FIRST SYLLABLES Many errors of pronunciation creep into the speech through improper attention to first syllables. Such errors Such errors are usually in the vowel sound. A as an initial syllable in words like abate is sometimes wrongly changed to uh. 62. Exercise. When the first syllable is a single a followed by a single consonant, the a is that of a in fat. Pronounce 63. Exercise. Be as a first syllable has the shortened sound of ee. It should not be elided nor changed. |