NOTES ON ELOCUTION

Pronunciation

Simple, right? All single vowels are short; All double vowels are long:

ab short a (like abdominal)
aab long a (like Abe Lincoln)

oot long o (boot pronounced like boat)

Similarly, e = short e (as in pet), ee = long e (as in feet)
i = short i (as in hit), ii = long i (as in stride)
u = short u (as in mutt), uu = long u (as in protrude)

Meter

The rhythm is one of the most important aspects of DiLingo. Spoken correctly, there's a cadence of rhyming syllables separated by hypeh-like vowels.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Zing ing ging k'ying ingruu John's k'dinging?

SAID:
Zing-ing...ging-k'ying...phebing k'ding-ing? (Iambic inflections)
OR,
Zing, ing, gink-a-ying, phebink-a-ding, -ing? (Truly gutteral, all rhymes stressed, non-rhymes skimmed over)

It's bad enough to sound like you will if you get this right; of course, spoken incorrectly, you'll sound like an idiot.

"I myself favor iambic DiLingo, or "DiLambic." --sUmUs cAccOOnUs, D. E. Back to HomePage