrass.' A. saws he, has four
sounds, occurring IN fate, far, fail fat thus
he otnits the plainly different and easily distin-
gushabie sounds of in COMPANY, and in fare
fare; Tor no pupil can pronounce these last words
correctly, by any OF the fo;Ir sounds of the author
lie gives buttwo sounds 10 E. as in me and met
otniting It's sounds in they, prey and her. manner.
10 l. he gives two sounds, as liz pine pin: omittinp
It's sounds IN firm, FIRST. To 0, he allows four
SOUNDS, as IN no, more, nor, good Here, omit
ting ITS sounds In not, son, he acknowledges diff.
terence between o in more, and good; a difference,
| certainty lar less appreclable by any ear than
that existing between its sound nor and its re-
Jected sound in bore, got. He admits three
sounds TOR Y, in tube, tub, full; neglectng It's
sound in rule, rude. Y, saws he. has the sound Of
4: had he said all the sounds of j. he would have
been correct for it surely has more than the al
Phabetc sound of in rcIy; ii has other sounds in
zephyr, pity, cynic.
! The object of Spelling Book, saws the author.
us to aid the pupi! in learning SPELL pronounce
ana read, with accuracy and percisou.r How
this accuracy and precision are to be ACQUIRED
by a detective system of notation, is not easily to
+ The compiler is constrained by his table Of no.
tafon, to associate such words Us aim slain, with
arr fair break, steak, with pear, wear; and skate
prate. W. spare, tare. Many such words are
actually placed :, the same column under the
figure and the St o.ar is required to pro-
nounce them with the long soun,.. Of a as in gate;
because the car IS "unpractsed' on its sound in
pare; and the difference ''too nice be apprc-
GATED" But who that has the least acoustic per
ception cannot discriminate two diverse sounds Of
the vowel IN these words. The in such words
as billet, river, IS monotoned; and vet who does
no. perceive difference cf soun3? That differ
ence Is more striking in her net. b, his rotation
! tue words famous, reason, auditor, porous, must
! be pronounced tamoos, reasoon, AUDITOR poroos
Every one can perceive how difficult a nd how no.
vel 1t would be to give the sound Of in net to the
termination er In player, reader, and thousa nd
more o! such words; vet this is the pronunciation
his table calls for. | do not see the proorlety o
arranging such words similar, tuteIar unde,
his fourth short sound of instead of its second
or grave sound in far, to which they certainly
fnucn nearer approximate. The word afar is re-
peatedlv placed with such words as canal abash
and IS directed to be sounded like them Thus thu
syllable tar IS made 10 sound like mat. and vet i,
the notation table srikingly different sound i
gwen to 1t, namely the grave a in part In on,
place sadH IS pronounced shawlt, in another plac,
IL IS allowed Its proper sound: drachm Is pronoun
cca with the grave sound of q: bouy is pronounce
with the sound OF on in pound
From these few samples it is plain that the svs
tenn OF notation pretixeo 10 this book, Is sadly de
hcIent; and that the scholar who makes il s:per
fcctly familiar" to himself, and practices in stric
accordance with it, will mispronounce mu,itud
: of words
But the compiler does adhere to his own ia
bic OF vowel sounds. On one page he gives tn
long sound to the first in main,ena on an
other, he gives 1t the short sound of c. AT on
time, he instructs to give the short sounds f,
The respective vowes in the syllabIes er, ar; an
the long and close sound to in the terminatio
or. Afterward. he tells us that all these final sy
tables have the short sound of a. Nav more
some of the examples he adopts ia both instance.
are the very words. Thus the last vowel i
dssenter. narrator, survivor, recorder pronour
cec one way at one time, and differently at anc
Their time
The method of representing silent letters. b
adine types appears TO to be altogether futile
the child seldom regards the itaIic letters as sic