Aubrey: A Novel. By R.C. Dallas esq. Author of Percival
Author Details
Surname:Dallas
First Names:Robert C.
Gender:Male
Anonymous:No
Publication Details
Publisher:Printed for T.N. Longman and O. Rees, Paternoster-Row.
Place:London
Date:1804
Novel Details
Genre:Courtship; didactic/moralising; travel
Setting:London; Cambridge; Warwickshire; Portugal (Oporto)
Period:Contemporary
Plot
The eponymous Aubrey is heir to his childless uncle's large estate. He studies theology at Cambridge as a young man, and is determined to pursue a life of goodness and philanthropy. He travels around UK, and falls in love with Emily, a virtuous country girl, whom he subsequently marries, although secretly because he fears disinheritance from his uncle. Supported by his family, he lives comfortably. When his uncle dies, he finds he has been disinherited, and a period of poverty follows when he takes the curacy of a village parish, although the family is happy and fulfilled in this role. Much of the narrative is occupied by the embedded tale of Aubrey's friend, Dick Cowper as he recounts his life in Oporto and sundry English villages. Overall it is a highly moral and didactic tale, and one which ends happily, with appropriate repentances, marriages and so on.
Overview of the Dialect
'Negro' representation is quite extensive (there is a 'negro servant', Caesar, pp. 74-80). There is an extensive passage of metalinguistic commentary / prescriptive attitudes and several 'rustic' village-dwellers have marked dialect.
Speaker #1:Julius Caesar - Servant
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Slave
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Minor
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Servant
Social Role Category:Slave
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Not specified in text, but reference is made to him being 'given his name' on a 'plantation in the West Indies' (Vol 1, p.73).
Place of Origin Category:Caribbean
Speakers: All , Julius Caesar
[Writing] "I could not see your honour yesterday, being out the hole day on a bizness I doant like at all, and which perhaps your honour is concerned in, as I said before, if you are the lovier of that sweet young lady. I am at present going again upon the same arrand , and if your honour has time to spare to take a ride after breakfast to the Stag's Head, where you dined that day, you may hear it all from your hummel servant, Julius Caesar."
(Vol. 1,p. 69)Extract #2 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling
Speakers: All , Julius Caesar
" Massa , Lord Sudley is one big devil, one big devil!" Aubrey's mind now required but little proof to establish Caesar's position. "Believe me, massa Aubrey," continued he, "he is one big devil: dat poor, dear young lady never did love him; and the world wicked for take up Lord Sudley's big lie to say so much 'gainst her."
(Vol. 1,p. 74)Extract #3 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
" Me hear every thing from my lord himself," replied Caesar; "but 'top , make me tell you all from first --next Christmas make two, since Lord Sudley begin to meddle long wid Miss Melvil. He try all he can for make her love him widout marry ; but she nebber love him from first , and she tell him so too. Presently he think of new way to win lady's heart : he take away her character; he write love letters to himself from her, and show dem about-- I see him do it, massa Aubrey, and my blood boil ."-- "Precious scoundrel!" exclaimed Aubrey.-- "Ay, ay, thinks my lord ," continued Caesar, "when her reputation is gone, she'll not make such a fuss; she'll be ready to fly to me of herself. He mistake dho , massa ; for, after he succeed to make people talk ill of her, and forsake her, she despise him dhe more. My heart bleed for think on dhis young lady; so handsome, so good, so sweet-tempered."
(Vol. 1,p. 76)Speaker #2:Local shopkeepers and merchants - Shopkeepers
Individual or Group:Group
Primary Identity:Local shopkeepers and merchants
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Idiom, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction
Social Role
Social Role Description:Shopkeepers
Social Role Category:Trade or craft
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:London
Place of Origin Category:London, South East England, England
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Idiom, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction
Speakers: All , Local shopkeepers and merchants
"Why! to be sure," answered Mr. Prim, who seemed to be the orator of the group, " you speak like a gentleman, Mr. Aubrey ; and you can't wonder that, in these times, men in business should look about them: but, as I said before, a fortnight's no time; so, for my part, seeing you promise so fairly, I will manage to make up my money some other way." --"I have no objections," said Mr Pruin the grocer, "to following Mr. Prim's example; for I knows Mr. Prim to be a prudent man: but I must say that, though I thinks Mr. Aubrey is one of the most well-spoken gentlemen I know , it is going too far to our faces to tell us, that if he should not pay us, he would be the most injured and unhappy person."
(Vol. 2,p. 6)Speaker #3:Cottager - Non-specific 'rustic'
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Cottager
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - middle aged
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Grammar, Orthographical Respelling
Social Role
Social Role Description:Non-specific 'rustic'
Social Role Category:Respectable poor
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Warwickshire
Place of Origin Category:Warwickshire, South West England, England
"As for that there villain who affronted Fanny," said he, " noabody knows unny thing about 'un , where he went to, or where he come from . That there day was the first time she ever seed 'un in her whole life."
(Vol. 2,p. 79)Speaker #4:Mr Cowsel - Farmer
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Farmer
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - middle aged
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Farmer
Social Role Category:Trade or craft
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Warwickshire
Place of Origin Category:Warwickshire, South West England, England
On entering the house I was agreeably surprised to find myself received by the old man with a smile. "Walk in, Mr. Cowper," said he, "walk in; I be quite alone: my dame , with Dick and Susan, be all gone to Thornbury the-day ; but they be back by and by . I be glad to see you, and always shall; for I love a good action to my soul, and I have loved you ever sin' you fought for Fanny Ross. But I thought you was gone, Master Cowper, I thought you was gone. What brings you again into these parts?"-- Glad of so fortunate an opportunity of unburdening my mind, I immediately answered him with a question to the point: " Can't you guess, farmer?"-- " Hum! I don't like to guess," replied Cowsel; "I have too much respect for you to guess the only thing that could lessen it; the only thing that I can think of that would bring you back from London to Melford."
(Vol. 2,p. 105-6)Speaker #5:James McKnucle - Bailiff
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Bailiff
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Bailiff
Social Role Category:Trade or craft
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Irish; living in London
Place of Origin Category:Ireland
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
"I really do not understand you," said Aubrey.-- "And that's surprising now," said McKnucle, " for I never spoke plainer in all my life, in a genteel way; for I would not go to tell you plump dash , in an open manner, that my uncle and me arrested your friend yesterday morning in his bed." -- "Oh ! I understand you now ," said Aubrey; "Mr. Elton is in jail then."-- "And indaid he is not," replied McKnucle; " so that whether I spake jonteelly , or candidly, it's all one with your understanding. I tell you once more that Mr. Eelton , your friend, is in Carey-street, at my uncle's: every body knows Mr. James McKnucle's.-- "A spunging-house, perhaps?" said Aubrey.-- " Fait ! " said McKnucle, grinning, "and that sure enough is the name given to my uncle's castle by some people: but that's an English-Irish bull; for , don't spungers go to an open house? When did you ever hear of spunging at a lock-up house?"
(Vol. 3,p. 155-6)Speaker #6:Grant - Non-specific 'countryman'
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Countryman
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Non-specific 'countryman'
Social Role Category:Respectable poor
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Warwickshire
Place of Origin Category:Warwickshire, South West England, England
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Ha! Grant!" cried Arthur, "I was coming to you. I suppose you thought me dead at least." -- "Well, fegs ! I didn't know what to make on't , not I, Master Rivers:" replied Grant, a decent looking countryman, who was now standing in the lane with the two friends: "I thought, for my part, as how you had given up all thoughts of the place-- it's a sweet pretty place, and I mought have let it again and again sin I seed you, for all it be so retired; and it wan't but last Saturday a gentleman comed ater it, who said he would come again some time this week to see nar if it were disposed of,"
(Vol. 4,p. 19-20)Speaker #7:Aubrey - Vicar
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Aubrey
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - young
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Central
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Vicar
Social Role Category:Clergy
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Born and lived in South of England, chiefly London
Place of Origin Category:London, South East England, England
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Mr. Gosling assured her, that the company regretted the loss, and the conversation then turned, among those who understood any thing of it, upon the sweetness of the Italian pronunciation, and those who did not understand it, were informed, that every word ended with a vowel.
"Then," said Mrs. Spicer, "the certainty of the pronunciation, so much superior in that respect to our tongue. By the way, Mr. Aubrey, I wonder to find you in the pulpit pronouncing the word know ledge, nollege . Why do you not adopt the clerical mode of speaking it? " --
"One reason, Madam," replied Aubrey, "is, because it is clerical. I know no right that the clergy have to depart from the established rules of pronunciation. It is an innovation of a few years standing, arising from an affected nicety of correction, and I am sorry that it is more general among the clergy than among any other body of men; for, not only the genius of the English language requires it to be simplified in its sound like other words of the same nature, but the clerical mode of pronouncing it is pedantic and coarse on the ear; nothing but the aptitude of running into imitation, could have led such numbers to follow an example in a sound so unmelodious. Accordingly, you find it adopted, only where a show of learning is aimed at; but, among the higher classes of extempore speakers, and among the lower classes of society who are led by their ear, the word takes its natural sound."--
" Nae , Maister Aubrey," said a Scotch gentleman, "I canna agree wi ye , for we awwaise caw it know ledge i' the North; and in gude troth , it daes na soond sae very unmusical to my ear."-- "I did not say, it was not Scotch," replied Aubrey, "but that it is not English; and habit, whose influence is universal, may render harsh founds pleasing."--
"But, Sir, hoo is't you can mak oot to change know into nol ?"--
"As we make out," said Aubrey, "to change fore into for , ho into hol , and many more. The Scotch say, fore head, and hol iday, as well as know ledge; but, as the clergy do not seem to have any inclination to adopt these sounds from the North, I hope they will gradually desist from that which they have adopted." - -
"You will allow," said Mrs. Spicer, "that it is grander to the ear." -- "No, indeed, Madam," replied he, "I cannot; unless it be that kind of grandeur which is out of nature." Here Mrs. Spicer exchanged emphatic looks with the dear Gosling.-- "Your calling this error clerical," proceeded Aubrey, "brings to my mind, that I not long since heard a man, and he was a teacher of languages too, talk of the London pronunciation , and Oxford pronunciation as contradistinguished, and he instanced it in the word nasal . 'Oxford,' said he, 'has it nasal , with the hissing found of s , whereas, London says nazal .' He was angry that I doubted of the error being general at Oxford, and from stating the fact, he patronized the fault, on which I contented myself with assuring him, that the Cantabs were better orthoepists."--
"Hoot," said the Scotch gentleman, "orthoepy is the very lowest of aw the sciences, and beneath the attention of men of learning aw together: it's a mere buznis of soons , a mere maiter of moonshine . What signifees what a shell is, guin the kairnal be good." -- "Indeed," replied Aubrey, "I am no such verbal stickler as to break squares with any man for his pronunciation: but, I certainly do not think it unworthy the attention of the most learned; and you cannot but know, Sir, that at all times the most learned have been solicitous to pronounce well, and to establish a standard for their language. The prosody of the Greeks and Romans, was invariably fixed on rules which have descended to us, and are in the hands of every school-boy; and though we are ignorant of their accent, we cannot doubt that it was regular and uniform. The Italians and French have shown their attention to the stability of their pronunciation and no polite nation feels itself above this care but the English: our words are constantly changing both their sound and sense. As for the word knowledge , I really believe it will recover itself, in spite of the Episcopal authorities, which at present maintain it in the pulpit I but I fear the word oblige *, will not be so easily retrieved. There is no such found in the English language as eige with the long i , and the sound of obleige **, is very grating to the ear. It is one of the companions in a class of words, where nature has directed our tongue to the preservation of the original accent, the ear being repugnant to a change, and till lately, it was always pronounced obleege by polite speakers--
Dreading e'en fools, by flatterers besieged , And so obliging that he ne'er oblig'd.
Nor would Pope, licentious as he was in rhyming, ever have thought of rhyming eige , with eege ."-- "But," said Mr Gosling, "what do you say to Lord Chesterfield, Mr. Aubrey? Was he not a polite speaker?" "Certainly," replied Aubrey, "and I have not a doubt that he always pronounced the word obleege ."-- "What will you lay of that?" retorting Gosling. "Who is to decide the bet?" said Aubrey, "he that is competent to decide the bet, can decide the question without the bet" -- "My Lord himself," replied Gosling.-- "I see, Sir," said Aubrey, "that you have embraced the mistake that has arisen on the form adopted by Lord Chesterfield, in his Advice to his Son, to avoid the vulgar manner of pronouncing this word amongst others; a mistake which is the more likely to prove fatal, as it has been adopted and confirmed by one of our latest and best ortheopists, a man of talents, erudition, and indefatigable industry, to whose labours the public are greatly indebted.*** But in spite of the enthusiasm produced by authority, I am not for erring with Plato; in my opinion, Lord Chesterfield, in the letter alluded to, meant to stamp vulgarity on the pronunciation of the i long. 'Even his pronunciation of 'proper words,' says his Lordship, speaking of a man deficient in good breeding, 'carries the mark of the beast along with it. He calls the earth, yearth ; he is obleiged , not obliged to you.' "The letters appear to me to mark the vulgar long i ; for no other diphthong so unequivocally expresses it. Lord Chesterfield was not writing with the precision of later orthoepists, and naturally took a diphthong which was susceptible of the sound, as in height , though its general sound be a , as in vein . Had he meant the reverse, would he have passed over ee , and ie to pitch upon ei ? impossible. But a still stronger argument is, that though the letters to his son were written at least twenty years before they were published, the alteration of the word did not begin to take place, till a considerable time after his Lordship's death: so that his Lordship's example, if he gave such an example, had no influence on polite language, though he was universally esteemed one of the most refined and most eloquent speakers of the age: and notwithstanding the concurrent authority of the best poet of that period, the alteration of the proper and original pronunciation of the word has been lately begun, on a supposed discovery, that to mark the found of long e , such a man as Lord Chesterfield would use the dipthong ei rather than ee or ie . As the best speakers in parliament, and the majority of accomplished persons in the first circles still persevere in the original sound, the word has perhaps some chance yet, notwithstanding the pronunciation against which Lord Chesterfield I am confident intended to protest, has been so widely diffused, and though it is even fostered on the stage."-- "There is muckle sense in what you noo say, Maister Aubrey," said the Scotch gentleman "for aw the warld maun say obleege , unless they go entire beside ilka rule of polite pronunciation-- to be sure , aw the warld maun say obleege ." This national support drew a smile from Aubrey, and created a general laugh, in the middle of which Colonel Spicer in his riding cloaths, made his appearance at the bottom of the room.
*Obleege.
** ei , that is, i long-- ai will not express i long without explanation, on account of the variety of the sounds of a .
*** Mr. Walker, author of a Critical Pronouncing Dictionary.
(Vol. 3,p. 204-15)"Then," said Mrs. Spicer, "the certainty of the pronunciation, so much superior in that respect to our tongue. By the way, Mr. Aubrey, I wonder to find you in the pulpit pronouncing the word know ledge, nollege . Why do you not adopt the clerical mode of speaking it? " --
"One reason, Madam," replied Aubrey, "is, because it is clerical. I know no right that the clergy have to depart from the established rules of pronunciation. It is an innovation of a few years standing, arising from an affected nicety of correction, and I am sorry that it is more general among the clergy than among any other body of men; for, not only the genius of the English language requires it to be simplified in its sound like other words of the same nature, but the clerical mode of pronouncing it is pedantic and coarse on the ear; nothing but the aptitude of running into imitation, could have led such numbers to follow an example in a sound so unmelodious. Accordingly, you find it adopted, only where a show of learning is aimed at; but, among the higher classes of extempore speakers, and among the lower classes of society who are led by their ear, the word takes its natural sound."--
" Nae , Maister Aubrey," said a Scotch gentleman, "I canna agree wi ye , for we awwaise caw it know ledge i' the North; and in gude troth , it daes na soond sae very unmusical to my ear."-- "I did not say, it was not Scotch," replied Aubrey, "but that it is not English; and habit, whose influence is universal, may render harsh founds pleasing."--
"But, Sir, hoo is't you can mak oot to change know into nol ?"--
"As we make out," said Aubrey, "to change fore into for , ho into hol , and many more. The Scotch say, fore head, and hol iday, as well as know ledge; but, as the clergy do not seem to have any inclination to adopt these sounds from the North, I hope they will gradually desist from that which they have adopted." - -
"You will allow," said Mrs. Spicer, "that it is grander to the ear." -- "No, indeed, Madam," replied he, "I cannot; unless it be that kind of grandeur which is out of nature." Here Mrs. Spicer exchanged emphatic looks with the dear Gosling.-- "Your calling this error clerical," proceeded Aubrey, "brings to my mind, that I not long since heard a man, and he was a teacher of languages too, talk of the London pronunciation , and Oxford pronunciation as contradistinguished, and he instanced it in the word nasal . 'Oxford,' said he, 'has it nasal , with the hissing found of s , whereas, London says nazal .' He was angry that I doubted of the error being general at Oxford, and from stating the fact, he patronized the fault, on which I contented myself with assuring him, that the Cantabs were better orthoepists."--
"Hoot," said the Scotch gentleman, "orthoepy is the very lowest of aw the sciences, and beneath the attention of men of learning aw together: it's a mere buznis of soons , a mere maiter of moonshine . What signifees what a shell is, guin the kairnal be good." -- "Indeed," replied Aubrey, "I am no such verbal stickler as to break squares with any man for his pronunciation: but, I certainly do not think it unworthy the attention of the most learned; and you cannot but know, Sir, that at all times the most learned have been solicitous to pronounce well, and to establish a standard for their language. The prosody of the Greeks and Romans, was invariably fixed on rules which have descended to us, and are in the hands of every school-boy; and though we are ignorant of their accent, we cannot doubt that it was regular and uniform. The Italians and French have shown their attention to the stability of their pronunciation and no polite nation feels itself above this care but the English: our words are constantly changing both their sound and sense. As for the word knowledge , I really believe it will recover itself, in spite of the Episcopal authorities, which at present maintain it in the pulpit I but I fear the word oblige *, will not be so easily retrieved. There is no such found in the English language as eige with the long i , and the sound of obleige **, is very grating to the ear. It is one of the companions in a class of words, where nature has directed our tongue to the preservation of the original accent, the ear being repugnant to a change, and till lately, it was always pronounced obleege by polite speakers--
Dreading e'en fools, by flatterers besieged , And so obliging that he ne'er oblig'd.
Nor would Pope, licentious as he was in rhyming, ever have thought of rhyming eige , with eege ."-- "But," said Mr Gosling, "what do you say to Lord Chesterfield, Mr. Aubrey? Was he not a polite speaker?" "Certainly," replied Aubrey, "and I have not a doubt that he always pronounced the word obleege ."-- "What will you lay of that?" retorting Gosling. "Who is to decide the bet?" said Aubrey, "he that is competent to decide the bet, can decide the question without the bet" -- "My Lord himself," replied Gosling.-- "I see, Sir," said Aubrey, "that you have embraced the mistake that has arisen on the form adopted by Lord Chesterfield, in his Advice to his Son, to avoid the vulgar manner of pronouncing this word amongst others; a mistake which is the more likely to prove fatal, as it has been adopted and confirmed by one of our latest and best ortheopists, a man of talents, erudition, and indefatigable industry, to whose labours the public are greatly indebted.*** But in spite of the enthusiasm produced by authority, I am not for erring with Plato; in my opinion, Lord Chesterfield, in the letter alluded to, meant to stamp vulgarity on the pronunciation of the i long. 'Even his pronunciation of 'proper words,' says his Lordship, speaking of a man deficient in good breeding, 'carries the mark of the beast along with it. He calls the earth, yearth ; he is obleiged , not obliged to you.' "The letters appear to me to mark the vulgar long i ; for no other diphthong so unequivocally expresses it. Lord Chesterfield was not writing with the precision of later orthoepists, and naturally took a diphthong which was susceptible of the sound, as in height , though its general sound be a , as in vein . Had he meant the reverse, would he have passed over ee , and ie to pitch upon ei ? impossible. But a still stronger argument is, that though the letters to his son were written at least twenty years before they were published, the alteration of the word did not begin to take place, till a considerable time after his Lordship's death: so that his Lordship's example, if he gave such an example, had no influence on polite language, though he was universally esteemed one of the most refined and most eloquent speakers of the age: and notwithstanding the concurrent authority of the best poet of that period, the alteration of the proper and original pronunciation of the word has been lately begun, on a supposed discovery, that to mark the found of long e , such a man as Lord Chesterfield would use the dipthong ei rather than ee or ie . As the best speakers in parliament, and the majority of accomplished persons in the first circles still persevere in the original sound, the word has perhaps some chance yet, notwithstanding the pronunciation against which Lord Chesterfield I am confident intended to protest, has been so widely diffused, and though it is even fostered on the stage."-- "There is muckle sense in what you noo say, Maister Aubrey," said the Scotch gentleman "for aw the warld maun say obleege , unless they go entire beside ilka rule of polite pronunciation-- to be sure , aw the warld maun say obleege ." This national support drew a smile from Aubrey, and created a general laugh, in the middle of which Colonel Spicer in his riding cloaths, made his appearance at the bottom of the room.
*Obleege.
** ei , that is, i long-- ai will not express i long without explanation, on account of the variety of the sounds of a .
*** Mr. Walker, author of a Critical Pronouncing Dictionary.
Speaker #8:The Scot - Unspecified
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:The Scot
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Unspecified
Social Role Category:Unspecified
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Scottish
Place of Origin Category:Scotland
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Metalanguage, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Mr. Gosling assured her, that the company regretted the loss, and the conversation then turned, among those who understood any thing of it, upon the sweetness of the Italian pronunciation, and those who did not understand it, were informed, that every word ended with a vowel.
"Then," said Mrs. Spicer, "the certainty of the pronunciation, so much superior in that respect to our tongue. By the way, Mr. Aubrey, I wonder to find you in the pulpit pronouncing the word know ledge, nollege . Why do you not adopt the clerical mode of speaking it? " --
"One reason, Madam," replied Aubrey, "is, because it is clerical. I know no right that the clergy have to depart from the established rules of pronunciation. It is an innovation of a few years standing, arising from an affected nicety of correction, and I am sorry that it is more general among the clergy than among any other body of men; for, not only the genius of the English language requires it to be simplified in its sound like other words of the same nature, but the clerical mode of pronouncing it is pedantic and coarse on the ear; nothing but the aptitude of running into imitation, could have led such numbers to follow an example in a sound so unmelodious. Accordingly, you find it adopted, only where a show of learning is aimed at; but, among the higher classes of extempore speakers, and among the lower classes of society who are led by their ear, the word takes its natural sound."--
" Nae , Maister Aubrey," said a Scotch gentleman, "I canna agree wi ye , for we awwaise caw it know ledge i' the North; and in gude troth , it daes na soond sae very unmusical to my ear."-- "I did not say, it was not Scotch," replied Aubrey, "but that it is not English; and habit, whose influence is universal, may render harsh founds pleasing."--
"But, Sir, hoo is't you can mak oot to change know into nol ?"--
"As we make out," said Aubrey, "to change fore into for , ho into hol , and many more. The Scotch say, fore head, and hol iday, as well as know ledge; but, as the clergy do not seem to have any inclination to adopt these sounds from the North, I hope they will gradually desist from that which they have adopted." - -
"You will allow," said Mrs. Spicer, "that it is grander to the ear." -- "No, indeed, Madam," replied he, "I cannot; unless it be that kind of grandeur which is out of nature." Here Mrs. Spicer exchanged emphatic looks with the dear Gosling.-- "Your calling this error clerical," proceeded Aubrey, "brings to my mind, that I not long since heard a man, and he was a teacher of languages too, talk of the London pronunciation , and Oxford pronunciation as contradistinguished, and he instanced it in the word nasal . 'Oxford,' said he, 'has it nasal , with the hissing found of s , whereas, London says nazal .' He was angry that I doubted of the error being general at Oxford, and from stating the fact, he patronized the fault, on which I contented myself with assuring him, that the Cantabs were better orthoepists."--
"Hoot," said the Scotch gentleman, "orthoepy is the very lowest of aw the sciences, and beneath the attention of men of learning aw together: it's a mere buznis of soons , a mere maiter of moonshine . What signifees what a shell is, guin the kairnal be good." -- "Indeed," replied Aubrey, "I am no such verbal stickler as to break squares with any man for his pronunciation: but, I certainly do not think it unworthy the attention of the most learned; and you cannot but know, Sir, that at all times the most learned have been solicitous to pronounce well, and to establish a standard for their language. The prosody of the Greeks and Romans, was invariably fixed on rules which have descended to us, and are in the hands of every school-boy; and though we are ignorant of their accent, we cannot doubt that it was regular and uniform. The Italians and French have shown their attention to the stability of their pronunciation and no polite nation feels itself above this care but the English: our words are constantly changing both their sound and sense. As for the word knowledge , I really believe it will recover itself, in spite of the Episcopal authorities, which at present maintain it in the pulpit I but I fear the word oblige *, will not be so easily retrieved. There is no such found in the English language as eige with the long i , and the sound of obleige **, is very grating to the ear. It is one of the companions in a class of words, where nature has directed our tongue to the preservation of the original accent, the ear being repugnant to a change, and till lately, it was always pronounced obleege by polite speakers--
Dreading e'en fools, by flatterers besieged , And so obliging that he ne'er oblig'd.
Nor would Pope, licentious as he was in rhyming, ever have thought of rhyming eige , with eege ."-- "But," said Mr Gosling, "what do you say to Lord Chesterfield, Mr. Aubrey? Was he not a polite speaker?" "Certainly," replied Aubrey, "and I have not a doubt that he always pronounced the word obleege ."-- "What will you lay of that?" retorting Gosling. "Who is to decide the bet?" said Aubrey, "he that is competent to decide the bet, can decide the question without the bet" -- "My Lord himself," replied Gosling.-- "I see, Sir," said Aubrey, "that you have embraced the mistake that has arisen on the form adopted by Lord Chesterfield, in his Advice to his Son, to avoid the vulgar manner of pronouncing this word amongst others; a mistake which is the more likely to prove fatal, as it has been adopted and confirmed by one of our latest and best ortheopists, a man of talents, erudition, and indefatigable industry, to whose labours the public are greatly indebted.*** But in spite of the enthusiasm produced by authority, I am not for erring with Plato; in my opinion, Lord Chesterfield, in the letter alluded to, meant to stamp vulgarity on the pronunciation of the i long. 'Even his pronunciation of 'proper words,' says his Lordship, speaking of a man deficient in good breeding, 'carries the mark of the beast along with it. He calls the earth, yearth ; he is obleiged , not obliged to you.' "The letters appear to me to mark the vulgar long i ; for no other diphthong so unequivocally expresses it. Lord Chesterfield was not writing with the precision of later orthoepists, and naturally took a diphthong which was susceptible of the sound, as in height , though its general sound be a , as in vein . Had he meant the reverse, would he have passed over ee , and ie to pitch upon ei ? impossible. But a still stronger argument is, that though the letters to his son were written at least twenty years before they were published, the alteration of the word did not begin to take place, till a considerable time after his Lordship's death: so that his Lordship's example, if he gave such an example, had no influence on polite language, though he was universally esteemed one of the most refined and most eloquent speakers of the age: and notwithstanding the concurrent authority of the best poet of that period, the alteration of the proper and original pronunciation of the word has been lately begun, on a supposed discovery, that to mark the found of long e , such a man as Lord Chesterfield would use the dipthong ei rather than ee or ie . As the best speakers in parliament, and the majority of accomplished persons in the first circles still persevere in the original sound, the word has perhaps some chance yet, notwithstanding the pronunciation against which Lord Chesterfield I am confident intended to protest, has been so widely diffused, and though it is even fostered on the stage."-- "There is muckle sense in what you noo say, Maister Aubrey," said the Scotch gentleman "for aw the warld maun say obleege , unless they go entire beside ilka rule of polite pronunciation-- to be sure , aw the warld maun say obleege ." This national support drew a smile from Aubrey, and created a general laugh, in the middle of which Colonel Spicer in his riding cloaths, made his appearance at the bottom of the room.
*Obleege.
** ei , that is, i long-- ai will not express i long without explanation, on account of the variety of the sounds of a .
*** Mr. Walker, author of a Critical Pronouncing Dictionary.
(Vol. 3,p. 204-15)"Then," said Mrs. Spicer, "the certainty of the pronunciation, so much superior in that respect to our tongue. By the way, Mr. Aubrey, I wonder to find you in the pulpit pronouncing the word know ledge, nollege . Why do you not adopt the clerical mode of speaking it? " --
"One reason, Madam," replied Aubrey, "is, because it is clerical. I know no right that the clergy have to depart from the established rules of pronunciation. It is an innovation of a few years standing, arising from an affected nicety of correction, and I am sorry that it is more general among the clergy than among any other body of men; for, not only the genius of the English language requires it to be simplified in its sound like other words of the same nature, but the clerical mode of pronouncing it is pedantic and coarse on the ear; nothing but the aptitude of running into imitation, could have led such numbers to follow an example in a sound so unmelodious. Accordingly, you find it adopted, only where a show of learning is aimed at; but, among the higher classes of extempore speakers, and among the lower classes of society who are led by their ear, the word takes its natural sound."--
" Nae , Maister Aubrey," said a Scotch gentleman, "I canna agree wi ye , for we awwaise caw it know ledge i' the North; and in gude troth , it daes na soond sae very unmusical to my ear."-- "I did not say, it was not Scotch," replied Aubrey, "but that it is not English; and habit, whose influence is universal, may render harsh founds pleasing."--
"But, Sir, hoo is't you can mak oot to change know into nol ?"--
"As we make out," said Aubrey, "to change fore into for , ho into hol , and many more. The Scotch say, fore head, and hol iday, as well as know ledge; but, as the clergy do not seem to have any inclination to adopt these sounds from the North, I hope they will gradually desist from that which they have adopted." - -
"You will allow," said Mrs. Spicer, "that it is grander to the ear." -- "No, indeed, Madam," replied he, "I cannot; unless it be that kind of grandeur which is out of nature." Here Mrs. Spicer exchanged emphatic looks with the dear Gosling.-- "Your calling this error clerical," proceeded Aubrey, "brings to my mind, that I not long since heard a man, and he was a teacher of languages too, talk of the London pronunciation , and Oxford pronunciation as contradistinguished, and he instanced it in the word nasal . 'Oxford,' said he, 'has it nasal , with the hissing found of s , whereas, London says nazal .' He was angry that I doubted of the error being general at Oxford, and from stating the fact, he patronized the fault, on which I contented myself with assuring him, that the Cantabs were better orthoepists."--
"Hoot," said the Scotch gentleman, "orthoepy is the very lowest of aw the sciences, and beneath the attention of men of learning aw together: it's a mere buznis of soons , a mere maiter of moonshine . What signifees what a shell is, guin the kairnal be good." -- "Indeed," replied Aubrey, "I am no such verbal stickler as to break squares with any man for his pronunciation: but, I certainly do not think it unworthy the attention of the most learned; and you cannot but know, Sir, that at all times the most learned have been solicitous to pronounce well, and to establish a standard for their language. The prosody of the Greeks and Romans, was invariably fixed on rules which have descended to us, and are in the hands of every school-boy; and though we are ignorant of their accent, we cannot doubt that it was regular and uniform. The Italians and French have shown their attention to the stability of their pronunciation and no polite nation feels itself above this care but the English: our words are constantly changing both their sound and sense. As for the word knowledge , I really believe it will recover itself, in spite of the Episcopal authorities, which at present maintain it in the pulpit I but I fear the word oblige *, will not be so easily retrieved. There is no such found in the English language as eige with the long i , and the sound of obleige **, is very grating to the ear. It is one of the companions in a class of words, where nature has directed our tongue to the preservation of the original accent, the ear being repugnant to a change, and till lately, it was always pronounced obleege by polite speakers--
Dreading e'en fools, by flatterers besieged , And so obliging that he ne'er oblig'd.
Nor would Pope, licentious as he was in rhyming, ever have thought of rhyming eige , with eege ."-- "But," said Mr Gosling, "what do you say to Lord Chesterfield, Mr. Aubrey? Was he not a polite speaker?" "Certainly," replied Aubrey, "and I have not a doubt that he always pronounced the word obleege ."-- "What will you lay of that?" retorting Gosling. "Who is to decide the bet?" said Aubrey, "he that is competent to decide the bet, can decide the question without the bet" -- "My Lord himself," replied Gosling.-- "I see, Sir," said Aubrey, "that you have embraced the mistake that has arisen on the form adopted by Lord Chesterfield, in his Advice to his Son, to avoid the vulgar manner of pronouncing this word amongst others; a mistake which is the more likely to prove fatal, as it has been adopted and confirmed by one of our latest and best ortheopists, a man of talents, erudition, and indefatigable industry, to whose labours the public are greatly indebted.*** But in spite of the enthusiasm produced by authority, I am not for erring with Plato; in my opinion, Lord Chesterfield, in the letter alluded to, meant to stamp vulgarity on the pronunciation of the i long. 'Even his pronunciation of 'proper words,' says his Lordship, speaking of a man deficient in good breeding, 'carries the mark of the beast along with it. He calls the earth, yearth ; he is obleiged , not obliged to you.' "The letters appear to me to mark the vulgar long i ; for no other diphthong so unequivocally expresses it. Lord Chesterfield was not writing with the precision of later orthoepists, and naturally took a diphthong which was susceptible of the sound, as in height , though its general sound be a , as in vein . Had he meant the reverse, would he have passed over ee , and ie to pitch upon ei ? impossible. But a still stronger argument is, that though the letters to his son were written at least twenty years before they were published, the alteration of the word did not begin to take place, till a considerable time after his Lordship's death: so that his Lordship's example, if he gave such an example, had no influence on polite language, though he was universally esteemed one of the most refined and most eloquent speakers of the age: and notwithstanding the concurrent authority of the best poet of that period, the alteration of the proper and original pronunciation of the word has been lately begun, on a supposed discovery, that to mark the found of long e , such a man as Lord Chesterfield would use the dipthong ei rather than ee or ie . As the best speakers in parliament, and the majority of accomplished persons in the first circles still persevere in the original sound, the word has perhaps some chance yet, notwithstanding the pronunciation against which Lord Chesterfield I am confident intended to protest, has been so widely diffused, and though it is even fostered on the stage."-- "There is muckle sense in what you noo say, Maister Aubrey," said the Scotch gentleman "for aw the warld maun say obleege , unless they go entire beside ilka rule of polite pronunciation-- to be sure , aw the warld maun say obleege ." This national support drew a smile from Aubrey, and created a general laugh, in the middle of which Colonel Spicer in his riding cloaths, made his appearance at the bottom of the room.
*Obleege.
** ei , that is, i long-- ai will not express i long without explanation, on account of the variety of the sounds of a .
*** Mr. Walker, author of a Critical Pronouncing Dictionary.