Zorn'dorf (Ger. pron. tsorn'dorf), t. of | Zwŏll. Prussia.

(1) See note 4.

....

Incorrectly pronounced.

saul-teel'yo (7)
sån blaw (7).

shelt

si-o'tah

...seen...

si'ra-kuse (8)....
tam'pe-ko
thamz.......

vē'ra krůz or ver'ą krooz

vi-en'na...

ve-je-vå'no...

wi'o-ming.

zi-toon'.

Correctly pronounced,

sål-teel'yo.
sån blåss.

55

skelt.

si-o'to.

sane.

sir'a-kuze.
tåm-pee'ko.

temz.

ver'a krooce or vå'rå krooce ve-en'ną.

ve-jev'a-no.
wi-o'ming.

za'toon' or zå e-toon'.

(2) This name is pronounced bi'root' by the Turks and by some respectable speakers in English, but there appears to be a great preponderance of authority in favor of the pronunciation given by us as the correct one, this being, moreover, the manner in which the name of Beyroot is pronounced by the native inhabitants themselves.

(3) It is a very common error to pronounce ch, in Spanish names, like our sh; it should be sounded precisely like the English ch in child, chill, &c.

It is a still more prevalent fault to pronounce the a, in foreign names, like au or aw in English; this should be carefully avoided by those who are anxious to speak correctly. In all European languages except the Hungarian, the a should be sounded either like that in father (a), or else between this sound and that of a in fat (4). We should scarcely err, indeed, were we to say that in all cases in the pronunciation of foreign words (except the an nasal and the a circumflex (â) in French, and the Hungarian as before mentioned), the a should be a little less broad than the sound we give to it in far (å).

Scarcely anything in pronunciation is more barbarous or absurd than the mode sometimes adopted to indicate the second sound of a in foreign names, e. g. arl-bar'no instead of ål-bå'no, char-par'lar instead of chå-på'lå; because there is not the slightest shade of the sound of in either of these names, nor in any similar one, unless an r occurs in the name itself. We freely admit that some few English or American speakers, who are very faulty in their pronunciation, might sound the r, in such cases, so feebly that very little difference would be perceived between their pronunciation and that indicated by the mode employed by us; but it is certainly a great mistake to give a mode of pronunciation which is adapted to those only who pronounce badly, but which is calculated to lead such as are careful to speak correctly, into a ridiculous and barbarous error. In our language, r should never be silent in any situation, although it may with propriety be sounded more slightly at the end than at the beginning of a syllable. (See Walker's Principles of Pronunciation, 416 and 419.) It would be far more correct to give the pronunciation of such names with an h, as al-bah'no, chahpah'lah, because it is a rule of the English language always to make h silent at the end of a syllable when it is immediately preceded by a vowel. (Principles of Pronunciation, 396.) The only objection which can be urged against this mode of marking the pronunciation, is that it leaves the sound of the a somewhat uncertain; for though some might pronounce the ah like å, others would probably give it a sound approximating to a; but this would be an infinitely less fault than that which would result from the use of r, for, as already intimated, it would hardly be an error to pronounce a, in almost all foreign names, less broad than å. Indeed there is a considerable diversity among different foreigners with regard to the pronunciation of this vowel. In some dialects of the same language it is much broader than in others. In many French words its sound is scarcely distinguishable from that of the English a in fat.

(4) There is considerable diversity even among good speakers, respecting the sound of a in the accented syllable of these names. Hindostan, however, is almost universally pronounced with the a short (4), as in man; while Afghanistan, Beloochistan, appear gener ally to have the a in the last syllable broader, and are in fact sometimes written Afghanistaun, Beloochistaun. For these reasons we have given the pronunciation of their final syllable differently from that of Hindostan. Yet, on the whole, it is questionable whether such a distinction ought to be made in names which are so similar in their formation, and which are almost equally familiar to all who have any knowledge of geography. It appears to us that it would not be improper to anglicize all such Asiatic names possessing some celebrity-not only Hindostan, Japan, Kamichatka, Siam, &c., but also Afghanistan, Beloochistan, Koordistan, Toorkistan, Ispahan, Herat, Kelat, Meinam, Java, and Sumatra, sounding the a in the accented syllable as in man, or in case the syllable ends in a, pronouncing it like the penultima of Alabama, e. g. jah'va, soo-mah'tra, almost java and soo-mâ'tra. (See Obser vation 2, pp. 51 and 52 of the Gazetteer.)

(5) This name is sometimes written Kamchatka by geographers of the highest character. (6) See note 4. (7) See note 3. (8) This pronunciation, so contrary to good taste and to analogy (compare Syria, Syrian, syringe, Sirius), is extremely prevalent in the State of New York. It was probably first introduced by the Dutch, as y in their language is always pronounced like our long 1. Be that as it may, it is certain that the pronunciation in question is neither classical nor English, and should be carefully avoided by all those who desire to speak with propriety.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE universal favor with which the Pronouncing Gazetteer has been received, renders it unnecessary to urge particularly, at this time, its claims to public attention. By referring to our "Recommendations," the reader will perceive that it has obtained the highest encomiums from the highest literary authorities in our country. It has been adopted as a standard work of reference in the public schools of almost all the principal cities of the United States. It has been introduced into the Philadelphia Normal School as a text-book, every pupil being furnished with a copy. Nearly all the recent works treating of geography, or geographical pronunciation, cite it as an authority, frankly acknowledging their obligations to it; * while others, by their plagiarisms, bear an indirect, but no less decisive testimony to its merits.

* See "Key to Pelton's Outline Maps," "Mitchell's Intermediate Geography," "Key to Mitchell's Outline Maps," "R. M. Smith's New Common School Geography," "Pronouncing Vocabulary of Geographical Names," in Worcester's octavo Dictionary, "Geographical Vocabulary," in Harper's Revised Edition of Webster's Dictionary," &c., &c.