Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 79.djvu/357

Rh

descent of the line after "u" indicates that this sound was cut short by some closure in the mouth, namely, by the tongue action for the sound "c." The line, however, does not remain at zero, but rises gradually; this indicates a steady emission of breath and not a complete closure. The partial closure is finally released and the explosion is registered in the sharp upward movement of the line. The sound "c" thus shows a sharp explosion like that of "t" but an incomplete closure. The closure is much greater than that of "sh" and the emission of air is much smaller (Fig. 4). The Italian soft "c" is therefore not an explosive occlusive like "t" or even like English "ch"; it is not a fricative like "sh"; it might be termed a fricative with an explosion. At any rate it is a distinct sound not existing in English.