Is it absolutely necessary, in discharge of his duty day and night, that the engineer of your yard at the upper terminal bridge should make his engine ding and dong and fizz and spit and clang and bang and buzz and hiss and bell and wail and pant and rant and yowl and grate and grind and puff and bump and click and clank and chug and moan and hoot and toot and crash and grunt and gasp and groan and whistle and wheeze and squawk and blow and jar and perk and rasp and jingle and twang and clack and rumble and jangle and ring and clatter and yelp and croak and howl and hum and snarl and puff and growl and thump and boom and clash and jolt and jostle and shake and screech and snort and snarl and slam and shake and throb and crink and quiver and rumble and roar and rattle and yell and smoke and smell and shriek like hell?—Labor Clarion, 1916.
The Habit of Swallowing the “G”
The Problem
It is strange why so many people fail to sound the “ing” ending clearly when in reality to do so requires less effort than not to. There is no better way of describing it than the swallowing of the “g.”
Let us take the word “running” and determine the action of the tongue in the proper and improper enunciation of the “ing.”
1. Repeat it as “runnin’” and note the position of the tongue tip at the end of the word. You will find it pressed against the roof of the mouth just back of the upper front teeth. You will also note that the vowel sound “i” is changed to “u.”
2. Now repeat “running.” You will discover the mouth is more open, and the tongue tip just back of the lower front teeth, and the pure vowel quality of “i” is retained.
Evil Effects
There are three serious effects upon the person who persists in swallowing his “g’s”:
1. It causes a restricted throat, and consequently a tired one.