In ordinary speaking, many vowels and even some consonants
are slurred and obscured. If the ear is not trained to exactness,
this habit of slurring introduces many inaccuracies. Even in careful
speaking, many obscure sounds are so nearly alike that only a finely
trained ear can detect any difference. Who of us notices any
difference between _er_ in _pardoner_ and _or_ in _honor_? Careful
speakers do not pass over the latter syllable quite so hastily as over
the former, but only the most finely trained ear will detect any
difference even in the pronunciation of the most finely trained voice.
In the lower grades in the schools the ear may be trained by giving
separate utterance to each sound in a given word, as f-r-e-n-d, _friend,_
allowing each letter only its true value in the word. Still it may also be
obtained by requiring careful and distinct pronunciation in reading, not,
however, to the extent of exaggerating the value of obscure syllables,
or painfully accentuating syllables naturally obscure.
Adults (but seldom children) may train the ear by reading poetry aloud,
always guarding against the sing-song style, but trying to harmonize
nicely the sense and the rhythm.
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