The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-01-24
Spelling and Pronouncing the English
Language.

| IHAvE thus far considered onlv the
difficulties and disadvantages of our sys-
tenn in the matter of spelling. But thew
are scarcely less in learning to read and
pronounce. Discouragements and per-
plexities meet the learner at every step.
No one can tell with certainty when he
sees word for the first time what it is
to be called. Every letter composing
it stands for different sounds in other
words, and he cannot tell which of its
sounds to give it in the new word. A
thousand illustrations might be given
to show what is learned in one word
helps little in another; but time will
permit only few.
Suppose an educated foreigner to be
just commencing to read English. He
meets with the very simple word on,
which he learns tOpronounce, and feels
that he has made beginning. Next
he meets with one, and thinks it must
be one. He certainly never would
imagine that it must be pronounced
won. But having learned this he next
meets with tone, and now thinks this
must be twon, but finds OIL investiga-
ton it is tone. His next word is done,
and he wonders whether it is don, or
dwon, or done Qong o., but finds all
these are wrong and the word is dun
He learns that eat spells eat. He
wonders what the a is for, but, accepting
the situation, he passes on to great and
calls it greet. But he finds this is
wrong; there is such word rs greet,
but it is not spelled thus. The word
must be called great, and great must
be his establishment thereat. Learning
how to pronounce own, he wonders
ut the W, but takes kindly to it until he
meets with down, and calls it down.
Correcting this, he next trips on shown
| by calling it shoun. Learning the pro-
nunciation of do, he thinks doe must
be dooy; but when he gets this correct
he call does dose. But we cannot fol-
low him in detail through such words
rs now, snow; ant, want; over, lover:
lose, close; river, driver; other, bother;
rove, prove; ear, bear; linger, Singer;
have, behave; lumber, plumber; allow,
swallow; ague, plague; and enough
other contradictions and absurdities to
plague him into an attack OF the ague.
Wemust, however, pause long enough
to hear him read the following sentence,
supposing him to have just met with
the combination ough for the first time.
We may well suppose he would be
obliged to ask what to call the name,
Hough; after which he would read
(pronouncing ough alike throughout)
"Old farmer Hough took his team from
the trough and went over the slough to
try to plough; but he had bad cough,
and the ground was rough and the
roots very tough, and before he was
through he was tired enough" And
so also would our learner be by the
time he had mastered ali the fantastic
tricks of that meaningless combination.
We must imagine him occasionally
stimulating a weakening courage by
pronouncing firmly the couplet:
Though the rough cough and hiccough plough
! Der lfe's dark slough my course will pursue.
A question so much asked in the
spelling-fever days is wonderfully sug-
gestive of absurdity in the letters we
use in the representation of words
"How do you pronounce bac-ka-che?'
Generally the questioned party did not
remember to have met with the word,
and was usually much amused to find
after considerable study, that that COM
bination of letters gave him 5ackache.
| How many times do even teachers OF
long experience have to refer to die.
tionary, with no other purpose than to
ascertain how to pronounce a word-a
very common word it may be, too? The
spelling does not tell us; our memory
cannot be relied on at the moment. and
we can only look it up or risk criticism
When we had a teacher of elocution in
the High School, it was common to see
long columns of words on the black
board, that had been placed there simply
that their orrectpronunciation mi ht bt
learned. The more careful pupils hat
lists on paper, to be hunted down ant
memorized as they had leisure. The.
were to find out whether the final sount
Of oaths and truths is that of or z
whether is silent or sounded in Christ
mas and often; whether is long OF
short in vineyard and engine; whether
root rhymes with foot or boot; whether
CHI is hard or soft in archangel ant
archbishop; whether has any sount
in quote and quotient or not: whether
the last syllable of mercantile is tile
til, or teel; whether and are long o.
short in heroine; whether in sovereign
and howell has one of the sounds of {
or of II; whether in the word pronun
citation itself the middle syllable is SCI
or she. These are samples of number
less questions that are forever present.
ing themselves to the student. and viii
forever continue to do SO unless oul
! system is reformed and conformed, ap
proximately, at least, to the phoneti,
principle. If this were done, 80 pei
cent. Of all the labor they involve woul.
be saved.
In turning to the dictionary, how
often do we find the spelling given by
one combination of letters and the pro
nunciation by different one. Indeed
but for the diacritical marks used thi.
would be necessary in almost all cases
But in a very large number of words
the irregularity is so great that no sys
tenn Of marking will enable us to make
the same letters answer for both thu
spelling and the naming. "Spell til.
word thus says the lexicon, sbut OF
penalty of losing your standing in polit.
society don't call it So" Suppose /:
boy should apply for admission to on,
of your schools, and when you asked
him the usual question, "What is YOU
name?" he should answer, "Wher
written it is Johnnie Williams, bu
when spoken it is Billy JONES' wha
would you think of his sanity? Yet i.
not this just as reasonable as for wore
to require one combination of letters t.
tell how to write it, and a different on.
to tell how to speak it?
Taking up a pronouncing speller re
Gently, l had the curiosity to note care
fully the first hundred words / should
meet with in opening the book at ran
dom, to ascertain how many of then
used the same letters for the spelling a.
for the pronunciation, and found JUS
five. Thinking this might be excep
tional, l observed another hundred, ant
found in it but single one. Here ar.
a few specimens: Righteous, rychus
leisure, lezhur; knell, mel: carriage
carrij; queue. ku; christen, krisn
| naughty. naVlte: neiUhbOr. iYhbur