EXERCISES ON THE VOWEL SOUNDS.
In pronouncing the words in the following exercises, special attention should be given to the precise sound of the letters italicized. The sounds of the letters in Italics are the same as the sound of the vowel at the head of the paragraph.
Exercises upon tables of words like the following are valuable, not only for developing vocal power, but as one of the best methods of correcting habitual errors in pronunciation.
a, long, as in fāte.—Fame, blame, sail, cambric, nature, ancient, patron, matron.
a, short, as in făt.—Bat, mat, bad, had, can, cannon, sand, fancy, marry, have.
a, Italian, as in fär.—Are, bar, star, guitar, mart, alarm, parchment, father, heart, hearth, guard, daunt, haunt.
a, broad, as in fâll; and o, as in nör.—Ball, call, tall, nor, form, storm, corn, salt, ought, fought, nought.
a, as in fàre; and e, as in thêre.—Dare, rare, pair, air, share, snare, where, heir, stare, pare.
a, as in fā̇st.—Blast, chance, lance, trance, branch, grasp, graft, grant, grass, pass, class.
e, long, as in mēte; and i, as in marîne.—Be, she, theme, scene, marine, pique, key, fiend, grieve, treaty, Cæsar, critique, relief, belief, leaf, quay, lenient, inherent.
e, short, as in mĕt.—Bed, bread, debt, engine, tepid, get, yes, chest, egg, kettle.
i, long, as in pīne; and y, as in bȳ.—Smile, mile, vine, fly, type, defy, sky, kind, flight, ally, apply, tiny.
i, short, as in pĭn; and y, as in my̆th.—Din, ring, whip, skip, lyric, servile, agile, cygnet, cynic, cylinder.
o, long, as in nōte.—Home, dome, glory, vocal, more, gore.
o, short, as in nŏt.—Mob, rob, sob, dot, got.
o, long and close, as in môve; and u, as in rū̇le.—Prove, mood, lose, rule, true, ruin, druid, moon, root.
u, long, as in tūbe; and ew, as in new̄.—Tune, fuse, cure, lure, duty, curate, few, pew.
u, short, as in tŭb; and o, as in sō̇n.—Just, must, tun, fun, hug, rug, dove, does, rough, son, ton.
u, middle, as in fûll.—Bush, push, butcher, cushion, puss.
u, short and obtuse, as in für; e, as in hër; i, as in fïr; and y, as in mÿrrh.—Burn, murmur, further, herd, fern, person, merge, mercy, sir, bird, virtue, dirk, dirt, mirth, myrrh, myrtle, syrtis.
oi, as in vöĭce; and oy, as in böy̆.—Boil, coil, coy, toy, void, coin, joint, joist, poise, noise, employ, rejoice, avoid, appoint, embroil, foible, oyster.
ou, as in söûnd; and ow, as in nöŵ.—Pound, proud, brown, vow, endow, noun, town, doubt, devout, plough, trout, ground, shout, vowel, thou, around.