Volume 1

Universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology / by Joseph Thomas.

Joseph Thomas

Date:: 1911,

Credit: Universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology / by Joseph Thomas. Source: Wellcome Collection.

24/1486 page 6

$And strangers were received by thee, Of C6rdova the chivalry.” Byron : Translation of a Spanish Ballad on the Conquest of Albania. “ The regal seat Of Abdalazis, ancient C6rdoba.” Till they saw The temples'and the towers of Cc^doba Shining majestic in the light of eve.” Southey : Roderick, book v. “How quick they carved their victims, and how well, Let Saxony, let injured GXnoa tell.” Moore, *'Remember the moment when Pr^vesa fell, The shrieks of the conquered, the conquerors’ yell.” Byron : Childe Haroldcanto H. “Unseen is Yanina, though not jemote.” Childe Harold, canto ii. There Is, perhaps, no class of names whose accentua¬ tion seems more foreign to an English ear than those ending in ia with the accent on the penultima. Yet even in such cases the poets conform to the native pro¬ nunciation : Sustained by thoughts like these, from morn till eve He journeyed, and drew near LeyrIa’s walls.” Southeys Roderick, book iii. And now appear, as on a phosphor sea, Numberless barks from Mil'an, from PavIa.” Rogers : Italy, Part i., vii. Among the principal languages of continental Europe, the German, in its accent and in the metre of its verse, has perhaps the nearest affinity to the English; and it Is worthy of remark that precisely the same general 'tisage prevails with respect to foreign names in German poetry as in that of our own tongue. Any one may satisfy himself of the correctness of this statement if he will consult the poems of Schiller, who seems to have had occasion to use foreign names far more frequently than almost any other German poet. In his drama of “ Don Carlos,” Madrid occurs nearly twenty times, and always with the accent on the last syllable. This one fact (even were there no other) may show how sparingly the “poetical license,” so often alluded to, is used by perhaps the most careless in versification of all the great poets of Germany. Mirandola (a town in Italy) occurs twice, and in both instances has the accent on the ante- penultima: “Zwei ed!e H3user in MirXndola.” “Eilt nach MirXndola der Trunkene.” Act i. Scene 3. This is the more remarkable because Mirandola is an exception to the general rule of Italian pronunciation, which places the accent, on the penultima of words end¬ ing in a vowel. The name of the famous Princess of Eboli occurs a great number of times, and invariably with the correct accentuation,—that is, with the accent*on the antepenul- tima, although this is contrary to the general rule both ©f Spanish and Italian pronunciation. The following lines will suffice to show Schiller’s accentuation: *' Ich hoffe meine Eb'oli de.ikt anders.” “Prinzessin Eb'oli, sie haben uns Noch nicht gesagt ob G<5mez boffen dar£” “ Wir wollen wissen, ob er lieben kann, Und Liebekann verdienen,—Eb'oli? Don Carlos, Act I. Scene 3. “Der Fiirstin Eb'oli die Hand zu reichen.” Act ii. Scene 8. “ Das lang* entbehrte Gluck versebafft, der Fiirstin Vcn Eb'oli mlch wiederum zu nShern.” Act ii. Scene it. If our poet is not equally correct in regard to Al- calA, (a small town of Spain,) it was owing, doubtless, either to the difficulty of making such a name “lie smooth in rhyme,” or to his being ignorant of its true accentuation. The latter is by no means improbable, inasmuch as the Spanish language is far less studied by the generality of European scholars than the Italian. That it was not the result of carelessness is shown by the fact that Alcala is ahvays pronounced in the poem in the same manner, and according to the general rule of Spanish accentuation; that is, with the accent on the penultima. It may be remarked, however, that Schiller places the accent on the last syllable of Paris, Saint* Denis, and Saint-Quentin,*—in all of which he differs from the English and conforms to the French accentua- tion. (See “ Remarks on the French Accent,” page 13.) But perhaps the most remarkable illustration of this tendency to adopt the native pronunciation of foreign names is found in his drama of “ Mary Stuart where the poet, with the obvious intention of obliging his countrymen to pronounce the English names correctly, invariably in his verse spells Leicester “Lester,” although in the explanatory (prose) parts of the play he as invariably writes it “ Leicester,” as we do in English. For the same reason, doubtless, he writes Boleyn “ Boulen,” that his countrymen might pronounce the name Boo'len, nearly as it is spoken in England. Had he written it Boleyn, the Germans might have placed the accent on the last syllable, as we often hear it pro¬ nounced in the United States. The accentuation of names occurring in poetry, as already intimated, can readily be determined by the metre; but the manner in which the poets pronounced the letters of a foreign name cannot be so easily ascer- tained, since it can be known only when the name ends a line in rhyme ; and even then it is often extremely un¬ certain, as they appear to consider themselves entitled, in such cases, to much greater license than in the ac¬ centuation of words. Thus, we often see associated, in rhyme, words which correspond very imperfectly in sound, as enemy and lie, mourn and burn, etc. Never¬ theless, by comparing a number of passages, especially of those poets who are most remarkable for the cor¬ rectness of their rhymes, we shall often be enabled, to ascertain the true pronunciation of a word or name. Now, it will be found that the system which we have adopted is supported by the practice of the poets in this respect also. In other words, it will be founckthat, while foreign names that are very commonly used in our lan¬ guage have an English pronunciation, those not very well known are generally pronounced with the foreign sound of the letters, as will be seen from the following passages; “1 ’Tis Jacqueline l ’tis Jacqueline V Her little brother laughing cried; * I know her by her kirtle green. She comes along the mountain side.’* “ Not now to while an hour away. Gone to the falls in Valombri De Courcy, lord of A rgeniiire / •••••«« Thy thirst for vengeance sought the snare”—Root** * The two former names occur in “ The Maid of Orleans (“D to Jungfrau von Orleans,”) the last in “ Don Carlos.” \$

Universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology / by Joseph Thomas.

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