b. Do the same with ah and ay.

C.

Do the same with ah and oo.

d. Do the same with ah and ee.

35.

Exercise. a.

Sound the notes below, alter

nating ah and oh, thus:

b. Do the same with ah and ay.

C.

Do the same with ah and oo.

d. Do the same with ah and ee.

АН ОН АН ОН АН ОН АН ОН АН ОН АН ОН АН ОН АН ОН

АН ОН АН ОН АН ОН АН

АН ОН АН

NOTE: It will be helpful when practicing these exercises if the mental and emotional attitude of pupils is properly directed. If the pupil is alert, interested, quick to respond to suggestion; and if he is happy and enjoys the exercise-as one has put it, "if there is a cheery smile" in the tones-the value of these exercises will be tripled. The teacher should use the utmost tact and patience and skill to make the practice a happy one. If the teacher or pupils rebel against the work or are indifferent to it, the greater part of its value is lost.

36. Mixed vowel sounds. Without giving further attention for the present to tone quality, let us examine the other unobstructed elements of our speech, namely the Mixed Vowel Sounds.

If the exercises have been done carefully, it will have been noticed that when any one of these sounds is made the organs of speech take a definite position and maintain it without change until the next sound is made. Any change in the position of the organs of speech changes the vowel; this is why these vowels are called primary or single. In the exercises described every effort should be made to avoid changing the vowel while it is being sounded.

37. How mixed vowel sounds are made. In some vowel sounds it is necessary to change the position of the organs of speech from the position of one primary sound to that of another. Vowels so produced are said to be mixed or secondary. Those made by one shifting are:

13. ew as in few =ee (feet) and oo (fool) blended 14. ai as in high ah (father) and i (bit) blended 15. ow as in now = ah (father) and oo (fool) blended 16. oy as in boy aw (saw) and i (bit) blended

=

In each of these mixed vowel sounds one of its component sounds does and should predominate. Thus in few the ee is very brief, and the oo prolonged. In high the ah is long and the i very short. In now and boy, the first element is long and the second short.

38. Errors in mixed vocal sounds. Because of ignorance or carelessness many errors creep into the American speech through improper handling of mixed vowels. These errors are of four kinds.

(1) Omitting one of the vowel elements. For example, new is frequently pronounced noo, the position of ee being omitted.

(2) Making a short vowel element long. For example, mine is sometimes pronounced mah-een as if it had two syllables.

(3) Using a wrong sound for one element. For example, cow, in some rural sections, is pronounced ca-oo, instead of cah-oo.

(4) Separating vowel elements instead of blending them quickly. This is heard in certain drawling dialect like, Yoo-er ha-er is brah-oon.

It is essential, therefore, that the pupil first learn how to make all the primary sounds correctly, second what primary sounds are used in each mixed sound, and third which sound is short and which long.

Care should be exercised not to separate the

primary sounds in these words. They should be

blended so as to produce, in effect, a single mixed sound, not separate sounds.

In these sixteen sounds are all the necessary vowel elements for learning American speech. These should be practiced alone and in relation to each other until each can be uttered correctly.

40. How vowel sounds are spelled. The vowel sounds of American speech are spelled in a vast variety of ways, and these ways must be learned. It is not best to attempt to learn all the spellings of a sound when one is beginning to learn the language. Learn the sounds themselves first, then let the recognition of the various written forms grow gradually.

41. Here are some of the common forms that each sound takes. The list is not exhaustive. Pronounce:

1. 00-fool, wound, tomb, fruit, rheumatism, through, shoe.

2. 00 foot, put, could, woman.

3. oh blow, bone, goat, soul, owe, foe, sew, though, oh, beau, yeoman.

4. aw-saw, sauce, fall, cloth, caught, cough, broad,

orb.

5. a fat, plaid, guarantee, wear.

6. ah-father, hurrah, boa.

7. er-her, fur, sir, were, word, journey, earth, myrtle, colonel.

8. uh-up, son, touch, flood, does.

9. ay- fate, gain, pay, vein, they, great, gaol, gauge, aye, weigh, straight.

10. eh-them, head, any, bury, said, heifer, leopard,. guess, says.

11. i-bit, hymn, pretty, England, busy, sieve, breeches,

build.

12. ee-beat, heat, scene, ceiling, niece, machine, people, key, mosquito, quay, vehicle.

13. ew-few, tune, due, suit, feud, yule, you, lieu, view, beauty, ewe.

14. ai-high, kind, try, tie, dye, sign, sigh, guide, buy, aisle, eye.

15. ow-now, doubt; bough.

16. oy-boy, coin, quoit, buoy.

42. Mixed vowels with r.

a. In addition to the vowel sounds described, there are several which are found in combination with the consonant r. They are:

b. It will be seen that the effect of the terminal r sound is to add another vowel (er) to the one preceding it. Thus the word ear is made up of the sound i (bit) and er blended; hair is a and er; and

so on.

C. In the tripthongs two vowels are blended