Every-Day Errors of Speech

The book is a practical, prescriptive guide to common English usage errors, concentrating chiefly on pronunciation and accent. It examines causes of mispronunciation—imitation, faulty models, and neglect of dictionaries—and urges consultation of Webster and Worcester. Intended for educated readers rather than the grossly unlettered, it arranges entries alphabetically with respellings, a pronunciation key, and corrections illustrated by frequent examples and brief notes on etymology and orthoepy. The introduction advocates a standard orthoepic authority and offers methods for self-correction, while the body lists words with correct and incorrect forms to help readers refine everyday speech.