RULES AND OBSERVATIONS FOR ASSISTING CHILDREN TO READ WITH PROPRIETY. The rules in the larger type should be committed to memory. THE compiler of this work having, in the preface to the " Eng. lish* Read'er," explained at large the principles of elocution, nóthing on this head seems to be necessary in the present publication, but to give a few plain and simple rules, adapted to the younger classes of learners; and to make some observations calculated to rectify the ĕrrours which they are most apt to commit. These rules may be comprehended under the following heads.-They are comprised in few words, and a little separated from the observations, that those teachers who wish their pupils to commit them to memory, may more readily distinguish them from the parts which require only an attentive perusal. General Rules for Reading. I. All the simple sounds should be pronounced with fulness, distinctness, and energy; particularly the vowels, on the proper utterance of which, the force and beauty of pronunciation greatly depend. The simple sounds, especially those signified by the letters 1, r, s, th, and sh, àre often very imperfectly pronounced by young persons. Band p àre apt to be confounded: so àre d and t, s and s, fand v. The letters and w àre often sounded the one for the other: thus, wine is pronounced vine; and vinegar, winegar. The diphthong ou is, in some words, vulgarly sounded like er: as foller, meiter, winder; instead of follow, mellow, window. When several consonants, proper to be sounded, occur in the beginning or at the end of words, it is a very common ĕrrour to omit one of them in pronunciation: as in the words asps, căsks, guests, breadth, fifth, twelfth, strength, hearths. Not sounding the letter h, when it is proper to sound this letter, is a great fault in pronunciation, and very difficult wholly to correct. * Ing'glish. When children have acquired any improper habits with respect to simple sounds, the best mode of correction is, to make them frequently repeat words and sentences, in which those sounds occur. When the simple sounds are thoroughly understood and acquired, the various combinations of them into syllables and words will be easily effected. II. In order to give spirit and propriety to pronunciation, due attention must be paid to accent, emphasis, and cadence. When we distinguish a syllable by a greater stress of the voice, it is called ac'cent. When we thus distinguish any word in a sentence, it is called em'phasis. It is difficult to give precise rules for placing the accent; but the best general directión, is, to consult the most approved pronouncing dictionaries, and to imitate the practice of the most correct speakers. There are, in every sentence, some word or words, on which the sense of the rest depends; and these must always be distinguished by a fuller and stronger sound of voice, whether they are found in the beginning, the middle, or at the end of the sentence. It is highly improper to lay an emphasis on words of little importance.-Words put in opposition to each other, àre always emphatical: as "Here I am miserable; but there I shall be happy." "Children,” says Be-at'tie, "àre not often taught to read with proper emphasis. When books àre put before them which they do not understand, it is impossible they should apply it properly. Let them, there'fore, read róthing but what is level to their capacity. Let them read deliberately, and with attention to every word. Let them be set right, not only when they misapply the emphasis, but also cautioned against' the opposite extremes of too forcible and too feeble an application of it: for, by the former of these faults, they become affected in their utterance; and by the latter, insipid." That children may be enabled to apply the emphasis with judgment, they should carefully study the subject, and ascertain the meaning of every difficult word and sentence, previously to their being called to read to the teacher. As emphasis consists in raising the voice, cadence signifies the falling of it. To'wards the close of a sentence, the cadence takes place, unless the concluding words be emphatical. It should always be easy and gradual, not abrupt; and should never be expressed in a feeble and languid manner. Even the falling of the voice may be managed with spirit and variety. III. As the art of reading greatly depends on the proper management of the breath, it should be used with economy. The voice ought to be relieved at every stop; slightly at a comma, more lēï'şūre-ly at a semicolon, or a colon, and completely at a period. A due attention to this rule, will prevent a broken, faint, and languid voice, which is the usual fault of ignorant and vulgar readers. It will enable the reader to preşĕrve the commànd' of his voice; to pronounce the longest sentence with as much ease as the shortest; and to acquire that freedom and energy, with which a person of judgment naturally expresses his per-cěp'tións, emotions, and passions, in common discourse, The comma marks the shortest pause; the semicolon, a pause double that of the comma; the color, double that of the semicolon; and the period, double that of the colon. A dash, following a stop, shows that the pause is to be greater than if the stop were ǎlōne; and, when used by itself, requires a pause of such length as the sense alone can dětĕr'mine. A paragraph requires a pause double that which is proper at a period. The points of interrogation and exclamation, àre uncertain as to their time. The pause which they dẽmànd' is equal to a semicolon, a colon, or a period, as the sense may require. They should be attended with an elevation of the voice. The parenthesis, unless ǎccóm'panied with a stop, requires but a small pause. It generally marks a moderate depression of the voice. IV. Let the tone of the voice, in reading, be the same as it would be in speaking on the same subject. To render this rule proper and effectual, children should be taught to speak slowly, distinctly, and with due attention to the sentime.ts they express. The mode of speaking is then only to be imitated by the reader, when it is just and nǎt'u-rǎl.* V. Endeavour to vary and modulate the voice, according to the na'tūref of the subject, whether it be in a solemn, a serious, a familiar, a gay, a hu'mór-ous, or an ironical strain. It would be highly improper to read an interesting narrative, with an air of negligence; to express warm emotions of the heàrt, with cold indifference; and to pronounce a passage of Scripture, on a sublime and important subject, with the familiar tone of common convĕrsa'tión. On the other hand it would be absurd to read a letter on trivial subjects, in a mournful strain; or a production of gayety and hu'mour, with grave formality. VI. In reading verse the same general direc'tións must be obşĕrv'ed, as have been given for reading prōşe. Nar'rative, di-dăç'tick, descrip'tive, and pa-thet'ick pieces, have the same peculiar tone and manner, in poetry as in prose. A singing note, and making the lines jingle by laying too great stress on the rhyming words, should be particularly avoided. A very small pause * năl tshi-ră † na'tshure. ‡yū mùr-ús. B |