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V PRONUNCIATION Pronunciation
I DO NOT INTEND to labour this work with a
'system of my own on pronunciation with those diacritical instructions in which
experts delight; nor do 1 think it helpful to do so as each teacher of Voice
Production, each Elocutionist has his own method of approach towards the
formulation of vowel sounds and the pronouncing of consonants. Not only do
methods of teaching come into question but the number of speech sounds in '
English Page-45 are rarely agreed upon by different authorities.1 Nevertheless we are interested in pronunciation as far as vocal tone is concerned. For an effective and clear pronunciation the vocal tone, produced in the larynx and by the resonators, is moulded or carved out of tonal sound into vowels and consonants as it passes through and out of the mouth cavity : this is mostly effected by the varied positioning of the tongue, opening and adjusting the jaw movements to varying extents and opening and changing the shape of the mouth. The widest vowels are the open Italian "a" as in arch and the "a" as in day, which are produced by raising the soft palate and lowering the bottom jaw as in a yawn. The narrowest vowels are the "Ō Ō" as in moon and the " ē ē " as in been, the first of which is achieved by pursing the lips as if to blow out a candle and closing the back of the mouth cavity to 'squeeze" out the sound between the two consonants; the second is achieved in a similar manner, except that the lips are elongated as when one articulates the word "cheese".
Page-46 The widest vowel sounds have unrestricted passage from the mouth, and the narrowest vowel sounds have the emission of tone reduced to the sound of the two consonants nearest to vowels— that is the "w" and the "y"—which are, far all practical and effective purposes, best pronounced as "ō ō" and " ē ē "; the only exception would be when "w" or " w h" is followed by "Ō Ō" and itself, as in "what" and "woo", and when "y" is followed by "e e" as in "ye". The elocutionists, those who insist that consonants should be pronounced as they are spelled, will not agree that "when" should be pronounced as " Ō Ō — en" but they might do well to consider the following: Thoughtfully I brought myself to regard the rough-handling of the dough by the Middlesborough bakers, like ploughmen coughing from their labours, as the wind soughing through the manes of their draught horses.i Incidentally, it is not possible to form an "he" after "w". All that one succeeds in producing is an aspirated " h ", i.e. "h -Ō Ō -en"; this is the same with other words beginning with "w h" except in the case of "who" when no attempt is made to pronounce the "w". These two vowel-consonants "w" and "y" are especially interesting; we call them vowel-consonants because they embody something of the meaning of both words, viz. Vowel - Latin vocalis "capable Page-47 of being sounded'", and Consonant Latin cum "together" and sonans "sounding", and yet do not agree with the adage (if we call it an adage in this respect) that, " A vowel can be sounded; a consonant cannot ". The English alphabet is derived from Latin with the addition of "w" which is of Teutonic origin; "w" and " y" are especially interesting also because they form a natural link between vowels and consonants and can be pronounced as either the one or the other. To pronounce consonants effectively 1 one-should notice that the movements of lips and mouth in relation to the passage of tone is much more than for vowels. The most open consonant is " 1 ", the tone being more restricted for the continuants "m" "n" and "v" and is momentarily withheld in the case of the explosives "d" " b " and "g ". For aspirate consonants the vocal tone is suspended and it is pronounced with breath
Page-48 which has not been vocalised in the larynx, that is, with that reserved of tidal air contained in the mouth itself. Speech pronunciation actually consists, of controlled vocal tone, the vowel sounds varying in degree of freedom, the consonants in varying degrees of restriction and total suspension. Naturally, the vowels are more important, as in them depends the musical quality and carrying power of the tone, but the ideal is an assured confident balance between vowels and consonants which seeks ever for a greater harmony. Among certain elocutionists it was thought at one time that clear speech and effective pronunciation depended upon stressed consonants. This is of course, not so; it was probably a method used in schools to make pupils more careful in ending their words, by teachers who were not very clear as to the difference between audibility and distinctness. The latter depends upon the consonants while the former depends upon carrying power and the tonal value ascribed to the vowels in the rhythm of the phrase as it is spoken.
In spoken language, pronunciation (to the auditor) is the most striking element and as such it is, much more than one appreciates, the most obvious test of culture.
Page-49 A cultured speech is recognised, not by any attempt at artifice or affectation, but by a fundamental knowledge with an inherited pride and respect for its ancient traditions as well as its modern usage. There is also, inherent in cultured speech, the awareness of the importance of maintaining an integral cultural purity, a standard of excellence to which the growth of a modern usage may be constantly aspiring. It could be said that if no acknowledged standard of pronunciation existed, spoken language would largely fail as a medium for conveying ideas. Nevertheless, underlying all this need for a pure standard of pronunciation is the psychological importance of the sound of the word itself that, for want of a better term, the elocutionists call the sound-value. Phonological pedants and poets may talk of sound-value, but unless they know by experience, they cannot convey to others the real importance this element has as a power in speech. It is precisely here that most elocutionists have to stop, because they can say no more than that there is this "magic" in the utterance of the word which some people have and most other people have not.
In speech, more than any other faculty we possess, there is always the possible
correspondence in harmony between the inner and the outer.
Page-50 Most people today understand the rudiments of operative psychology, so it should not be too difficult to appreciate the operative fact of the idea in the mind or the emotion in the vital expressing itself through a sound-experience which alone (that is, apart from the actual meaning of the word) will convey the inner idea or emotion to the auditor. This is the true power of communication or what is understood by the initiate in some Indian Yogas as the power of Mantra. The power of the word first lies in the sincerity behind a true vibration that has in it the inspiration of creativity. The Sanskrit word " Om " maybe uttered by the uninitiated a thousand times a day but it will mean nothing; pronounced by an initiate in Yoga-mantra, however, with his disciplined practice of sadhana, it can link his consciousness to the Universal Oneness of the Divine. So too, in varying degrees, does a person's pronunciation bring him a true or false contact and understanding with others according to the poise and harmony created in the " sound-value " of the spoken word.
We have followed our " sound-value " to an ultimate, now we have to return to a more prosaic level to include one more of its elements, namely, accent.
Page-51 ACCENT Every speaker should be able to accent any syllable in any word with complete ease; if not, he should practise until he can do so. 'Words are often mispronounced merely because the accent is misplaced. Consider the word " perfect "". As an adjective the accent is placed on the first syllable : perfect. Mispronunciation in cases of misplaced accent will naturally create more confusion than silence. In English, accent is a matter of stress, i.e. it depends on force of utterance, and the contrast between accented and unaccented syllables is very marked, whereas in French, for example, it is very slight. Hence English verse depends largely upon the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables rather than on quantity, such as we find in Latin, or the strict numbering of syllables, as in French. With English words, the accent usually falls on the first syllable. The comparative weakness of the end syllables is the main reason for the loss of inflections in noun case-endings, which is so marked if we compare King Alfred's English with Chaucer's, or Chaucer's with Shakespeare's.
From 1016 to 1042 Danish kings ruled England, but the Danes were speedily absorbed by the English people and the Danish language did not last long. One great result, however, of the
Page-52 mingling of the two peoples was that English began to lose its inflections. Every intermixture of two languages hastens the break-up of their grammatical forms to replace it by a build-up of idiomatic usage. It is very necessary that one should be able to distinguish the difference between inflexion 1 and .stress, for often the accent may be the inflexion or pitch of the voice and not the stress ictus. Although accent in English plays a major part in pronunciation, it is not. necessarily the most important part. Vowels have their own individuality, that is to say, they have their own pitch of resonance apart from the pitch of the voice. If we lake such words as : mat, mart, met, meet, mat, mile, mute, mat, it will be seen that it is not only the vowels which are the main difference, but if they are not sounded accurately it is almost impossible to say which word is intended.
The ideal to be aimed at is a conscious balance between vowels and consonants in such a manner as to feel that the consonants aid the vowels in their purity of form rather than hinder their full expression. Then the musical quality is not impeded but rather blends with the carrying-power to become tone-harmony.
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