A Primer of Spoken English
Many will fiercely deny that the spoken language of educated men is as slipshod, as far removed from the language of the written page, as it is affirmed to be in this treatise. Some may perhaps go even so far as to accuse our author of a deliberate design to cockneyfy and vulgarize our English tongue, to degrade the standard of correct speech. This is probable, and even so Mr. Sweet will only be incurring the usual fate of prophets, of brave promulgators of new unpalatable truths. He will for a time be misunderstood and misrepresented. Nevertheless our author may await the final verdict of scholars with perfect equanimity. His scientific integrity will come out clear as the noonday; he will be acquitted of the grievous charge of aiming an impious blow at the correctness of his mother-tongue. The fact is, as Mr. Sweet says in his Preface, "the associations of the written language make most people incapable of recognizing a phonetic representation of their own pronunciation." We know an eminent English scholar who even now, in defiance of the vigorous young science of phonetics, persists in stoutly maintaining that he' can detect the sound of l in his own pronunciation of walls, and the sound of r in here, when he says, " Come here, Bob !" This being so, can it be wondered at that he and such as he should be shocked when there is held up to them an exact phonetic mirror of "spoken English"? We cordially recommend this book to the notice of all those who really want to know the truth about this matter.

-The Oxford Magazine, Vol. 9
1100233325
A Primer of Spoken English
Many will fiercely deny that the spoken language of educated men is as slipshod, as far removed from the language of the written page, as it is affirmed to be in this treatise. Some may perhaps go even so far as to accuse our author of a deliberate design to cockneyfy and vulgarize our English tongue, to degrade the standard of correct speech. This is probable, and even so Mr. Sweet will only be incurring the usual fate of prophets, of brave promulgators of new unpalatable truths. He will for a time be misunderstood and misrepresented. Nevertheless our author may await the final verdict of scholars with perfect equanimity. His scientific integrity will come out clear as the noonday; he will be acquitted of the grievous charge of aiming an impious blow at the correctness of his mother-tongue. The fact is, as Mr. Sweet says in his Preface, "the associations of the written language make most people incapable of recognizing a phonetic representation of their own pronunciation." We know an eminent English scholar who even now, in defiance of the vigorous young science of phonetics, persists in stoutly maintaining that he' can detect the sound of l in his own pronunciation of walls, and the sound of r in here, when he says, " Come here, Bob !" This being so, can it be wondered at that he and such as he should be shocked when there is held up to them an exact phonetic mirror of "spoken English"? We cordially recommend this book to the notice of all those who really want to know the truth about this matter.

-The Oxford Magazine, Vol. 9
6.99 In Stock
A Primer of Spoken English

A Primer of Spoken English

by Henry Sweet
A Primer of Spoken English

A Primer of Spoken English

by Henry Sweet

Overview

Many will fiercely deny that the spoken language of educated men is as slipshod, as far removed from the language of the written page, as it is affirmed to be in this treatise. Some may perhaps go even so far as to accuse our author of a deliberate design to cockneyfy and vulgarize our English tongue, to degrade the standard of correct speech. This is probable, and even so Mr. Sweet will only be incurring the usual fate of prophets, of brave promulgators of new unpalatable truths. He will for a time be misunderstood and misrepresented. Nevertheless our author may await the final verdict of scholars with perfect equanimity. His scientific integrity will come out clear as the noonday; he will be acquitted of the grievous charge of aiming an impious blow at the correctness of his mother-tongue. The fact is, as Mr. Sweet says in his Preface, "the associations of the written language make most people incapable of recognizing a phonetic representation of their own pronunciation." We know an eminent English scholar who even now, in defiance of the vigorous young science of phonetics, persists in stoutly maintaining that he' can detect the sound of l in his own pronunciation of walls, and the sound of r in here, when he says, " Come here, Bob !" This being so, can it be wondered at that he and such as he should be shocked when there is held up to them an exact phonetic mirror of "spoken English"? We cordially recommend this book to the notice of all those who really want to know the truth about this matter.

-The Oxford Magazine, Vol. 9

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781663545138
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date: 08/05/2020
Pages: 110
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.26(d)

About the Author

Henry Sweet (15 September 1845 – 30 April 1912) was an English philologist, phonetician and grammarian. As a philologist, he specialized in the Germanic languages, particularly Old English and Old Norse. In addition, Sweet published works on larger issues of phonetics and grammar in language and the teaching of languages. Many of his ideas have remained influential, and a number of his works continue to be in print, being used as course texts at colleges and universities.
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