The word ‘tobacco’ also is often wrongly pronounced ‘tobaccer.’
Some, who would be over-refined in their pronunciation, make two syllables (instead of one) of the words ‘sky,’ ‘kind.’ They expand them into ‘ske-y,’ ‘key-ind,’ &c. This is an absurd affectation.
A clear distinct articulation is an essential principle of a correct pronunciation; for, unless every syllable be uttered clearly, the word cannot have its proper effect. How often do we hear careless readers and speakers push one monosyllable into another, so as to convey the impression that there is but one word, where, in fact, there are two. How often do we hear: ‘Frin this case,’ instead of ‘For in this case;’ ‘Fra time,’ for ‘For a time;’ ‘Nevery occasion,’ for ‘On every occasion;’ ‘Tinders,’ for ‘It hinders!’ &c.
Special care should be taken to utter unaccented syllables distinctly; as these are the most likely to be neglected. It is this neglect which produces such bad pronunciations as ‘reg’lar,’ ‘sing’lar,’ ‘sim’lar,’ and which makes ‘extraordinary,’ ‘extrordinary;’ ‘usual,’ ‘uzhal;’ and ‘violent,’ ‘vilent.’ It is from the same cause that the d in ‘and’ (a word which is seldom accented) is so frequently unheard, especially when the following word begins with a vowel, in such forms as ‘He an I,’ for ‘He and I;’ ‘My uncle an aunt,’ for ‘my uncle and aunt,’ &c.
The Irish have several peculiarities of pronunciation, which must be here noticed.
1. They sound ‘ea’ (the long ē) as ‘ay;’ ‘plēase’ they pronounce exactly as ‘plays,’ and ‘tēa’ as ‘tay.’
2. ‘Door’ and ‘floor’ properly rhyme with ‘more’ and ‘sore,’ but the Irish give to these words the sound of ‘oo’ in ‘poor.’
3. They also pronounce ‘catch’ (which exactly rhymes with ‘match’) as ‘ketch’ (to rhyme with ‘fetch’). This is also a vulgar pronunciation in England.
4. They give the short instead of the more open sound of u in the words ‘pudding,’ ‘cushion,’ and ‘foot.’ They make ‘pudding’ rhyme with ‘sŭdden;’ ‘cushion’ with ‘rush on;’ and ‘foot’ with ‘but.’ They also give the same sound to the vowels in ‘strōve’ and ‘drōve,’ making them rhyme with ‘lŏve’ and ‘dŏve,’ and pronouncing them as if they were written ‘struv’ and ‘druv.’