: Every-Day Errors of Speech by Meredith L P - English language Errors of usage

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EVERY-DAY ERRORS OF SPEECH

PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 1876.

INTRODUCTION

Smart, one of the most celebrated of English orthoepists, in the preface of his dictionary says: "The proprietors of Walker's dictionary, finding it would slide entirely out of use unless it were adapted to the present day, engaged me as a teacher of elocution, known in London since Walker's time, to make the necessary changes." A standard pronouncing dictionary is a work that involves an extraordinary amount of labor and research in its compilation, and exerts an influence almost autocratical. The possibility of its becoming worthless in a short time is strange, especially when it is not on account of any work claiming superiority, but merely because error long persisted in finally becomes more authoritative than the original exemplar. With little effort, however, we can discern the causes. Persons are apt to acquire the pronunciation and use of the greater number of words by imitation, rather than by study. With confidence in the knowledge of the parent, teacher, minister, physician and others, their examples are followed without ever considering that they are often very fallible guides.

I have taken advantage of the alphabetical arrangement to introduce a few miscellaneous errors that might have been placed under a separate heading.

Instead of dividing the words into syllables and loading them with marks as is usually done in dictionaries, I have thought that it would make a deeper impression on the memory to present the words as they are commonly seen in print, depending on respelling to furnish the correct and incorrect accent and pronunciation.

The corrections have first been made according to Webster; if Worcester is unmentioned, it is to be understood that both authorities agree.

Errors of Speech.

KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE RESPELLING

Obscure vowel sounds, or those which are glided over in a word without any noticeable accent, are unmarked. In those cases where the pronunciation is so evident that mistakes seem improbable, the marks are also omitted.

EVERY-DAY ERRORS OF SPEECH.

A.

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