ORTHOEPY

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ORTHOEPY [From Greek orthoépeia right speech, correct diction]. A term used mainly in the 17–18c for the part of GRAMMAR that deals with ‘correct’ PRONUNCIATION and its relation to ‘correct’ writing (ORTHOGRAPHY). The principles of orthoepy influenced a number of pronouncing (orthoepic) dictionaries of the time, such as William Kenrick's A new Dictionary of the English Language: containing not only the explanation of words … but likewise their orthoepia or pronunciation in speech (1773). Orthoepy, although primarily associated with ELOCUTION, is ancestral to PHONETICS and its application to language teaching, as in Daniel JONES's English Pronouncing Dictionary (1917).