The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-05-24
PRONUNCIATION PUZZLES.
French "Stickers" for EngIishmen
and English ''Stickers" for French
From the London Chronicle.


From the London Chronicle.
A correspondent raises an interesting
question in reference to the verses
when Easter Comes''-which appeared
in these columns. CLERK" rhymed with
dark" He asks why We cannot tell.
1t is one of the mysteries of the Eng
lish language that "clerk" should
rhyme with stark" and not with
"smirk," or even Jerk" We can but
answer the question by another ques-
ton: Why do we speak of Berkshire
when we write Berkshire, and why is it
the Darby" in speech and 1.-The
Derby" in print? But there are still
good many people who keep to the
older fashion, and call a clerk a
''clurk." A correspondent assures us
that his wife always talked of a
'clurk," and he insisted on clark"
and peace was only restored when his
wife saw THE Clurk'' as the title of a
story, and her own mistake at the
same time. The happy home is now
endangered by dispute on the pro-
nunciation of Saucepan" which the
husband, according to the wife, calls
a Saucepan" The question is too in
tricate for decision in this public place.
They must settle it between them, but
not we trust, with the article in dis
pute. French is almost equally con-
fusing from a different reason. We
pronounce the same combination of let
ters in many different ways; the
French give the same sound to words
which differ totally in photography.
Even a native of Blois can make no
distinction of sound between the six
words, "Sain, Saint, Sein, CENT, SEEING,
Cling" A sentence with which French
men often puzzle strangers is: "Je sails
que c'est sur ces sept sales que Say
cessait ses essais." Howell, in his
Familiar Letters" complains bitterly
of the thorns in the path of English
men who, with a good book knowl-
edge of the language, endeavor to un-
derstand spoken French: THE Toung
differs so much from the Pen that they
have exposed themselves to this con-
tumelious Proverb The Frenchman
doth neither pronounce as he writes,
nor speaks as he thinks. "
Instead of complaining that the
French language contains so many
words that are spelt differently and
pronounced alike, we should perhaps
be thankful that it does not contain
more words that are spelt almost the
same but pronounced differently. 1t
is not difficult, for instance, to remem-
Der that the sound of lin" in French
may also be spelt Elm and ain, as we
practically remarked yesteday; but it
is another matter to differentiate the
sounds in an, en-, on, in, and un, espe-
cially the first three. To say In the
tooth of a turkey" correctly in French,
would tax the facial muscles of any
Britisher. For the consolation of the
intending student of the French Ian
guage, however, we hasten to add that
we cannot imagine any occasion on
which he would be called upon to say
such a thing.
A correspondent points out that our
pronunciation (Which is too often PRO
nounciation') has its faults. 1t is only
too true, and "Giberalter'' is a rock
on which many split. "Heighth" is a
common mistake, and last month thou
sands of people were convinced that
they were in FEBRUARY" Not one man
in hundred calls an isthmus anything
but an 'ismus." And "aerated!" The
maltreatment of that word demands
separate hospital. "Areated" is the
common injury. But there have been
heard such compound fractures as
"aereated' and "aeriorated." After
that "diptheria," which merely loses
an n" is a mild case.
Foreigners, however. may be excus-
ed. since their mistakes are usually
due to a superfuity of conscience. One
may sympathize with a Frenchman
who puts faith in any rule as to the
pronunciation of 'ough." The plural
of potato" may have no terrors for
him. but set him to pronounce this
sentence invented by Punch" "A
rough-coated, dough- faced ploughman
strobe. coughing and hiccoughing
thoughtfully through the streets of
Scarborough" The foreigner who
could take that fence woulS deserve
immediate naturalization as he
alighted.
In regard to the popular pronuncia-
ton of Berkshire" Derby" and
clerk. "a correspondent reminds us
that the late Prof. Freeman discussed
the question some twenty years ago
in the Nineteenth Century" Prof.
Freeman's view was that ii did not
matter whether we say "Barkshire"
or "Burkshire," since both are equally
wrong. He supposed that the original
and proper sound of the first syllable
was the same as that head in berry"
or Berwick" when they are not pro-
nOunced as they are in many provin-
cial districts bury" and "Burriclk."
If you take a Scotsman unawares he
will invariably revert 10 the original
and proper "Bairkahire" and clark"
s-c-s
Samuel w. Harper, son Of the pres
ident OF the Chicago University, is
planning 10 become an instructor at