The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1900-05-11
ALL IN THE "a"
Some of the Things We DO by Wa.
of Initiation.

of Imitation.
When the pilgrim fathers landed at
Plymouth in the seventeenth century,
they brought with them in the Mayflow-
or broad "a" which was native to the
north of England, their original home.
This "a" has since been confined largely
to the south of New England in such
words as pass" grass" and half, "
pronounced 'pahss," 'grahss," "hahf,"
and has been re-enforced by imitation in
New York OF similar pronunciation in
modern England. Except in n few words,
like pasture" which is almost invaria-
bly, pronounced "pahstur" by American
farmers. the broad "a" is natural to
Americans and is fad pronunciation
confined to a few words, like 'cahn't,"
"ahnt," ''hahi pahst" and perhaps 20
others. Orc OF the test words of this af-
fected system is gas" which must be
pronounced "gahs." Even persons who
have made themselves letter perfect on
"cahn't" fail on gas" The rules are
entirely arbitrary and are determined by
the usage OF fashionable cotcric. who
try to initiate, rather unsucccssfully, the
pronunciation OF second class English
men. You may say ''dahdo" and ''dahnce"
and "Frahnce," but you must not say
"cahrful" or "dahrsent," both Of which
last are good Mag flower AS" ''Fahn-
Cyl is good form. and 'gahs" is quite ell
egaut. but as yet you are not expected to
call rat a ''raht" or Il cat cant"
Nowels vary US mu,h US human faces
do. which run from the mercst sketches
of features to the pronounced jaw and
retrenting forehead of the baboon. The
agreeableness of the sound depends on
fln nVnttpuns nnaIifu NJ rim ynipn
The broad n is a pleasant sound. but it
will not disguise the defect Of Il thin and
high pitched voice. We have known
young women who could utter the "aou
sound. the most disagrecnble in human
speech. because nearest the original snarl
of our respected ancestor. the anthropoid
ape, in such u tone as to be irresistibly
attractive. and the brond n, combined
with u defective articulation. is some
times the very caricature of human
speech. The load a is apt to become
still further tlattened into aw, so that
dahnce and Frahnce become ''dawnce"
and "Frawncc." The speech of many
Engishmen is thus degeuerated into Il
succession OF unn, eligible throaty Jaw"
sounds, i'll which John becomes "Jawhn,"
and nothing becomes "nawthing" at the
same time that past becomes "pawst."
We are informed. however, that in hunt
ing circles fox is never alluded to. II
you wish to show that you belong to the
inner ring of fashionables who hunt the
bag of odoriferous seed in Long Island,
you must say 'fawks hunting" Our in
formation OH this point is explicit, but we
do not vouch for its accuracy, as there is
nothing in which people are more apt to
deceive themselves than in the sound of
vowels.
Except in few words, where 1t be.
longs, the broad or Italian sound Of q Is
not American. Its use is an imitation of
English or Scotch pronunciation, and the
person who initiates foreigners indicates
that he or she is ashamed of his or her
parents. There may be reason for this,
but it is bad taste to make il evident.
Let ''our speech be yea, yea. and nay,
nay" and not "yaw. yaw." and nav,
naw." There ure plenty Of good points
in the English for us to initiate without
picking up the degeneracies in their pro-
Observation-Disclosures T:uIes.