SUGGESTIONS ON BIOGRAPHICAL SPEECHES 17 sentences, and even parts of sentences, with varions marks re- ferred to as '^ punctuation." It is even more necessary in public speaking to separate thoughts and modifications of them with vocal * * shifts. * ' The greatest single aid to variety is this change in pitch, between sentences especially. This demand upon the speaker for flexibility or variety in voice is in no sense finical, just as the demand for punctuation in writ- ten English is not finical. Another very important element of public speech is enimci- ation, or vocal word-manufacture. Evidently we utter words by '* joining elementary sounds." Care- 6. WoBD-MAKiNo Icss enuuciatiou is to public speech OB Enunciation very much as misspelling is to writ- ten composition. To say, for illustra- tion, **The General advise* the Gover'men* t'yieP," for *'The General advised the Government to yiele!," is to suggest slovenliness of speech, and worse yet, dullness of mind. Think what we may of it, enunciation bespeaks mental habit. Now the points at which we have most difficulty in word- manufacture are the following : (1) Final -d and -t sounds, as **had," ** abound," enlist." (2) Final -p and -b sounds, as in *' develop," ** absorb." (3) Final -s and -z sounds, as m **friend5," ** abounds." (4) Words of many syllables are likely to be slurred by the 8i>eaker and correspondingly ^'blurred" in the mind of the hearer. Lists of long words may be made and practiced to great advantage. For the habit of misspelling we prescribe, * * Consult your dictionary"; and for indistinct enunciation we prescribe
- * Consult your dictionary and give to every sound in the word
distinct utterance. ' ' The seemingly trifling matter of precise enunciation is worthy a place among our habits. It is an in- dex of mentality and even of character. To demand distinct enunciation is no more than to demand correct spelling. The arguments for either apply with equal force to the other. The object of Physical Expression is the enforcement of thought and accompanying feeling. Language alone is not sufficient even for private conversation ; and so words are sup-
