5. Clear Articulation.—So much for the voice in general; now, last of all, we must be careful to pronounce clearly, to articulate distinctly, that is, to give each syllable its proper value. Of course we do not ordinarily like to listen to a very prim and precise speaker, who pronounces every syllable with equal distinctness, uttering sharply, for instance, the d in such an unimportant word as and. It is the custom of our language to distinguish between the accented syllables, which we pronounce distinctly, and the unaccented syllables, over which we pass lightly. But, on the other hand, we do not like to listen to the slovenly speaker, who drops entirely the d in and and the g in ing, and who sounds all his vowels very much alike. In this matter of articulation, you will do well to take some older person, a good speaker or reader, as a model, and to imitate him or her. Practice reading aloud to your friends, standing sometimes at the very end of the room, or at the end of a suite of rooms, as far as possible from your hearers, asking any one of them to interrupt you the moment that anything you say is not distinctly heard.
39. Pronunciation.—As to pronunciation, you must remember that often custom is not uniform. There are sometimes two or even more ways of pronouncing a word, both or all of which are given in the dictionaries; and occasionally there is a thoroughly proper way of pronouncing a word which the men who make the dictionaries have unfortunately omitted, but which is used by many educated and cultivated people. In general, you should use the pronunciation of the most intelligent and respected people you know, and in particular that of your teacher and your school. It is quite proper and desirable that every school or teacher should establish its own custom for words which are usually pronounced in one of several ways, and the pupil should do his best to conform, for the convenience of all, to the custom of the class or the school in this respect.
40. A Plan Necessary.—There is no other important difference which you need now consider between oral composition and written composition. In both it is better, before you begin, to think carefully over what you have to say. In oral composition, as in written, it is wise to make a plan, and you can make it in precisely the same way.
Note for the Teacher.—It does not seem necessary to insert special exercises in oral composition. Almost any of the exercises from the following chapters may be used with advantage.
CHAPTER VIII
THE DIARY
41. The Value of a Diary.—The diary is the simplest form of writing, for you are writing for yourself, making for yourself a record of your life. What do you think should go in a diary? If your parents had kept one when they were your age, what would you have found most interesting now? A great many things which they would have taken for granted would seem odd to you, i.e. no telephone, big stoves in the class room, different studies, etc. If a boy in China kept a diary, what would you find most interesting? Some account of his games, of his playmates, of the look of the streets he passed through, of how he felt towards his teacher, etc. Bear these points in mind, for when you grow older, though you will not live in another land or another generation, you will be very far from your school-days, and your diary should make a picture of them for you. If you had been able to keep a diary when you were six or seven, what would you now read in it with most interest? The ideal is to set down at the end of the day a reminder of it, so that when you look at it you will remember what made that day different from every other. This is not possible always, but as a matter of fact every day has some special features, if it is only the weather.