The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-04-20


As.l have sat and listened to public
speakers at the BAR, in the pulpit, on
the h~ustlings, in the lecture. hall. /
have often wondered at the absolute
inadeQuacy Of the early instruction in
pronunciation. I do not recall but
three readers or speakers who / have
heard who were thorough adopts in
pronunciation, and they were Bishop
w. NJ. Green. born in Wilmington. but
of the Diocese of Mississippi; Rev.
Charles F. Deems, D.. D., Ii. D, and
Judge George E. Badger, the great adj
vocate and orator. Even n SO i'm
perfectly skilled and trained as l was
and am still in correct pronunciation
| have been able to catch all others
tripping now and then. remember
we'll that when ] heard New England's
very eminent speaker and rhetorician.
Edward Everett. at Raleigh in 1859. I
found him making at least thirteen
errors in pronunciation according to
the best recognized standards of that
time. Bishop Ives was the best of
readers / ever heard, except Rev. DR..
Chaplin. the famous universalist orator
Of 1S4S-'6O. living in New York City,
and l do not recall that I heard errors
from him. But l was too young then
for criticism perhaps. was abou
t~wenty-three when / last heard him.
now more than ever. Words are sim
ply ~butchered. Every day I hear peo-
Pile who pass for being educated. say
ing. Tide rather" 1 heard not long
ago a fairly we'll educated woman say,
up stairs" Who pronounces coffee
and coffin correctly now? They pro-
nounce both as if spelled cough-ee and
oough-in. But it is useless to prolong
for h butcheries are endless. But
what is especially needed among the
preachers is a close: critical study Of
the proper names in the Bible. I
doubt if there are five ministers in
all North Carolina who can pronounce
all Of the New Testament proper
names according to the highest recog-
nlzed English standard, and so far as
[ know, according to any other stand
ard. Take such proper names as
Philemon. One-si-mus, Ber-ni-ce,
Eu-ni-ce, E~-pae-ne-tus, Ar-e-tas, Bar
a-bas, Chloe, Ja-i-rus. Sa-lo-me. So
sip-a-ter. Troph-i-mus, Steph-a-nas.
Thess-a-lo-ni-ca and SO on. How many
are correctly pronounced? l cannot
give the necessary accents here. / cite
that they may be examined by the
curious. 7 knew intimately three per-
sons in my early manhood in North
parents and others Bernice. Eunice.
and Epenetus. Any careful reader of
the New Testament can soon have the
correct recommendations if they will
consult a Baxter or some other stand
ard English Bible. But the chief
words are ~butchered without mercy or
recognition. It is a pity that all
teachers do not equip themselves for
correct pronunciation. If they had
such teachers to supervise their spell
ing as Bishop Green. born in Whining
ton. was. they would be amazed at
their own ignorance and widely eA-
tended Indifference. | sometimes hear
ladies rather boastful Of their educa-
ton and culture blunder egregiously
both in pronunciation and grammar.
Let more attention be given to the
correct pronunciation including accent.
and grammatical accuracy. AS I seek
to do some good I make no apology
for the above needed hints. How car
a person be considered as, educated
who bIunders habitually both in gram
mar and pronunciation. A word to
to the willing learner is sufficient.
Wilmington. y. G.