Elocution

Pirate Treasure

7/20/2019

Pirate Treasure

As the big monstrous ship sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, Peg-Leg Bozher shouted his orders. He scanned the waters - gazing back and forth - then he saw it! “Land ho! Land ho!” He saw the most unusual vision that he had seen in a long time. The majestic palms reached to the skies. The sand was like silver shining in the noonday sun. “This is where I will find my treasure,” said Peg-Leg Bozher. “It looks like Pleasure Island.” The great ship, with its skull and cross bones fluttering furiously in the breeze, dropped anchor. “Take to the boats!” he shouted. The pirates lowered the boats into the water. They entered the boats and started rowing. They rowed and rowed until they came to the land where Peg-Leg Bozher would find his treasure. “Everyone out of the boats!” He pulled his treasure map from his pocket. It said 17 paces north of the tree stump. After finding the tree stump, he measured the paces in the usual way. He took seventeen giant steps north from the tree stump. The map said four paces east, passing over coral rock. He measured four paces east. ‘X’ marked the spot on the treasure map. The Pirates started digging. They dug and dug and dug. One shovel struck something! They started digging faster. There lay the treasure! In all the confusion, they had visions of diamonds, rubies, pearls, gold, and silver. Peg-Leg Bozher had to make a decision. He was very mean. He said to himself, “Should I share the treasure with all the men, or should I keep it for myself?” Then he thought, “Well, I will make the decision after I see what is in the treasure chest.” The lock was opened, the hinges were creaking - the heavy lid was opening slowly - it opened wider - and wider. The pirates stood with their eyes wide and their mouths gaping open! There it was - the treasure! What do you think the treasure was?

by Author Unknown: as published in “Speech Improvement and Language Development for Level Two” (Broward County Board of Public Instruction, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (1969)), pages 20 and 21

The “Pirate Treasure” story above can be read aloud for practicing and gaining familiarity with the spoken English ‘zh’ sound, which may be helpful for children and adults, professional speakers, and persons with speech impediments. Note that the words with the ‘zh’ sound are underlined.

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The Library

7/20/2019

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The Library

Miss Shaw works at the library. She knows all about books. She knows all about children, too. Miss Shaw has worked at the library a long time. She often tells the children that soon she will have her pension and will rest ‘with their permission.’ Even though they do not understand all Miss Shaw says, the children all love her.

Miss Shaw also knows just what books boys and girls like to read. One day Sharon and Josh came into the library.

“Hello, Miss Shaw,” they said. “We want to read just for fun.”

“Now then,” Miss Shaw said, “Do you want to read about fish, the ocean, machines, ships, nations, some dishes, some slush, the shore, a window shade, some sugar, a shirt, some squash, hash, a good wish - oh, my! I can even find you a book about a girl named Tish.”

“Thank you,” said Sharon. “I think I would like a book about fish.” Miss Shaw went to the bookshelf and gave Sharon a book. The name of the book was “Patricia, The Shiny Fish.”

“Now then, Josh,” said Miss Shaw, “What kind of book would you like?” “I would like a book about a ship.”

Sharon and Josh went home and when they had finished their books, they took them back to the library. “Well,” said Miss Shaw. “Did you finish your books and what were they all about?”

“I finished my book,” said Sharon. “It was fun to read. It was about a shiny fish and her name was Patricia. And it was about other fish, and the ocean, and how Patricia swished when she swam, and how salt comes from the ocean to be put in salt shakers for humans.”

“My book,” said Josh, “was about a ship named Bashful, and pirates and ocean blue and their mission was to collect all the sea shells and let the nations see how beautiful they were.”

“Good,” said Miss Shaw. “I hope you will come back soon.”

Both Sharon and Josh promised they would.

by Author Unknown: as published in “Speech Improvement and Language Development for Level Two” (Broward County Board of Public Instruction, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1969), pages 17 and 18

“The Library” story above can be read aloud for practicing and gaining familiarity with the spoken English ‘sh’ sound, which may be helpful for children and adults, professional speakers, and persons with speech impediments.

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Tongue Twisters

6/28/2019

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A tongue twister is a group of words that gets your tang all tongueled up . . .

On Holidays and Fridays

Down the slippery slide they slid
     Sitting slightly sideways;
Slipping swiftly, see them skid,
     On holidays and Fridays.

by Author Unknown

Katie saw a kitten eating chicken in the kitchen.

News headline: Grin-Again Gang Gets Gung-Ho About Gladness.

Oyster Stew

An oyster met an oyster,
     And they were oysters two;
Two oysters met two oysters,
     And they were oysters too;
Four oysters met a pint of milk,
     And they were oyster stew.

by Author Unknown

Six slippery snails suddenly slid seaward.

Tongue twisters consist of sequences of sounds, typically of an alliterative type (we will have more to say about that in our upcoming ‘Alliterations’ topic; suffice it to say for now that they are repeated sounds). Tongue twisters are difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly, as for example, ‘Matilda tied twine to three tree twigs.’ Tongue twisters can help students, actors, speakers, and other people develop their speech skills, and are used in speech therapy as an aid in helping people overcome stammers, stutters, lisps, and accents. To obtain the full benefit of a tongue twister, try to repeat it several times, as quickly as possible, without stumbling or mispronouncing the words. Remember, practice makes perfect.

A tiny tiger thinks tough thoughts.

Round and round the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.

Betty Botter

Betty Botter had some butter,
     “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
     it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter
     would make my batter better.”
So she bought a bit of butter,
     better than her bitter butter,
And she baked it in her batter,
     and the batter was not bitter.
So ’twas better that Betty Botter
     bought a bit of better butter.

by Carolyn Wells (1862 - 1942)

How many tweets could a tweeter tweet, if a tweeter could tweet tweets? A tweeter would tweet as many tweets as a tweeter could tweet, if a tweeter could tweet tweets.

There once was a man who had a sister, his name was Mr. Fister. Mr. Fister’s sister sold sea shells by the sea shore. Mr. Fister didn’t sell sea shells, he sold silk sheets. Mr. Fister told his sister that he sold six silk sheets to six sheiks. The sister of Mr. Fister said she sold six shells to six sheiks, too!

She Sells Sea-Shells

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore;
     The shells she sells are sea-shells, I’m sure,
For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore,
     Then I’m sure she sells sea-shore shells.

by Terry Sullivan: “She Sells Sea-Shells” (1908), lyrics; music by Harry Gifford

The zany zoo’s zesty zebra zigzags with zeal.

Yellow Butter

Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread;
     Spread it thick, say it quick!
Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread;
     Spread it thicker, say it quicker!
Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread;
     Don’t say it with your mouth full!

by Author Unknown

Mares eat oats and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy. A kid* will eat ivy too, now wouldn’t you?
* kid: a young goat.

“In Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen.” -Author Unknown: “My Fair Lady” (25 December 1964), a movie musical based upon George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950): “Pygmalion” (16 October 1913)

Sally Swim and Sadie Slee

Sally Swim saw Sadie Slee
     Slowly, sadly swinging.
“She seems sorrowful,” said she.
     So she started singing.

Sadie smiled: soon swiftly swung;
     Sitting straight, steered swiftly.
“So,” said Sally, “something sung
     Scatters sunshine swiftly!”

by Author Unknown

Five fat friars furiously fanned flames for frying frogs’ legs.

Silly Sally’s Sheep

Silly Sally swiftly shooed
    Seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
     Shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack;
     Sheep should sleep in a shed.

by Author Unknown

“Mrs. Smith’s Fish Sauce Shop,” said the shiny sign.

Bust to Dust

A maid with a duster
     Made a furious bluster
          Dusting a bust in the hall.

When the bust it was dusted
     The bust it was busted,
          The bust it was dust, that’s all.

by Author Unknown

Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop.

Shut the Shutter

“Go, my son, and shut the shutter,”
     This I heard a mother utter.
“Shutter’s shut,” the boy did mutter,
     “I can’t shut ’er any shutter.”

by Author Unknown

“Little by little and whittle by whittle the whittler whittled a little winged warbler of willow wood.” -Nathan Thomas Taylor (born 1966)

In the movie “Singin’ in the Rain” (1 January 1952), voice coaches use tongue twisters to help silent film actors Don Lockwood (played by actor Gene Kelly) and Lina Lamont (played by actress Jean Hagen) learn proper diction so that they can make the transition from silent films to talkies (movies with sound) in 1920’s Hollywood. In the movie “My Fair Lady” (25 December 1964), phonetics Professor Henry Higgins (played by Rex Harrison), made use of the tongue twister “the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” as an aid in training flower girl Eliza Doolittle (played by Audrey Hepburn) to speak without a Cockney accent and to speak like a proper English lady. In the movie “The King’s Speech” (6 September 2010), speech therapist Lionel Logue (played by actor Geoffrey Rush) trains Prince Albert, Duke of York, later to become King George VI (played by actor Colin Firth) to overcome his stammer using the tongue twister, “I have a sieve full of sifted thistles and a sieve full of unsifted thistles, because I am a thistle sifter,” so that he can make public speeches. These are examples, the first two fictional and the second based on actual historical events, in which tongue twisters were used to help people correct or change how they spoke.

How much myrtle would a wood turtle hurdle if a wood turtle could hurdle myrtle? A wood turtle would hurdle as much myrtle as a wood turtle could hurdle if a wood turtle could hurdle myrtle.

A Twister of Twists

A twister of twists once twisted a twist,
And the twist she was twisting
Was a three-twisted twist.
And in twisting this twist
She became entwisted -
Will you pray untwist
The three-twisted twist
In which the twister of twists is entwisted?

by Author Unknown

Say each number and letter aloud:
2 Y’s U R.
2 Y’s U B.
I C U R.
2 Y’s 4 me!

Wristwatch

I wish I hadn’t washed this wristwatch.
     I’ve washed all the wheels and works.
This wristwatch which was washed,
     Oh, how it jumps and jerks!

by Author Unknown

Samuel said several slippery slithering snakes snickered snootily.

How many cookies could a good cook cook, if a good cook could cook cookies? A good cook would cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.

Woodchuck

How much wood
     Would a woodchuck chuck,
If a woodchuck
     Could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck
     All the wood he could chuck,
If a woodchuck
     Could chuck wood.

by Author Unknown

Rubber baby buggy bumpers. (Say it three times fast!)

The Smothers brothers’ father’s mother’s brothers are the Smothers brothers’ mother’s father’s other brothers.

“Proper prior planning prevents poor performance.” -Author Unknown

Bear and Boar

Once upon a barren moor
     There dwelt a bear, also a boar.
The bear could not bear the boar.
     The boar thought the bear a bore.

At last the bear could bear no more
     Of that boar that bored him on the moor,
And so one morn he bored the boar -
     That boar will bore the bear no more!

by Author Unknown

Two tree toads tied together tried to trot to town twice.
(We’re thinking it must have been similar to one of those three-legged races humans have.)

Tongue twister: A thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do.

Six sly sailors sold seven slightly salted salmon.

Mr. See and Mr. Soar

Mr. See owned a saw.
     And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See’s saw sawed Soar’s seesaw
     Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
     Had Soar seen See’s saw
Before See sawed Soar’s seesaw,
     See’s saw would not have sawed
Soar’s seesaw.
     So See’s saw sawed Soar’s seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
     Just because See’s saw sawed
Soar’s seesaw!

by Author Unknown

If you wanted to become the world’s foremost authority on tongue-twisters, how would you start, and then what would be your next step, and your next step after that? Could you find employment in the language or speech department of a university?

This meeting of the super-secret Society of Tongue Twisters Creators will come to order.

You’ve No Need to Light a Night-Light

You’ve no need to light a night-light
     On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light’s light’s a slight light,
     And tonight’s a night that’s light.
When a night’s light, like tonight’s light,
     It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
     On a light night like tonight.

by Author Unknown

How many cans could a camel can if a camel could can cans?

A sporty tongue twister for athletes: Three free throws.

Tongue twisters can be used just for fun, yet tongue twisters can also be used to treat hiccups; aid in overcoming speech defects such as lisps and stuttering; test the fit of dentures; assist in screening applicants for positions as announcers and broadcasters; and reduce violence between people (as part of an overall effort at humor). It’s all said to be true!

“Martha makes marvelous muffins,” muttered Matthew.

“A pop-up blocker blocks bothersome pop-ups.” -Nathan Thomas Taylor (born 1966)

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The following is a diction test for would-be radio announcers, “To be read clearly, without mistakes, in less than 20 seconds.”

“I bought a bit of baking powder and baked a batch of biscuits. I brought a big basket of biscuits back to the bakery and baked a basket of big biscuits. Then I took the big basket of biscuits and the basket of big biscuits and mixed the big biscuits with the basket of biscuits that was next to the big basket and put a bunch of biscuits from the basket into a biscuit mixer and brought the basket of biscuits and the box of mixed biscuits and the biscuit mixer to the bakery and opened a tin of sardines.”

-Author Unknown: as published in “Coronet Magazine” (August 1948)

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Sometimes Cheryl thinks such lofty soft thoughts.

Eleven elves laughingly licked eleven little licorice lollipops.

Imagine if instead of ‘tongue twisters,’ they were called ‘tongue ticklers,’ and every time you tried to say one, you started laughing uncontrollably . . . what a wonderful world that would be!

Wandering Walter went to Wales to watch walruses.

Tongue twisters can help us to identify which letters and sounds in speech we need to practice more so that we can communicate clearly when speaking and sound polished when making speeches.

Do tell, do tongue twisters twist your tongue terribly? Anyone can make a tongue twister, no special skills required, so grab a pen and paper and make your very own personalized verbal calisthenics to get your tongue in great shape for your next speech, job interview, or poetry recital! Now we’re off to the next zany topic . . .

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Important Rules

1/30/2019

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Important Rules

Oratory in all its refinement, belongs to no particular people, to the exclusion of others; nor is it the gift of nature alone; but, like other acquirements, it is the reward of arduous efforts, under the guidance of consummate skill. Perfection, in this art, as well as in all others, is the work of time and labor, prompted by true feeling, and guided by correct thought.

Elocution is not, as some erroneously suppose, something artificial in tones, looks, and gestures, that may be learned by imitation. The principles teach us - to exhibit truth and nature dressed to advantage; its objects are, to enable the reader, and speaker to manifest his thoughts, and feelings, in the most pleasing, perspicuous and forcible manner, so as to charm the affections, enlighten the understanding, and leave the deepest, and most permanent impression, on the mind of the attentive hearer.

Elocution is an art that teaches you how to manifest your feelings and thoughts to others, in such a way as to give them a true idea, and expression of how, and what, you feel and think; and, in so doing, to make them feel and think - as you do. Its object is, to enable you to communicate to the hearers, the whole truth, just as it is; in others, to give you the ability to do perfect justice to the subject, to them, and to yourself.

Reading should be a perfect facsimile of correct speaking; and both exact copies of real life; hence, read just as you would naturally speak on the same subject, and under similar circumstances; so that, if any one should hear you, without seeing you, he could not tell whether you were reading or speaking. Remember that nothing is denied to industry and perseverance; and that nothing valuable can be obtained without them.

Curran, a celebrated Irish orator, presents us with a single instance of what can be accomplished by assiduity and perseverance; his enunciation was so precipitate and confused, that he was called ‘Stuttering Jack Curran.’ To overcome his numerous defects, he devoted a portion of every day to reading and reciting aloud, slowly and distinctly, some of the most eloquent extracts in our language; and his success was so complete, that among his excellencies as a speaker, was the clearness of his articulation, and an appropriate intonation, that melodized every sentence.

Let the position be erect, and the body balanced on the foot upon which you stand; banish all care and anxiety from the mind; let the forehead be perfectly smooth, the lungs entirely quiescent, and make every effort from the abdominal region. To expand the thorax and become straight, strike the palms of the hands together before, and the backs of them behind, turning thumbs upward; do all with a united action of the body and mind, be in earnest, but husband your breath and strength; breathe often, and be perfectly free, easy, independent, and nature.

Do not hurry your enunciation of words, precipitating syllable over syllable, and word over word; nor melt them together into a mass of confusion, in pronouncing them; do not abridge or prolong them too much, nor swallow nor force them; but deliver them from your vocal and articulating organs, as golden coins from the mint, accurately impressed, perfectly finished, neatly and elegantly struck, distinct, in due succession, and full of weight.

Speak with your face. You know from observation how persons look when surprised, angered, grieved, terror-stricken, happy, courageous, resolute, etc. Let every emotion be portrayed by your face and features according as the thought and sentiment require it.

Speak with your arms, hands, eyes, and in short, with your whole body. Gesture aids expression; it should be graceful; emphatic when required; preceding slightly the sentiment you are to express; and given only when it will add to the effect.

Cultivate and strengthen your voice by the constant practice of reading aloud, prolonging the vowel sounds, and taking in full breaths, thus expanding the lungs.

by Henry Davenport Northrop, compiler and editor: “New Popular Speaker and Writer: Being a Choice Treasury of New and Popular Recitations, Readings, Dialogues, Original and Adapted Comedies, Tableaux, Etc., Comprising the Best Selections from the Most Celebrated Authors and Composers Including Descriptive, Dramatic, Pathetic, Humorous Recitals and Readings with Music, for Schools, Lodges, Public Entertainments, Anniversaries, Sunday-Schools, Etc, Etc.” (1900)

Henry Davenport Northrop was born on 10 March 1836 in Pulteney, Steuben County, New York, United States of America. He was married to Josephine L. Merrick on 25 May 1862. He became a Presbyterian minister, a writer, and a compiler. His works include “Grandest Century in World’s History” (1900) and “Golden Manual or the Royal Road to Success” (1891). Henry Davenport Northrop passed on at about 72 or 73 years of age on in 1909.

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