Language is a temple in which the human soul is enshrined, and that it grows out of life--out of its joys and its sorrows, its burdens and its
necessities. To him, as well as to the writer, the deep strong voice of man and the low sweet voice of woman are never heard at finer advantage than in the earnest but mellow tones of familiar speech.
In the present volume Mr. Kleiser furnishes an additional and an exceptional aid for those who would have a mint of phrases at their command from which to draw when in need of the golden mean for expressing thought.
Few indeed are the post fitted to-day for the purpose of imparting this knowledge, yet two centuries ago phrase-books were esteemed as supplements to the dictionaries, and have not by any manner of means lost their value.
The guide to familiar quotations, the index to similes, the grammars, the
readers, the machine-made letter-writer of mechanically perfect letters of congratulation or condolence-none are sententious enough to supply the need.
By the compilation of this praxis, Mr. Kleiser has not only supplied it, but has furnished a means for the increase of one's vocabulary by practical methods.
HThere are thousands of persons who may profit by the systematic study of such a book as this if they will familiarize
themselves with the author's purpose by a careful reading of the preliminary pages of his book.
To speak in public pleasingly and readily and to read well are accomplishments acquired only after many days, weeks even, of practice.
Foreigners sometimes reproach us for the asperity and discordance of our speech, and in
general, this reproach is just, for there are many persons who do scanty justice to the vowel-elements of our language.
Although these elements constitute its music they are continually mistreated. We flirt with and pirouette around them constantly.
If it were not so, English would be found full of beauty and harmony of sound. Familiar with the maxim, "Take care of the vowels and the consonants will take care of themselves,"--a maxim that when put into practise has frequently led to the breaking-down of vowel values--the writer feels that the common custom of allowing "the consonants to take care of themselves" is pernicious. It leads to suppression or to imperfect utterance, and thus produces indistinct articulation.
The English language is so complex in character that it can scarcely be learned by rule, and can best be mastered by the study of suchidioms and phrases as are provided in this post; but just as care must be taken to place every accent or stress on the proper syllable in the pronouncing of every word it contains, so must the stress or emphasis be placed on the proper word in every sentence spoken.
To read or speak pleasingly one should resort to constant practice by doing so aloud in private, or preferably, in the presence of such persons as know good reading when they hear it and are masters of the melody of sounds.
It was Dean Swift's belief that the common fluency of speech in many men and most women was due to scarcity of matter and scarcity of words.
He claimed that a master of language possessed a mind full of ideas, and that before speaking, such a mind paused to select the choice word--the phrase best suited to the occasion. "Common speakers," he
said, "have only one set of ideas, and one set of words to clothe them in," and these are always ready on the lips.
Because he holds the Dean's view sound to-day, the writer will venture to warn the readers of this book against a habit that, growing far too common among us, should be checked, and this is the iteration and reiteration in conversation of "the battered, stale, and trite" phrases, the like of which were credited by the worthy Dean to the women of his time.
necessities. To him, as well as to the writer, the deep strong voice of man and the low sweet voice of woman are never heard at finer advantage than in the earnest but mellow tones of familiar speech.
In the present volume Mr. Kleiser furnishes an additional and an exceptional aid for those who would have a mint of phrases at their command from which to draw when in need of the golden mean for expressing thought.
Few indeed are the post fitted to-day for the purpose of imparting this knowledge, yet two centuries ago phrase-books were esteemed as supplements to the dictionaries, and have not by any manner of means lost their value.
The guide to familiar quotations, the index to similes, the grammars, the
readers, the machine-made letter-writer of mechanically perfect letters of congratulation or condolence-none are sententious enough to supply the need.
By the compilation of this praxis, Mr. Kleiser has not only supplied it, but has furnished a means for the increase of one's vocabulary by practical methods.
HThere are thousands of persons who may profit by the systematic study of such a book as this if they will familiarize
themselves with the author's purpose by a careful reading of the preliminary pages of his book.
To speak in public pleasingly and readily and to read well are accomplishments acquired only after many days, weeks even, of practice.
Foreigners sometimes reproach us for the asperity and discordance of our speech, and in
general, this reproach is just, for there are many persons who do scanty justice to the vowel-elements of our language.
Although these elements constitute its music they are continually mistreated. We flirt with and pirouette around them constantly.
If it were not so, English would be found full of beauty and harmony of sound. Familiar with the maxim, "Take care of the vowels and the consonants will take care of themselves,"--a maxim that when put into practise has frequently led to the breaking-down of vowel values--the writer feels that the common custom of allowing "the consonants to take care of themselves" is pernicious. It leads to suppression or to imperfect utterance, and thus produces indistinct articulation.
The English language is so complex in character that it can scarcely be learned by rule, and can best be mastered by the study of suchidioms and phrases as are provided in this post; but just as care must be taken to place every accent or stress on the proper syllable in the pronouncing of every word it contains, so must the stress or emphasis be placed on the proper word in every sentence spoken.
To read or speak pleasingly one should resort to constant practice by doing so aloud in private, or preferably, in the presence of such persons as know good reading when they hear it and are masters of the melody of sounds.
It was Dean Swift's belief that the common fluency of speech in many men and most women was due to scarcity of matter and scarcity of words.
He claimed that a master of language possessed a mind full of ideas, and that before speaking, such a mind paused to select the choice word--the phrase best suited to the occasion. "Common speakers," he
said, "have only one set of ideas, and one set of words to clothe them in," and these are always ready on the lips.
Because he holds the Dean's view sound to-day, the writer will venture to warn the readers of this book against a habit that, growing far too common among us, should be checked, and this is the iteration and reiteration in conversation of "the battered, stale, and trite" phrases, the like of which were credited by the worthy Dean to the women of his time.
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