Chapter 8. How to Pronounce the Words We Choose

In the days when Great Britain ruled the world, it was possible to say, "Give me the right accent and I will rule the world." For in England, even up to 1940, a person's way of speaking determined, to a large extent, his position in society.

In this country, however, class lines have not been determined by accent to the degree that they have been in Great Britain. Yet, some unfavorable terms are associated, in a way, with various types of pronunciation, such as: Yankee, city slicker, country hick, red neck, and hillbilly.

The attempts in the United States to establish a preferred type of pronunciation have failed. There is no one acceptable way of speaking. Yet, no matter what accent or dialect we may have, there are certain aids to effective pronunciation that help us achieve more effective speech.

1. How Is the United States Speaking?

This country has three major dialects, and a host of smaller ones.

MAP OF THE THREE PRINCIPAL DIALECT REGIONS

Within the Eastern Dialect, recognized by its "broad 'a'" and British "r" sounds, we have the Boston-area accent, the brogue of New York City, and the New Jersey accent, as well as many others. In the Southern Dialect area, there is the speech of New Orleans, the Virginia variation which rhymes "out" with "hoot", and the Texas drawl. General American covers such a broad territory that it includes hundreds of regionalisms, such as the flat speech of the Chicago area, the Missouri-Kansas-Arkansas twang, and the Scandinavian dialects of the Wisconsin-Minnesota area. Thus, although we have a variety of ways of speaking, we have but one purpose: to be effective with speech.

2. How Can We Speak More Effectively?

Note that we say that we speak a dialect, because we do. Everyone speaks some form of a dialect. Remember the old saying, "Sometimes I think everyone is a little crazy but you and me, and I even have my doubts about you!" Well, we are so self-centered about our speech that we often think everyone has an accent but ourselves.

Granting that we each have some form of accent, how can we make our speech more effective? We will apply the same three qualifications to pronunciation that we applied to grammar: best usage, inconspicuousness, and usefulness.

Effective pronunciation follows the usage of the best speakers of the time. Pronunciations are constantly changing. The only way to keep up is to listen to the pronunciation of the best speakers and try to imitate the trends of their speech. A prominent vocalist and T.V. master of ceremonies constantly speaks in the rural idiomatic forms, with a definite regionalism in pronunciation. Despite his fame, this personality would not be considered an outstanding speaker and, therefore, should not be imitated in his pronunciation. Fortunately for the student who is anxious to improve his speech, phonograph records and magnetic tapes are now available of some of the world's great literature, poetry, and drama, spoken by actors and actresses with flawless diction. Check to see which of these are available at your school or public library. Listen carefully.

Effective pronunciation does not call attention to itself. Like grammar, effective pronunciation is necessary but should not be decorative in use.

To paraphrase the words of the English author, Alexander Pope, do not be the first by whom the new is tried nor the last to lay the old aside. Beware of fads in language, and also take care not to be too old fashioned.

You should use a pronunciation that is comfortable to you, that belongs to you, and one that you can master. It should be consistent. There is nothing more pseudo-sophisticated than to hear an "EYE-THUR" or an "AAH-NT" (for either and aunt) in the middle of predominantly general American speech. "TOW-MAH-TOW" is another word that is sometimes literally tossed into a sea of conventional speech. One would think such a person would also say, "POW-TAH-TOW," but he usually does not.

Some of our more popular radio and TV commentators, by effecting a certain rhythm in their pronunciation, or by developing a particular accent, appear to feel that they are increasing their prestige and their effectiveness. Such is not the case with the more discriminating listener. Commentators such as Lowell Thomas, Chet Huntley, and Walter Cronkite speak to be understood and not to call attention to themselves.

Effective pronunciation is useful. Words should be pronounced so that they achieve a maximum strength of communication. Therefore, as soon as the attention is focused off the meaning of the word and onto the way it is pronounced, the strength of communication is likely to suffer.

For example, the pronunciations of STRENTH (for strength) and of LENTH (for length) call attention to themselves in most circles and therefore lose effectiveness. Saying "Whatcha do?" is much more apt to be confusing and misunderstood than saying, "What do you do?"; also, if a radio announcer mispronounces a place name (such as Mozambique) or a proper name (such as Montesquieu), he loses effectiveness. Those who know how the words should be pronounced are annoyed, and those who do not know the correct pronunciation are misinformed.

Therefore, effective pronunciation is as difficult to define as is effective grammar. An acceptable dialect is the form, or the range of forms, used by educated native speakers. We must always look to the top for our ideals and guides.

3. Pronunciation Problems

Keeping these principles in mind, we will now discuss pronunciation problems.

Stress

Below is a list of words with the stressed syllables indicated in capitals. Sound the words. Use each word in a sentence. If you are not sure of the pronunciation or the meaning of any word, look it up in a dictionary.

Word Stress the capitalized syllable
1. demonstrate DEM o on o strate
2. demonstrative de o MON o stra o tive
3. demonstration dem o on o STRA o tion
4. diplomat DIP o lo o mat
5. diploma di o PLO o ma
6. diplomatic dip o lo o MAT o ic
7. architecture AR o chi o tec o ture
8. antarctic ant o ARC o tic
9. biography bi o OG o ra o phy
10. biographical bi o o o GRAPH o i o cal

Sound each of the words below and use the word in a sentence to make its meaning clear. Note that when the accent changes, the meaning of the word changes, too.

la. accent AC o cent
lb. accent ac o CENT
2a. digest DI o gest
2b. digest di o GEST
3a. envelop en o VEL o op
3b. envelop (or envelope) EN o ve o lop
4a. export ex o PORT
4b. export EX o port
5a. import im o PORT
5b. import IM o port
6a. minute MIN o ute
6b. minute min o UTE
7a. object OB o ject
7b. object ob o JECT
8a. perfume PER o fume
8b. perfume per o FUME
9a. present PRES o ent
9b. present pres o ENT

Do You Always Sound the Final "Ing"?

Many people are careless about sounding final "ing". In words like "swimming", they say "swimmin'". Here is an excellent poem for practicing correct pronunciation. It is entitled "The Cataract of Lodore" and was written by Robert Southey when he was Poet Laureate of Great Britain. Be sure to sound each final "ing". Read the selection so that your listeners can imagine they are hearing the tiny brook as it starts out as a small stream, gathering momentum and greater volume on its way out to the sea, until it comes crashing down the cataract. "How does the Water
Come down at Lodore?"
My little boy ask'd me
Thus, once on a time;
And moreover he ask'd me to tell him in rhyme.
Anon at the word, There first came one daughter, And then came another, To second and third The request of their brother, And to hear how the Water
Comes down at Lodore,
With its rush and its roar,

# * *

Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting, Delaying and straying and playing and spraying, Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing, Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling, And gleaming and streaming and steaming and beaming, And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing, And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping, And curling and whirling and purling and twirling, And thumping and plumping and bumping and jumping, And dashing and flashing and splashing and clashing; And so never ending, but always descending, Sounds and motions forever and ever are blending, All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar, And this way the Water comes down at Lodore.
Below is a list of words which are often pronounced differently in the different sections of the United States. Sound each word and give an example of its use in a sentence. Then look up the preferred pronunciation in a dictionary.

Pronounce Each Word and Use It in a Sentence

In a dictionary, check the preferred pronunciation.
1. aerial
2. apparatus
3. because
4. boil
5. bird
6. coupon
7. creek
8. data
9. deaf
10. err
11. granary
12. lever
13. naked
14. pretty
15. propaganda
16. radiator
17. radio
18. rodeo
19. route
20. suite
21. fetish
22. fiat
23. fidelity
24. filet
25. fortnight
26. genealogy
27. genuine
28. gladiolus
29. gourd
30. Himalayas
31. homogenous
32. humble
33. hypotenuse
34. illustrate
35. iodine
36. Illinois
37. kilometer
38. kimono
39. languor
40. length

Below is a list of words in which the consonants or vowels are often pronounced differently in the different parts of our nation. How do you pronounce each of these words? Use each word in a sentence. If you are not sure of the correct meaning or pronunciation, look it up in a dictionary.
1. amateur
2. diphtheria
3. exit
4. garage
5. gooseberry
6. height
7. New Orleans
8. khaki
9. rouge
10. madam
11. humble
12. marquis
13. rodeo
14. Los Angeles
15. naphtha
16. often
17. mathematics
18. physiognomy
19. placate
20. plagiarize
21. poignant
22. ptomaine
23. geography
24. hear
25. library
26. government
27. jewelry
28. probably
29. certainly
30. schedule
31. psychic
32. statue
33. thirty-third
34. drought
35. work
36. radio

Sounds Added or Omitted

What changes are we making through adding or subtracting sounds?
Sometimes, a group of people in a certain area develop the custom of omitting or adding certain sounds in a word. One of the most famous examples of this is the Southern custom of dropping the final "g" in "ing" words: "singing", "dancing", etc.
Where the Southerner omits his final "g's" in "ing" words, the Easterner inserts a "u" in such words as "elm" and "film", so that they become "elum" and "filum". He also often adds a final "r" to a word ending in "a", such as "idea-r", or inserts an "r", such as in "earl" for "oil".
Do You Pronounce
This Word Like This?
1. athletics ath o uh o LET o ics
2. column KOL o yum
3. drowned DROWN o ded
4. wash WARSH
5. statistics stas o TIS o tiks
6. sherbet SHUR o bert
7. escape eks o CAPE
8. saw SAWR
9. preventative pre o VEN o tuh o tiv
10. secretary seek o ree o TARE o ree
11. arctic AR o tik
12. humor YOU o mer
13. sophomore SOF o more
14. subject SUB o jik
Check the correct pronunciation in your dictionary.

Exercises

1. From the speeches given in your class, make a list of examples under four headings: differences in stress; vowel changes; consonant changes; and added or omitted sounds.
2. Analyze the pronunciation habits of a given radio or television commentator, discussing briefly the conformity of this particular person to the criteria for effective pronunciation.
3. Write a criticism of your own pronunciation habits. Discuss your ability to follow the three guides to effective pronunciation, giving examples from your own speech.
4. Read aloud a selection from a newspaper or magazine making note of your own pronunciation of all words. Look up words you are not sure of; correct words you mispronounce.
5. Study the Appendix at the back of the book.