27. Do not give to long o, when unaccented and slightly abridged, the sound of short u; as ŭbey´ for obey´, prŭpose´ for propose´.
Pronounce the following: Opin´ion, obe´dience, provide´, promote´, provoke´, pota´to, tobac´co, posi´tion, soci´ety, el´oquence, disposi´tion, mel´ody, composi´tion.
28. Do not sound short o, when unaccented, as short u; as ŭbscure´ for obscure´, cŭmmit´tee for commit´tee.
Pronounce the following: Observe´, oppose´, command´, conceal´, condi´tion, contain´, content´, possess´.
29. Do not lay too much stress on an unaccented syllable or a syllable having a secondary accent; as pri´ma´ry for pri´mary, ex´act´ly for exact´ly.
Pronounce the following: Gigan´tic, precise´ly, salva´tion, loca´tion, vaca´tion, ter´ritory, sec´ondary, mat´rimony, prom´issory, vac´cinated.
30. In unaccented syllables do not bring out the quality of the vowel too distinctly.
In many words, “there would be pedantry in scrupulously avoiding the short and easier sounds which the organs are inclined to adopt.” For instance, cab´bage in common conversation might be cab´bij, pal´ace, pal´ăs, etc.
a. When a at the end of an unaccented syllable is followed in the next syllable by n or r, it has nearly the sound of short e, as in mis´cel-la-ny, cus´tom-a-ry.
b. In the unaccented final syllable ate, of adjectives and nouns, the vowel a generally has a sound verging toward short e, as in del´i-cate, con-sum´mate (adj.).