SECTION IV.

Of the influence of the Radical and Vanishing Movement, in the production of the various phenomena of Syllables.

THE foregoing history of elementary sounds, and of the radical and vanishing movement, will enable us to explain some of the phenomena of Syllabication.

What are the particular functions of the voice, that produce the characteristics of syllables?

What determines their length?

Why are syllables limited in length, otherwise than by the term of expiration: and what produces their ordinary length, when there is no obstruction to the further continuation of the sound of tonic and subtonic elements?

And finally, what prescribes the rule that allows but one accent to a syllable?

I shall endeavor to answer these questions concisely and in their order.

That elemental sound, or that order of elemental sounds called a syllable, is a necessary effect, or accompaniment of the radical and vanishing movement: and every syllable, consisting of one or more of these sounds, derives its singleness of impulse, and its respective length, from certain relations between this concrete movement, and the various tonic, subtonic, and atonic elements. As the reader cannot have from me, vocal exemplification of this subject, a decision upon the argument contained in the following conditions and inferences is left to his own experimental inquiry.

If the radical and vanishing movement of the voice through a tone or other interval, is the essential function of a syllable, it follows that each of the tonics may by itself, form a syllable: since they cannot be pronounced singly, without going through the radical and vanish. Now the tonics are employed for monsyllabic words, as in eye, a, awe; for interjective particles, as in oh, ah; and for mono-literal syllables, as in e-vince, a-corn, o-ver.

It follows also from the assumed causation of a syllable, that two tonics cannot be united into one vocal impulse. For each having its own radical and vanish, they must produce two syllables. Consistently with this, we find, whenever two elementary tonics adjoin, they always belong to separate syllables in pronunciation, as in a-e-rial, o-a-sis, i-o-ta.

If the radical and vanish of the voice alone, makes a syllable what it is, it follows that the atonics, being incapable of that function, cannot make a new and distinct syllabic impulse when joined with the tonics. The word speaks exhibits the meaning of this inference. For the syllabic function is here made on the tonic ee-1; while s, p, k and s, add to the time, but do not destroy the monosyllabic character of that word. It is true, the s on each extreme is a distinct sound, but having no radical and vanish it has no more the character of a syllable, than the hissing of a water-jet; and therefore does not interrupt the singleness of impulse. The voice in this word, is not indeed so gliding as on a single tonic, which shows a syllable in its purest form: yet this obstruction is very different from that of the threefold division, in the word Ohio. For when this is pronounced, with a radical and vanish on each of its tonics, they cannot be condensed into a single impulse. In answer then to the first question; It is the concrete, modified by the several elements, that produces the characteristics of those impulses called syllables.

Syllables are of different lengths. Is this an arbitrary variation or is it the unavoidable effect of the nature of the concrete, and of the elementary sounds?

This question is not asked in reference to prosodial quantities; nor to those emphatic prolongations of voice, that give force or solemnity to oratorical expression. It regards especially the difference of length in syllables, created by their elementary constituents; for it will be shown that the limit of a syllable is determined by the nature and arrangement of these, within the

concrete.

In order to render this subject perspicuous, let us take a syn thetic view of the literal series in words.

Several of the tonics as shown above, individually and alone, form words and syllables. These exhibit the syllabic impulse of the radical and vanish, in its Simple condition; and their length may equal that of the time of expiration; thus forming a few exceptions to the limitation of extent, in all other syllables. But elements cannot be combined with a view to lengthen a syllable, by the addition of one tonic to another; for this would produce a new and separate impulse.

The combining of elements, with relation to the length of syllables, is made under the following circumstances of their nature and position. If to the element a-le the atonic f be prefixed, the syllable fa will be formed, with the concrete rise on a, preceded by the atonic aspiration. If to these the atonic & be subjoined, the word fas, (face) will be longer than the two elements f and a; still the triple compound will be one syllable, since it can have only one concrete rise. For though these two atonics may be clearly heard, as part of the length of the syllable, yet being incapable of the concrete function, the radical and vanish through the given interval, is made altogether on a, as if the word consisted of that element alone. The addition of atonics to tonics, is then the first manner of increasing the length of a syllable, without destroying its singleness of impulse.

Further, if to the tonic a, the subtonic 7 be prefixed, the syllable la will be longer than a, yet will have but one radical and vanish. It was said formerly, that when a subtonic is uttered before a tonic, the vanish of the subtonic does not occur: for when the subtonic is prolonged, it continues on one level line of pitch, till its vocule opens into the tonic, which then begins the intended interval with its radical, and completes it with its vanish; but in common utterance, the vocule of the subtonic breaks at once into the radical of the tonic, which, as in the last case, begins and completes the interval. Now in the syllable la, 7 does begin the impulse with its vocality, and without perceptibly rising, joins the vocality of a; a then opening with a full emphatic radical, rises and vanishes on the e of its upper extreme. If to la the subtonic v be subjoined, the compound lav (lave) will be longer than la; while its syllabic character will still

be preserved, by the singleness of its radical and vanish. In the pronunciation of lav, the intonation of and a will be as before, except that a will not now rise so far through the concrete for a subtonic being capable of the gliding concrete, v will in this case, join in with a before it reaches the upper limit of the interval, and thus complete the vanish of the syllable. The junction of subtonic elements to tonics, is therefore a second manner of adding to the length of a syllable, without destroying the unity of the radical and vanishing concrete.

Moreover, if the abrupt element t be prefied to a, the syllable ta will be but a single impulse. If g be subjoined the word tag will still exhibit only one radical and vanish. In this way, two abrupt atonics joined with the short tonics, as in cut, pet, tik, produce the shortest syllables in the language: yet here the concrete movement, however short, is still performed, the radical of the tonic, opening from the first abrupt element, and the vanish closing on the last. This union of abrupt elements with tonics, is a third manner of preserving the singleness of impulse in a syllable, under the variation of its length.

The three different sorts of combination described above, produce their various lengths, in the manner represented by the examples under each head. But none of them can be much extended beyond the given instances, while they are restricted to the kind of elements, employed in their respective cases.

A fourth manner of combining elements, is by a union of all the different kinds, in one syllable. To illustrate this, we have only to consider, that whenever a pause occurs after a subtonic, consequently whenever it is uttered singly, or at the end of a syllable, it unavoidably assumes the concrete movement: and that the same takes place when a subtonic is followed by an atonic; as in this case, there is a termination of vocality; which in effect, is equivalent to a pause. In each of the words strange, (properly strandzh) and strength, and the imaginary syllable sglivzd, there is but one radical and vanishing movement; and the singleness of impulse is owing to the peculiar arrangement of the different kinds of elements. Each consists of seven sounds, which is perhaps the greatest number, the

nature of the elements allows to a syllable, even with the best contrived combination. The radical and vanish of these syllables is made on ange, eng and ivzed, and the principle of vocal management of the other elements is analogous in each: for and being subtonics respectively before the tonics a-le, e-nd, and i-le, do not take on the concrete. T being an abrupt atonic, adds nothing to the vocality of r, and the preceding atonic s, having no concrete function, the three elements s, t, and r, in strange, and strength, and the s, g and 7 in the imaginary syllable, slightly lengthen the beginning of these several words, without destroying the unity of their impulses: while then, d, and zh, the ng, the v, z and d, which respectively follow the tonics, a, e, and i, take up the concrete movement from these tonics, and complete the vanish of the single syllabic impulse. The final atonic th, in strength, merely adds to the time of that word, without bearing part in the concrete. The constituents in each of the above words may be combined into one syllable, in other series: but in all cases, the atonics must be on the extremes. If otherwise, as in the arrangement rstange, the whole cannot be pronounced as one syllable. For the vocality of r, ceasing on account of the subsequent atonic s, this must take on the concrete movement, and thus become a syllable. The reader may remember, it was said,-the subtonics are capable of the radical and vanish when uttered separately: and the termination of their sound by an atonic, produces this condition. In the above combinations, and in such syllables as marl, lorn, and bold, the subtonics unite smoothly, not only with the radical, and with the vanish of a tonic, but they themselves unite, in their vanishes, smoothly with each other. Nor is it obvious, why the occlusion of the subtonics should not, in this last case, interfere with the gliding of the syllabic concrete.

I have thus endeavored to show, that the various lengths of syllables depend on the nature and arrangement of their constituent elements, in the execution of the radical and vanish.

The following notation may illustrate the preceding account of the structure of syllables. This scheme represents, the movement of a third; but it is the same, in all intervals. The