Pronunciation and Enunciation
Assuming that every word in the spelling lesson is already long since in the child’s speaking vocabulary there should be no word in it that he cannot and does not pronounce correctly. However, there are some very common words too often mispronounced. The teacher should watch for these words and secure a correct pronunciation.
There is little chance for a boy to spell “kept” correctly, if he pronounces the word as though it were spelled “k-e-p.” In words of more than one syllable the form should be emphasized by syllabication, thus making certain that each syllable is pronounced. Of 155 pupils who misspelled “boundary,” 100, or 64.5% spelled the word they heard, namely “boundry.” This spelling was certainly caused by poor pronunciation. Syllabication makes the spelling more obvious, promotes clear enunciation, and assists in making a clear mental picture of the word. If the word is composed of two words, as “somewhere,” he sees more readily that the long word is only made up of the two short words with which he is already familiar. Throughout the book all words of more than one syllable are so syllabicated when first taught. It is unwise to require children to divide such words in a written spelling lesson.
Much time and much thought may wisely be given to the enunciation of children. Clear and accurate enunciation should always be demanded. Children strongly tend to spell as they speak. Slovenly enunciation will give inaccurate spelling.