7. Laugh them He He He He, Ha Ha Ha Ha, Haw Haw Haw Haw, Hah Hah Hah Hah, Ho Ho Ho Ho, Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoo.
Exercise Two
In pronunciation there is a right and a wrong way. Some people are so desirous of appearing exact in this matter that they often introduce superfluous sounds. For example, such persons pronounce evil—ē´vĭl, instead of ē´vl; towards—tō-wŏrdz´ instead of tō´-erdz.
This habit of introducing an extra sound that is unnecessary reflects upon the learning of the individual quite as much as the neglecting of a sound that is necessary. Let us not attempt to foster extravagant niceties of speech, but let us cultivate in ourselves and our pupils an appreciation of, and a desire for, pure, substantial, and impressively spoken English, showing them that the real beauty of our language lies in its simplicity and its inherent, convincing power.
Exercises in Enunciation and Pronunciation
Take up the exercises below in the following manner: First, discover the correct position of tongue, lips and jaw for producing the particular sound under consideration. Second, repeat the sound many times. See that you use your organs of speech properly in regard to the positions indicated at the beginning of each vowel exercise. After the repetition of each sound, let lips, tongue and jaw relax to normal position. Third, in repeating the words be sure the ictus or vocal stroke is properly and decidedly placed.
The main purpose is to develop pure vowel resonance, but inflectional freedom may be cultivated at the same time, if great care is taken not to interfere with the correct vocal positions of tongue, lips and jaw. Beware of a tendency in this direction. (See discussion of Inflection in another part of this book.)
Key to Pronunciation
In showing the correct pronunciation of words in the following exercises, the simplest method has been adopted. The words are rewritten with a set of letters which have invariably the same sound and are familiar to everyone.
Webster’s New International Dictionary and Phyfe’s Words Often Mispronounced are the principal authorities consulted. The authors are greatly indebted to these works for help in determining correct pronunciation. The following table gives the diacritical marks used in the following pages: