L final also should be separately practised. After the long vowels, let it be quickly articulated,—ēēl, āīl, ārl, ūrl, āwl, ōā!, ōōl,—and after the short vowels, let it be a little more prolonged-ål, ĕll, îll, ŏll, ŭl. But in every instance it must be definitely finished by a smart recoil of the tongue from the palate.

L, like the nasal liquid N, is a very difficult letter to the Stammerer. The exercises above prescribed will be found sufficient to perfect the articulationwhen, by a preliminary course of practice, he has mastered the fundamental processes of speech. When he can govern the chest and glottis, and keep the tongue and jaw steady during the continuous flow of the vocality of l, he may safely proceed to these exercises; but we must here again remark, that it will be hopeless to attempt to correct any individual fault, till the organs and processes employed by the defective element have been first brought under perfect control.

The Stammerer will find it a useful exercise at first to give a distinct “ coup de la glotte," (see page 15) to the commencement of the sound of l, and pronounce it as a distinct syllable, even when initial; but he must gradually wear out of this for the stress of every word should be on the vowel only.

L, like N, is most difficult with the close lingual vowels, 1, 2, 3. Such words as little, lily, literal, &c. are severe stumbling-blocks: the little scope for action which the vowel allows, the abruptness of the vowel, and the subsequent articulation requiring the same organs as the 7, so disincline the tongue to exertion, that it remains glued to the palate; while the glottis, uselessly outpouring breath and broken murmurs, in vain endeavours to proceed without the tongue; till the lungs are exhausted, and the effort of inspiration probably disengages the fettered organ. The Stammerer must proceed cautiously in his practice, and act on the preventive as much as he can; for it is a work of almost unmanageable difficulty to break the connexion between the spasmodic actions of impediments when they once get a beginning.

Repetitions of the same mode of action by different organs, or of different modes of action by the same organs, are difficult of articulation; and form, therefore, excellent exercises. L, with R or N, presents difficulties of the latter class, which will be found under the letters R and N.

L initial receives no articulation in combination with it. The softened effect of y, heard in lunacy, lute, lewd, &c. has been already noticed.

L unites with the initial articulations P, B, F, S, K, G, as in play, blame, flame, slave, class, glass.

EXERCISES ON L.

Initial.-Lee, leaf, leave, lethal, lease, leash, leisure, lenient, league, leech, liege, lip, lift, lithic, listen, liquor, little, liberty, limb, live, lizard, lid, linnet, ligament, lily, lichen, lace, lake, late, label, lame, lave, lathe, lazar, leopard, left, lethargy, less, lecture,

Y

levity, leather, led, leg, lexicon, ledger, lassitude, lacquer, lattice, labefy, lamb, lavish, laniate, landlord, latch, lax, lath, last, lass, laths, laugh, launch, laundress, larceny, larmier, larva, lard, largo, larch, large, learn, learning, luff, lustre, lumber, love, lunch, longe, lull, lawful, laud, lawn, lop, lofty, loss, lottery, laurel, longitude, logarithm, loll, loricate, lodge, lord, lorn, lore, lo, loaf, loath, locust, lotion, loath, load lonely, logography, logician, loo, loop, loof, loose, look, looby, loom, lose, loon, lool, lie, lion, life, lively, like, light, library, lime, lithe, lies, line, ligure, lyre, lout, loud, lounge, lower, loyal, loiter, loin.

L'.—lucid, lute, lewd, lunacy, lunatic, lunar, lune, lure, lurid, leucine, lubric, luce, lucifer, lucre, lucubrate, ludicrous, lukewarm, lumachel, luminous, lusory, lutist, luthern,

Between vowels.-Feeling,mealy, pillow, silly, miller, sailor, tailor, railing, gaoler, teller, pellet, cellar, bellows, zealot, fallow, sallow, tallow, ballot, mallet, dally, rally, gallon, sully, gullet, mullet, appalling, tallish, drawling, galling, lawless, apology, dollar, folly, collar, hollow, jolly, polar, solar, bowling, molar, roller, lowland, holy, foolish, cooling, ruler, pulley, fuller, bullet, woollen, filing, silex, tiler, mileage, reviling, wily, beguiling, owlet, howling, oily, toilet, boiler.

Before a breath articulation.-Scalp, whelp, help, pulp, culpable, culprit, palfrey, self, shelf, pilfer, sylph, dolphin, gulph, wolf, stealth, wealth, health, filth, also, false, pulse, dulcet, talc, calx, whilk, elk, silk, bilk, milk, bulk, mulct, hulk, altitude, spilt, filter, milter, wilt, guilty, lilt, jilt, pelt, belt, welt, welter, deltoid, knelt, paltry, falter, salt, vault, waltz, sultry, culture, multitude, vulture, belch, filch, milch.

Before a voice articulation.-Filbert, bulb, Talmud, palmated, psalmody, whelm, realm, helm, film, holm, fulminate, culminate, elves, salvo, alveary, valve, salvable, galvanism, selves, shelving, twelve, delve, silver, solve, evolve, resolve, pulverize, culverin, almost, almoner, alnage, always, railway, palsy, pails, feels, whiles, tholes, stools, squalls, ills, dells, holes, bales, oils, boils, scowls, bowls, balls, mules, veils, wales, wiles, walls, dolls, galls, lolls, lulls, reels, rolls, rules, rills, sealed, wild, wold, old, ruled, cooled, scald, bald, seldom, weld, guildry, wilderness, shoulder, hold, balderdash, mulled, world, pulled, failure, million, filial, steelyard, guillotine, stallion, collier, bullion, scullion, algor, alguazil, Elgin, vulgar, amalgamate, palely, wheelless, sailless, solely,

coallike, coolly, molelike, vilely, fully, foully, ill-looking, soullike, railroad, wheelright, bulrush, algid, bilge, bulge, fulgent.

La Syllable.-Steeple, people, ripple, nipple, maple, staple, apple, couple, topple, sniffle, whiffle, shuffle, scuffle, ruffle, trifle, rifle, stifle, castle, pestle, wrestle, thistle, bristle, throstle, bustle, nestle, shackle, tackle, freckle, speckle, stickle, pickle, cockle, chuckle, huckle, battle, cattle, nettle, kettle, tittle, little, pottle, bottle, scuttle, able, sable, table, feeble, bible, ruble, babble, rabble, nibble, dribble, cobble, hobble, stubble, bubble, evil, bevel, devil, hazel, easel, bamboozle, dazzle, embezzle, drizzle, grizzle, nosle, puzzle, muzzle, ladle, needle, beadle, sidle, bridle, saddle, peddle, middle, riddle, fiddle, toddle, puddle, eagle, ogle, bugle, haggle, angle, wrangle, higgle, wriggle, single, tingle, goggle, bungle.

Note. Always sound the vowel between n and 7, as in tunnel, flannel, &c.

L final.-Ell, peal, feel, wheel, ciel, heel, keel, reveal, weal, zeal, congeal, hill, ill, pill, fill, thrill, thill, sill, kiln, will, chill, ail, pale, fail, whale, sail, inhale, kail, tale, mail, avail, wail, they'll, flail, rail, ell, propel, fell, sell, shell, tell, rebel, (v.) mell, well knell, yell, shall, snarl, carl, marl, pearl, whirl, girl, cull, mull, dull, gull, lull, purl, furl, curl, hurl, churl, awl, appal, fall, thrall, instal, shawl, recal, tall, ball, maul, waul, drawl, gall, haul, extol, doll, loll, foal, poll, total, soul, shoal, coal, toll, troll, whole, boll, mole, dole, goal, roll, jole, pool, pull, fool, full, stool, cool, tool, bull, wool, yule, rule, isle, pile, file, while, style, chyle, tile, bile, mile, revile, wile, beguile, owl, foul, cowl, howl, growl, oil, spoil, foil, soil, coil, toil, boil.

T.

OBSERVATIONS.—Previous remarks (pages 40-42) will have sufficiently explained the nature of the Obstructive Formations, of which this is one. We may therefore confine our observations here to the mechanism and individual characteristics of the articulation T, referring to the above-noted pages for information regarding its principle of explosiveness. In forming T, the edge of the whole tongue is laid against the front and sides of the mouth, so as perfectly to obstruct the breath. While the tongue is in this position, there must be a continued pressure of breath against it; and whenever an aperture is made by the removal of any part of the obstructing edge, the confined breath will be

emitted with a degree of explosiveness more or less strong, in proportion to the degree of its previous compression behind the tongue, and also in proportion to the abruptness with which the aperture is made. Among the numerous defects of speech which come under the notice of one extensively engaged in the work of correcting mal-articulations, the breath will be found to escape from the obstructive position T, through apertures of every possible variety, both of position, shape, and size. Sometimes from the very back part of the mouth, with a cluttering sound, it will issue through apertures over one or both sides of the tongue; sometimes through lateral apertures at all anterior points; and correctly, through one front central aperture, by the complete disengagement of the whole tongue from the palate. Another mode of emitting the compressed breath from the articulative position T, is by the nares or nostrils,— -a faulty mechanism more common than perhaps most persons are aware of. The correct articulative action is, we have said, the removal of the whole tongue from the palate. Let the student practice this action by articulating the following syllables in rapid reiteration till he can perfectly disengage the tongue in this way with considerable explosive force and abruptness :

ate, ete, ite, ote, oot: at, et, it, ot, ut.

The syllables should be kept severally distinct, thus,―at, at, at, at, at, &c.; and not atatatat, &c. Such must be the mechanism, in all cases, of T initial or final: but when the liquids or n follow T in the same word, the lateral explosion before 7, and the nasal before n, are not only admissible, but they are the regular and necessary formations of T in such cases. Thus in fitly and fitness, &c.; battle, nettle, little, &c., and batten, bitten, button, &c., the point of the tongue is kept in contact with the front of the palate, in forming the tl; and the whole tongue is retained in its obstructive position during the utterance of the tr. The reason of this will be evident after a moment's reflection on the formative actions of land n: it will be found to be impossible to articulate t independently of these actions, with sufficient fluency for consecutive syllables of one word. The same combinations, however, in proximate words, when the letters have not a syllabic relationship, must not be articulated thus by one action, unless in common colloquial phrases. Correct reading requires the final element of every word to be finished independently of the letter which may begin the next word. The student should therefore practise the articulations t 7 and t n in this separate way-till he can produce them lightly and clearly without coalescence.

ate nay at nal

ate lay at lan-with e, i, o, u.

T before P, K, B, G,—which otherwise completely obstruct the breath,—is liable to be reduced to the character of a mere stop without any audibility: and before m, which also occludes the mouth, it is liable to be nasally finished. Το obviate these sources of indistinctness, let the following Table of these combin

It has all the heaviness

T is a very difficuit articulation to the Stammerer. arising from the downward pressure of the chest-the strong conjunctive or upward bearing of the jaw-the muscular laxity of the mouth-the elements of impediment in the obstructive articulations generally; in addition to which it has another source of difficulty in its own articulative action. Often the explosion of the T will be distinctly heard, yet there the Stammerer sticks fast, unable to combine the next sound with the t. This sort of difficulty may be caused by want of glottal power; but it will frequently be found to be merely articulative. Only the point of the tongue is disengaged-it is turned downwards so as to allow the breath to escape—but at all other points, the tongue remains in contact. The effect of throwing down the point of the tongue is to elevate the middle of it; and the very worst position for speech is thus assumed. Let the Stammerer practise syllables and words ending with T, and observe, by looking in a glass, or placing his finger in the angle of the neck and chin (as directed at page 151), that the whole bulk of the tongue recedes in the mouth to finish this articulation. When this final action is mastered, let him practise T initial; at first, if necessary, separating the T from the next element, by its own backward action, but restraining any unnecessary waste of breath; (page 40) and by degrees he will be able to unite them with natural spontaneity.

A not uncommon fault of articulation is the substitution of tl for cl, and dl for gl; as in clean, glean, &c., which are thus mispronounced tlean, dlean, &c. The difference in the effect of this unwarranted combination is so little, that it might readily escape observation, except from ears accustomed to vocal analysis. In the north and west of England this peculiarity is especially common.

T initial combines in English with w, r, sh, and y, as in twine, true, chain, tune. S is the only articulation with which t unites, as in stay, stray, &c. Th is a common English digraph, but it represents a simple sound.

The combination Tsh is of very frequent occurrence, though we in no instance write it. It is one of the simplest possible combinations; for the T merely gives an obstructive commencement to the Sh. Tsh is the breath form of J=dzh; and while the latter is reckoned an Alphabetic element, and represented by a single letter, the former-which is the very same articulation-is written, inconsistently enough, ch.

Ts, which does not occur initial in English, but is common in the German and other languages, is another equally simple form of double articulation : from the position T, the tongue is advanced a little, and the breath exploded hissingly through the aperture of s; as for tsh, the tongue is slightly retracted, so as to explode the breath through the aperture of sh.

Ty is liable to be mispronounced Tsh, from the cause explained at page 184; but after a few of our lingual exercises have been mastered, the tongue should have acquired sufficient neatness and precision of action to contradistinguish these combinations without effort or ambiguity.