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72 THE ART of SPEAKING AND READING.
prolongation of the vowel sounds; the speaker by his deliberate style and by his command over his voice becomes more forcible.
93. Audibility.—The audibility or carrying power of the voice is improved by full vocality and precise articulation; this has been shown to be the main object of voice-production, and exercises for this purpose have been given in this book. Perfect pronunciation and articulation produce pure tone.
94. Phrasing.—In connected speech the sounds are no longer isolated, but have to be grouped according to the meaning of the passages into what may be termed breath groups; that is to say, with each expiration a certain number of sounds are made; this arrangement of sounds into breath groups is what is meant by phrasing in speech or song. Skilful phrasing is of the greatest importance and adds considerably to the clear understanding of connected speech; it depends largely upon a grasp of the grammatical structure of sentences. The proper value must be given to every sound, and the breath carefully sustained to the very end of each phrase, to ensure audibility and distinction.
95. The Meaning.—The meaning of a passage is affected by (1) the weight of the voice, which goes by the name of accent or stress when it is applied to syllables, of emphasis when applied to words or sentences; (2) the pitch of the voice; (3) the intensity of the voice, loudness or softness, in musical tones forte or piano; (4) the pace of utterance, quick or slow; (5) the inflection of the voice; (6) pauses; (7) modulation.
96. Modification of Sounds.—The English sounds that have been considered separately undergo modificatiou |
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