THE ASK-LIST OF WORDS ‘These words have three standards of pronunciation: @ In Good Speech in classic texts abaft advance, -s advanced advancement, -s advancing advantage, -s “after-” prefixes Sitermath, -s afternoon afterward, -5 aghast Slabister Alabaster alas (2 ine) answer, -$ answe-rable answe-rably answered answe-rer, 5 answe-ring ask, -5 Task newt 22 J asked asking aunt, -s auntie, -5 autograph, -s avalanche, -s avast bask, -s basked basket, -s basketball, -s basketful, -s ketn ick, 5 bath-chair, -s bathroom, -s behalf blanch, -es Blanche blanched blanching blast, -s blasted blasting blast-furnace, -s blastment, -s blast-pipe branch, -es Branch branched branching branchless brass, -es brass-band, -s brass-founder brass-hat, -s brassie, -5 (golf) brassier (more brassy) brassiest brassy broadcast, -s calf calf's-foot calfskin calve, -5 calved calves'-foot calve-skin, -s calving can't cask, -s casked casket, -S casking cast, -5 castaway, -$ caste, -5 caster Castelnau casting, -5 casting-net, -s casting-vote, -s cast-iron castle, -s Castlebar Castlezea (gh) Castleton castor-oil cenotaph, -s @. In General American chaff, -s chaff-cutter, -s chaffed chaffer, -s (n) [chaffer(v) a ] chaffiness chafing, -ly chaffless chaffy chance, -s chanced chancel, -5 chancelle-ries chancelle-ry chancellor, -s Chancellor chancellorship, -s chancer chance-ries chance-ry Chance-ty chancier chanciest chancing cchancy chandler, s ‘Chandler chant, -5 chanted chanter, -s chantey chanties chanting Chantre chan ¢ chanty chanty clasp, -s clasped clasping clasp-knife, -ves class, -es, classed classier classiest classiness classing classman @: In British RP classmate classmen classroom, -s classwoman classwomen. classy command, -s commanded commander, -s commanding, -ly ‘commandment, -s commando, -5 counterblast, -s countermand, -5 countermanded countermanding craft, craftier raftiest craftly craftiness craftsman, -men “craft” suffixes daft dafter dancing deathmask, -s demand, -s demanded demanding disadvantage, -d, -5 disaster, -s disastrous, -ly disastrousness distaff, -s downcast downdraught, -5 draft, -s drafted drafter, -s drafting ‘THE FRONT VOWELS / 81E}_—____________ THE ASK-LIST OF WORDS, Cont, draftsman, -men flabbergasting grasper, -s laugher, -s draught, 5 Flanders grasping, -ly laughing, -ty “draught-" prefixes flask, -s Brass, -€5 laughing-gas draughti flasket, -5 Brass-cutter, -s laughing-stock. -= draughtiest forecast, -ed, -ing,-s grassed laughter draughtily forecaster, -s grass-green mask, -$ draughtiness France grasshopper, -s masked draughty Frances Brassier masking draughtsman, -men Francies Brassiest masque, -5 encephalograph, -s Francis Brassing mast, -s enchant, -s freelance, -s, -d grass-land master, -5 enchanted gasped, -s grass-widow, -s “master” prefixes enchanter, -s gasped grass-widower, -s “master” suffixes enchanting gasping grassy mastered enchantment Bhastlier half masterful, -ly enchantress, -es ghastliest “half” prefixes masterfulness enclasp, - ghastliness halve, -s maste-sing enclasped ghastly halved masterpiece, -s enclasping gi-taffe, -s halves maste-ty engratt, -s glance, -5 halving, mast-head, -5 engrafted glanced nanaiodh, -s mastiff, -s (2 in RE engrafting glancing, -ly hasp, -5 mischance, -s engraftment glass, -es hasped mooncalf enhance, -s Blass-blower, -s hasping mooncalves enhanced Blass-blowing headmaster, -s nastier enhancement, -s glass-cutter, -5 he-reafter nastiest enhancing glassful, -s impassable, -bly nastily ensample, -s glass-house, -s implant, -s, -ed nastiness entrance, -5 (v) glassier indgaught, -s nasty entranced, -ly glassiest lance, -s outcast, -s epigraph, - glassily Lance outcaste, -s epitaph, -s Blassiness lanced outcasted everlasting, -ly glass-paper, -s lance-corpo-ral, -s _outcasting everlastingness glassware lancer, -s outclass, -es example, -s glass-work, -s lancet, -s outclassing exampled Blasswort Lancet outlast, -s exampling glassy lancing outlasted Falstaff Bratt, -s Lancing outlasting fast, «5 “graft” suffixes last, -s overcast fasted giafted lasted overglance, -d, -5 faster, -s grafter, -s lasting, -ly oyertask, -ed, -ing, -s fastest grafting lastly cap, -s fasting grant lath, -s, -y pa-tagraphed fastness Grant lather, -s pa-ragcaphing fast-day, -s granted lathered pass,-es fasten, -s Grantee, -s lathe-ring. passed fastened granting lathwork’ passable, -ness fastener, -s grantor, -s lathy passably fastening graph, -s laugh, -s pass-book, -s fastness, -es "graph" suffixes laughable passer, -s *-fast” suffixes Grasmere laughableness Ipasser sparrow 2 ] f1SbbergSst, -s grasp, 3 laughably passer-by flabbergasted grasped laughed passers-by 82 / SPEAK WITH DISTINCTION / CHAPTER TWOrr ‘THE ASK-LIST OF WORDS, Cont. passing prancing sampler, -5 tasked pass-key, -s quaff, -s* sampling tasking passman, -men quaffed * schoolmaster, -s taskmaster, -5 Passover, -s quaffer, -s * shaft, -s task-mistress, -es quaffing * Shaftesbu-ry telecast, -s raft, 6 shan’t telegraph, -s tafied, -s slander, -s telegraphed rafter, -s slandered telegraphing faftered slande-rer the-reafter rafting slande-ring topmast? rascal, -s slande-rous, -ly tance, 5 rascalities slande-rousness transplant, -5 fascality slant, -5 transplantable rascally slanted transplanted ASP, -S slanting, ty transplanting, tasped slantwise trespass, -es fasping staff, -s trespassed taspberies staffed trespasser, -5 raspberry staffing trespassing Pathfinder spines stagecraft unstanch pathless Taspy stanch, -es unsurpassed pathway, -s rather stanched upcast, -s perchance recast, -5 stanching vantage, -§ planch, -es recasting stanchion, -5 vast plancheue, -s ‘repass, -es statecraft vaster plant, -s ‘epassed steadfast, -ly vastest planted repassing steadfastness vastly planter, -s repast, -s stedfast vastness planting repasture supplant, -s vasty plaster, -s reprimand, -s supplanted watt, -s plastered reprimanded supplanter, -s wattage plaste-rer, -5 ‘teprimanding supplanting wafted plaste-ring salve,-s*(anoind). surpass, -ed, -es wafting prance, -s salved ** surpassing, -ly witchcraft Prance salving ** taft, -ed, -s wrath ( 7 or 3° in Rp) pranced sample, -s tafting wrathful, -ly Prancer, -s sampled task, -s © In North American speech and in British RP, “quaff* and its derivatives usually are pronounced ‘hero but often in verse must. thyme with an Ask-Word, in which caso they, too, become Ask-Words, “* In British RP, “salve” {anoint; soothe) and its derivatives are pronounced: Leeésr For proper names and places not listed above, it is best to check local pronunciation and the dictionaries if you suspect it may be an Ask-Word, In British RP the words on the Ask-List are pronounced with @: as in “father.” In addition to these words, there are a few words pronounced with: by many British xP speakers, while 22. as in “Pat” is used by other gp speakers as well as virtually all North Americans. With such words, most characters in North American plays will use 22 ; for characters in British plays it is advisable to investigate factors such as regional, class and educational backgrounds, to determine which vow. el sound should be used. Some of these words are: Alexander bastard bastardized bastardy contrast Contrasting exaspe-rate exaspe-rating haft ranch rancher “trans-” prefixes moustache masqui THE FRONT VOWELS / 83