J. S. Kenyon, American Pronunciation. A Textbook of Phonetics for Students of English. Pp. v + 200. Ann Arbor, 1924 (George Wahr). The best account of American pronunciation. Kenyon describes with care and skill the speech of the Western Reserve of Ohio (which is his own speech). However, variants current in other parts of the West, and the Eastern and Southern type of speech are also treated. Historical problems are taken up here and there. Reviews: W. A. Read, JEPG 24. 270-3; M. B. Ruud, American Speech 1. 49-53; M. E. deWitt, AS 1. 174 (Kenyon's reply: AS 2. 500).

C. H. Grandgent, 'English in America'. Neuere Sprachen 2. 443–67 (1895).-Based largely on a survey, the results of which were published in volumes 6, 8, and 9 of MLN.

C. H. Grandgent, German and English Sounds. Pp. vi + 42, with diagrams. Boston, 1892 (Ginn and Co.).

H. Kurath, American Pronunciation. S. P. E. Tract No. xxx. Pp. 17. Oxford, 1928 (Clarendon Press). A brief summary of the chief characteristics of Western, Eastern, and Southern pronunciation. Review, with valuable comments on Southern pron., by W. A. Read, Engl. Studien 63. 408-13.

H. Kurath, 'The Origin of the Dialectal Differences in Spoken American English'. Mod. Phil. 25. 385-95.-An attempt to link speech differences with diverse elements in the population of the United States.

Margarete E. De Witt, EuphonEnglish in America. New York, 1924 (E. P. Dutton and Co.). Wrong outlook. Advocates the British standard of pronunciation for use in America, and deals only with the speech of certain Easterners and odd Westerners who strive to master British pronunciation (i.e. World Standard English, so-called).

II. DICTIONARIES

A pronouncing dictionary doing justice to our present state of knowledge is yet to be written. The more widely used dictionaries are especially faulty.

R. M. Pierce, A Dictionary of Hard Words. New York, 1910.-The geographic variants and the peculiarities of the various levels of American speech are more carefully, tho not systematically, recorded by Pierce than in any other dictionary.

G. Hempl and P. Passy, International French-English and EnglishFrench Dictionary. New York, 1903. (Hinds, Noble and Eldredge.) -G. Hempl records American pronunciation. His practice is stated in the Preface, p. 5: 'Individual and local variants are rarely given and, when given at all, are in separate title places. Nor is any heed taken of the modification which words undergo when used in types of discourse different from the normal type. On the other hand, considerable attention has been devoted to certain fundamental variants concomitant with changes of meaning or stress, variants which each individual uses according as he uses a word with this or that meaning, in this or that manner or position or with this or that degree of stress.'

The Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionaries.-No attempt is made to record the geographic variants in cultivated speech (not to mention colloquial speech), altho 'where two different pronunciations have an approximately equal weight of authority [!], both are given, as in the case of such words as advertisement, herb, illustrate, lever, vase, etc.' (The Practical Standard Dictionary of the English Language, New York, 1927, page iv.) In the Introduction some vague (and misleading) statements are made regarding dialectal variants, for instance on page VIII: 'In some parts of the United States the o has almost completely lost its rounding, so that hot, not, pop are usually heard as [hat, nat, pap].' The Webster Dictionaries.-Unscientific key. A strong Eastern bias, no doubt inherited from the older editions, is evident. Geographic variants of cultivated speech are not recorded. The statements in the 'Guide to Pronunciation' contain such astonishing assertions as: 'The sound [i.e. 'short o'] is formed with nearly the same tongue position as ô [as in lord, or awe], but in its pronunciation it is laxer.' Or: 'After d, l, s, t, and th, as in duke, lute, suit, tune, enthusiasm, the y sound comes in with more difficulty, and the initial element usually becomes i, but is not, however, properly entirely omitted.' Or again: 'In American usage, ä occurs most often before r. In calf, half, salve, etc., ä [a] is the generally accepted sound, though ȧ [a], and even ǎ [æ], are also common in such words.' (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, 1926.) Evidently the editors of the Webster Dictionaries have kept aloof from the scientific work that has been done since 1890.

H. E. Palmer, J. V. Martin, and F. G. Blanchard, A Dictionary of English Pronunciation with American Variants. New York, 1927

(D. Appleton and Co.).—Strong British bias. The treatment of the ‘American Variants' is poor and often misleading. One finds such statements as this (p. xxxviii): "Thus half, brass, ask, nasty, etc., are transcribed with the symbol [a], indicating that the vowel varies between [a] and [æ]. The most general value given to this

phone in America is probably that of 'cardinal' [a].'

Review: H. Kurath, English Journal 16. 743-5.

III. WORKS DEALING WITH THE MAIN TYPES OF AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION

EASTERN:

C. H. Grandgent, Old and New: Fashion and the Broad A, 25-30; New England Pronunciation, 121-49. Cambridge, 1920 (Harvard Univ. Press). Accurate and well written.

SOUTHERN:

W. A. Read, The Vowel System of the Southern United States. Englische Studien 41. 70-8 (1909).

Some Variant Pronunciations in the New South. DN 3.

497-536.

The Southern R. Louisianna State University Bulletin, February 1910.

WESTERN:

J. S. Kenyon, American Pronunciation. Ann Arbor, 1920 (G. Wahr).

IV. SURVEYS OF SPECIAL FEATURES

C. H. Grandgent, 'Notes on American Pronunciation,' MLN 6. 82–7. 'More Notes on American Pronunciation', MLN 6. 458-67

(1891).

'American Pronunciation Again,' MLN 8. 273-82 (1893). 'Letter to Editor: Cheerful', MLN 9. 190–1.

'Unaccented I', DN 1. 319-23.

"Teat-yure (did you, this year, etc.)', MLN 9. 272–5.

All based on from 150 to 200 responses received to a circular; N. Y., Mass., Va., Pa., O., Maine, and Conn. are best represented. Only cultivated speech was investigated.

'Warmpth', PMLA 11. 63–75.

"The Dog's Letter', in Old and New, Cambridge, 1920.

G. Hempl, 'Unstressed wh', MLN 6. 310.

-, Circular on American dialect speech sent out in 1894 (results not published). MLN 9. 310-13.

E. S. Sheldon, 'Wh in America', MLN 6. 378-82.

J. S. Kenyon, 'Some Notes on American R', AS 1. 329-38.

W. A. Read, 'Some Phases of American Pronunciation', JEGP 22. 217-44.

(1) * marks articles and notes dealing entirely or primarily with pronunciation. (2) marks texts in phonetic notation.

(3) O marks phonograph records of American speech. Records 21, 22, 32, and 61 were made by the Columbia Phonograph Company under the direction of Professor H. M. Ayres, of Columbia University; all others by the Victor Company under the direction of Dr. Cabell Greet, of Barnard College.

(4) Word-lists containing notes on pronunciation are unmarked.

NEW ENGLAND

*1. E. S. Sheldon, 'A New Englander's English', DN 1. 33–42.

2. C. H. Grandgent, 'English Sentences in American Mouths: Maine', DN 1. 198-9.

03. Ellsworth, Maine.

4. J. W. Carr and G. D. Chase, 'A Wordlist from Eastern Maine', DN 3. 239-51.

05. Lancaster, New Hampshire.

6. J. W. Carr, 'A Wordlist from Hampstead, S.E. New Hampshire', DN 3. 179-204.

*7. M. L. Hanley, 'Observations on the Broad A', DN 5. 347-50. *8. C. H. Grandgent, 'From Franklin to Lowell', PMLA 14. 207-39. *9. A. Orbeck, Early New England Pronunciation. Ann Arbor,

1927 (G. Wahr).

*10. C. H. Grandgent, 'Haf and Hæf', DN 1. 269-74.

11. C. H. Grandgent, 'English Sentences in American Mouths: Massachusetts', DN 1. 199-200.

12. C. H. Grandgent, 'English in America.' Phonetic Texts (Mass.), Neuere Sprachen 2. 520-8 (1894).

13. C. H. Grandgent, 'Weak Words', Maître Phonétique, July 1895,

127-8.

14. Neighborhood of Boston, Mass.

015. Newburyport, Mass.

16. G. P. Chase, 'Cape Cod Dialect', DN 2. 289-303; 423-9. O17. Meriden, Conn.

18. C. H. Grandgent, 'English Sentences in American Mouths: New York City', DN 1. 200-1.

*19. E. H. Babbit, "The Language of the Lower Classes in New York City and Vicinity', DN 1. 457–64.

020. New York City (1) and (2).

021. New York City (Columbia record).

022. New York East Side (Columbia record).

23. C. H. Grandgent, 'English Sentences in American Mouths: Maryland', DN 1. 202-3.

*24. S. Primer, "The Pronunciation of Fredericksburg, Va.', PMLA 5. 185-99.

*25. C. H. Grandgent, 'Haf and Hæf' (Eastern Virginia), DN 1.

274-5.

26. B. W. Green, Word-book of Virginia Folk-speech, Richmond,

1899.