Every-Day Errors of Speech Part 11

=Prosody=--pros'o-dy, not pro'so-dy nor proz'o-dy.

=Protean=--pro'te-an, not pro-te'an. a.s.suming different shapes.

=Protege= (Fr. protege)--pro-ta-zha', not pro'teje. One under the care of another. =Protegee= (Fr.

protegee)--pro-ta-zha', feminine.

=Psalm=--sam, not sam. =Psalmist= (sam'ist). Worcester gives sam'ist also for the latter word.

=Psalmody=--sal'mo-dy, not sam'o-dy nor sam-o-dy.

=Psychical=--si'kik-al, not sik'ik-al nor fiz'ik-al, as it is sometimes thoughtlessly p.r.o.nounced in reading. Pertaining to the human soul.

=Pumpkin=, not _punkin_. _Pumpkin_ itself is a corruption of _pumpion_ or _pompion_, but is the word that is now generally used.

=Purulent=--pu'ru-lent, not pur'u-lent. Containing pus or matter. =Purulence= and =purulency= have also the long u in the first syllable.

=Put=--poot, not put. This anomalous p.r.o.nunciation is hard for some to adopt, the natural tendency being to sound the _u_ as it is in a host of other words consisting of two consonants with a short u between them, as: bun, but, cut, dug, fun, gun, hut, nut, etc.

=Pyrites=--pi-ri'tez, not pe-ri'tez, pir'i-tez nor pi'ritez.

Q.

=Qualm=--kwam, not kwam. Worcester allows kwawm also.

=Quay=--ke, not kwa.

=Querulous=, means complaining, whining, etc., and not _questioning_.

=Quinine=--kwi'nine or kwi-nine', not kwi-neen'.

Worcester gives kwi-nine' or kwin'ine.

=Quoit=--kwoit, not kwate.

=Quoth=--kwoth or kwuth, not kwoth.

R.

=Rabies=--ra'bi-ez, not rab'ez. Madness, as that of dogs.

=Radish=--rad'ish, not red-ish.

=Raillery=--ral'ler-y, not ral'ler-y. Slight ridicule; pleasantry.

=Raise=--=Rise.= _Raise_ is a transitive verb, or one in which the action pa.s.ses over to an object. Present tense, _raise_; imperfect tense and past participle, _raised_; present participle, _raising_. _Rise_ is an intransitive verb, the action not pa.s.sing over to an object. Present tense, _rise_; imperfect tense, _rose_; past participle, _risen_; present participle, _rising_. Errors in the use of these words ought to be avoided by remembering the following rules:

1. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that pa.s.ses over to an object, use _raise_, _raised_, and _raising_.

2. If the person or thing spoken of exerts an action that does not pa.s.s over to an object, use _rise_, _rose_, _risen_, _rising_. To avoid further repet.i.tion in the method I have adopted to impress upon the mind the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs by contrasted sentences, I would refer the reader to the remarks under =Lay=. "I will _raise_ in the morning at five," should be, "I will _rise_," etc. "I will _raise_ the _window_," etc., is correct, for the action pa.s.ses to or affects the window.

"I will _raise myself_ if I have the strength" is correct, because an object, _myself_, is furnished. "The price of flour is _raising_," should be, "The price of flour is _rising_;" but it is right to say, "The merchants are _raising_ the price of flour." "Gold has _raised_ in value,"

should be, "Gold has _risen_ in value." "The price of bonds _raised_ in less than an hour," should be, "The price of bonds _rose_," etc. "The sun is _raising_," should be, "The sun is _rising_." "The sun is _raising_ the temperature," is proper. The pulse has _risen_, but excitement has _raised_ it. The river has _risen_ in its bed and has _raised_ the ca.n.a.l. Birds _rise_ in the air. _Arise_ can often be appropriately subst.i.tuted for _rise_.

=Rampant=--ram'pant, not ram-pant'.

=Rapine=--rap'in, not rap'een nor ra-peen'.

=Raspberry=--raz'ber-ry, not ra.s.s'ber-ry nor rawz'ber-ry.

Worcester gives raz'ber-ry and ras'ber-ry.

=Rational=--rash'un-al, not ra-shun-al. =Rationalist= (rash'un-al-ist), etc.

=Recess=--re-cess', not re'cess.

=Recherche= (Fr. recherche)--ruh-sher-sha', not re-shersh'.

Worcester gives ra-sher-sha'.

=Recluse=--re-kluse', not re-kluze'.

=Reconnoissance=--re-con'nois-sance, not rek-on-nois'sance.

Worcester gives re-con'nois-sance'. =Reconnaissance= is another method of spelling.

=Recriminations=, not _mutual recriminations_; the word itself tells of the _mutuality_.

=Redolent=--red'o-lent, not redo'lent. Diffusing odor or fragrance.

=Relevant=, not _revelant_. Pertinent; applicable.

=Relic=, not _relict_, when that which remains, a corpse, or anything preserved in remembrance, is meant. =Relict= means a widow.

=Rendezvous=--ren'de-voo, not ron'de-voo nor ren'de-vooz. Worcester gives ren'de-voo and ren'de-vooz. The plural is =rendezvouses= (ren'de-vooz-ez).

=Requiem=--re'kwi-em, not rek'wi-em. Worcester gives both p.r.o.nunciations.

=Resume= (Fr. resume)--ra-zu-ma', not re-zume' nor re-zu'ma. Worcester gives rez-u-ma'.

=Reticule=, not _ridicule_, when a little bag of net-work is meant.

=Reveille=--re-val'ya, not rev-a-le'. Worcester gives the first and re-val'.

=Ribald=--rib'ald, not ri'bald. Low; obscene. =Ribaldry= (rib'ald-ry).

=Rinse=--rinss, not rense nor wrench. "_Wrench_ your mouth," said an uneducated dentist to a patient after _wrenching_ out a large molar. "Thank you," replied the patient. "_You_ have done that, but I'll _rinse_ it, if you please."

=Ripples=, not _riffles_.

=Romance=--ro-manss', not ro'manss.