thorton, elements of the written language, philosophical division of speech

8/2/2019 Thorton, Elements of the Written Language, Philosophical Division of Speech

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ICibrar^vN THE CUSTODY OF THE

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.

SHELF N* ADAMS ,


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2 ^

^^tC^yv.tZt^


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PRIZE DISSERTATION,-.vhicu was honored with the magellanic gold midal, by theAmerican Philosophical Society, Janx'ary, 1793.CADMUS

O R, ATREATISE ON the ELEMENTS

Written Language,Illujlrating, by aphilofophical divifion of SPEECH^ the power

of each character, thereby mutually Jixing the Orthography andOrthoepy,

CUil KESCIRE, FVDEN3 PRAVE, qUAM DTSCKRE MALO?Nor. Ars. Poet. F. 88.

With an essay on the mode of teaching the surd or deaf,and confequently dumb, to speak.

By WILLIAM THORNTON, M. D.Member of the Societies of Scots antiquaries of EdinburghAND Perth; the Medical Society, and the Society of Natu-ral Hist, o? Edin : the American Philosoth ical Society, &c.

PHILADELPHIA: ^PRINTED BY R, AltlCEN ^ SON, N. 2%, MARKET STREET,M.DCC.XClIIi


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ADAMii|-?3./i


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Unavoidable hajle in pajftng thefollowing Treatifes through t/jgprefs, has occajlonedfeveral inaccuracies, theprincipal ofwhichare corrected in this table ofERRATA.

Addrcfs, line 7. In satlsfai.fan, trafe l and infcrt K. I. li.For OVIT, tead, OOVir*18 /"or folio, readioXo. 1. %o For deendjras, r


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Tu Da Sitiznz ov Nore AmarlKa,Mai diir Kuntrimen,

In prizentiD tu iu ]&is smnnl uJrk ai siik lesD J gratlfiKeefJn ov obteeniD iur feevar, Bancv rendariiD maiself iusfal; and if bj benifitsai Kontempleet rud bi diraivd from mai leebcrr,ai ral endjoi a satisfaicran itf deo onli KantJrmineet*

Bai Ba grandjjr ov KaraKtJr Bathaz so loDdistinguifd iu, and bai oitf in hav, in meniinstansiz, biin Karrid ov^ir eenr ant predjudisiztu DJ ful ateenmant ov parfeKfan, a hoop izinspaird Bat iur egzarranz uil stil bi direKtidtu liid B3 rftaindz ov ae.^rz from Bi influanaov iroonl:is KJSt:iQi tu si adopfjn ov djjstprinsiplz. Iu hav nlredi trnt a rees ov mentu ridjeKt b:i impozif an ov tirani, and hav seta briliant egzampl, oitr nul uil folio, oen riiznhaz asiumd hjr suee. Iu hav KoreKtid Badcendjras doKtrinzov luropiian pnuarz, Kor-reKt nnu B a languid jiz iu hav importid, forBi opresed ov varies nccranznoK at iur geetsand


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To the Citizens of North America.My dear countrymen,J.!N prefenting to you this fmall work, I feeklefs the gratification of obtaining your favour,than of rendering myfelfufeful ; and if the be-nefits I contemplate fhould be derived from mylabour, I fhall enjoy a fatisfadtioa which deathonly can terminate,

By the grandeur of charader that has fo longdiftinguiflied you, and by which you have, inmany inftances, been carried over ancient pre-judices to the full attainment of perfe


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( vl )and dizair tii bi rlsiivd az iiir brcDrin. Az iuadmit Dem fasilkeet iur imarKoors and iu uiliniutu:ili en.^jî d3 benifits. Di AmariKJn laD-guidj uil BHii bi az distiDt az DJ êavarm^nt,fri from nnl D3 foliz cv anfilosofiKal faran,and rcstiD .ipon truuo az its onli regiuleetar.Ai pjrsiiv no difiKaltiz : if iu faind eni ai trastBee aar not n^BHiit remjdi. If mai ignjrjnsfliaz led mi intu :irarz, ai fal Konsidjr BccrKoreKf ::n az an aKt ov frendf ip ; for a: fudlament if, Gail siikiD tu enlaitn aecrs ai rudbi uzzKiiD in darKnJs maiself.

Uie D:r sin&iir:Tst uifiz eat iur prinsiplz ovself-ga[Y3:rm2:nt and iKunl^ti mee cKstendBemselvz oovar bj oool aro, mecKiDiu eecr-bc:i a Kioosii alaid part ov dcl ;';rcet famili ovTi an, and lSad iur Konilntual inKriis in no]ioj, and iur iiarnal saivccf::n,

ai sabskraib maiselfuiB m:itf satisfaKfn:n,

iur alcKianat felo-sitiznBI zzeziô


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( vii )

dcfirc to be received as your brethren. Asyou admit them facilitate your intercourfc,and you will mutually enjoy the benefits.The American Language vv-Ill thus be asdifiin^l: as the government, free from all thefollies of unphilofophlcal fafhion, and reftlngupon truth as its only regulator. I perceiveno difficulties: it you find any, I truil: theyare not without remedy. If my ignorance hasled me into errors, 1 fhall connder their cor-re(3:ion as an acL of friendfliip; for I fnouldlament, if, while feeking to enlighten others I{hould be v/alking in darknefs myfeif.

With the fincerefl: wiflies that your prin-ciples of felf-government and equality m.ayextend themfelves over the whole earth, mak-ing you thereby a clofely allied part of thegreat family of man, and v/ifliing you continu-al increafe in knowledge, and your eternalfalvation,

I fubfcrlbe myfelfwith much fatisfadion

your affeaionate fellow-cltizrathe AuTiion.


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A D M U SOR, A

Cur nescire, pudens irave, c^uam discerf. malo?Hor: ArsPoet: v. 88.

1 ERHAPS there is no fubjed of whichthe generality of men are fo ignorant^ as thefabjedl of the following paper : indeed there iskarcely one that ignorance affects fo much todefpife ; but, though unexpanded minds maynot deem it worthy of a thought, fome of thegreateft philofophers have confidered it of fuchimportance as to claim their particular atten-tion. The learned Bi(hop Wilkins, in his trea-tife OX), a philofophical language, informs us, thatbefides the famous Emperors Caius Julius Ca:-far, and Odavius Auguftus, who both wroteupon this fubjeft, Varro, Apian, Quintilian andPrifcian bellowed much pains upon the alphabet:

fmce


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lo CAD M U S.fince them Erafmus, both the ScallgerSj Lip-fius, Salmafius, Voffius, Jacobus Matthias, A-dolphus Metkerchus, Bernardus Malinchot,&c.alfo Sir Thomas Smith, Bullokar, Alex-ander Gill, and Dodor Wallist ; the laft ofwhom Wilkins thinks, had confidered withthe greateft accuracy and fubtlety the philofo-phy of articulate founds. He alfo acknowledg-es his obligations to the private papers of Doc-tor William Holder, and Mr. Lodov/ick. Wefind in the Bifliop's work a great difplay of in-genuity and good reafon; and on this fub-je6t many excellent obfervations. Since himfeveral eminent authors have engaged in theftudy, and have favored the world with ufefulremarks. Among many who have publifh-ed I will particularly mention Dr. Kenrick,Thomas Sheridan, DocSor Beattie, and DodorFranklin, fome of whofe judicious and forciblereafons may be feen in the diifertations of No-ah Webfler.An attentive confideration of this theme has

many and important objcds.WeI 1 am forry that my remotenefs from any library prevents my perufmgmofl of thcfe authtrs, as 1 v-'ritc this in Tortola, my native place. 1792.


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CADMUS. irWe fee hundreds of nations whofe languages

are not yet written. We fee millions of child-ren born to labour for years to acquire imper-fedly, what children of good capacity wouldacquire perfectly in a few weeks.

We fee mountains of volumes printed, andno man can produce, in the Englifh language,a fmgle fentence, often words, properly writ-ten, if in the received mode of fpelling.To reduce the languages of different nationsto writing, it would be neceffary to invent anUniverjal alphabet^ the mode of conftru6l-ing and applying of which I fhall only heregive an idea of, as the bounds of this papei*will not permit me to exemplify more than theEngliifi.

An Univerfal alphabet ought to contain a,fingle diflincl: mark or character, as the re-prefentative of each fimple found which it ispoffible for the human voice and breath toutter.

No


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12 C A D M U S.No mark (hould reprefent two or three dif-

tinft founds*; nor fhould any fimple foundbe reprefented by two or three different char-adersf.

Language appears common to nature. Almoftevery beaft, and bird, and infedt conveys itsfeelings by founds uttered in different v^ays.The language ofman is however the moftexten-five : his ideas are conveyed by words, formedeither by fingle or conneded founds; thefe foundsare produced by modifications of the voice andbreath. Every modification is called a letter,which, reprefented by a mark, and the marksknown by the eye to be the reprefentatives ofthe founds, an idea is as intelligibly conveyedby the marks as by the founds.

I How much have the learned to lament theimperfedi: ftate in which human genius has yetleft the alphabet ! It has been the cuflom toconfider the redudion of language to the eye asan art bordering fo much on divine, as almoft tofurpafs human invention. If we examine the

ignorance* As a in ca//, calm, tame,t As c, K 9, ^"^


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CADMUS. 13ignorance, in this refpect, of even the mofllearned men,we may with fome propriety afcrlbeto the fubjed much difficulty, but, when the firft:fources of error are conquered, every thing ap-pears plain and fimple.

I am confident the Hebrew language was notformed before that alphabet; [the alphabet wasprobably the Ethiopic,] for the radicals of theHebrew are compofed each of three charafters,and by permutation might form ten thoufandwords. Thefe 'uei^bs have fo many flexions,that they would form above one hundredthoufand words, which would be more com-prehenfive than human genius.

It is impoffible that a language fo mechanical-ly and fo artificially formed, could be the efFed;of chance, it muil have been formed upon thealphabet, and more efpecially as it is formed bythree characters in all cafes, and not by three dif-tindt letters or founds; for the^ beth^ 3 g^^^h^ and daleth^ without the point, have the pov/-ers of BT'^ GJ and dj; capable offorming by

permutation* ;i is the Vccal of the H. Sec pronunciation ofthe Letters,


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14 C A D M l/ S.permutation twenty nine words, but twentyfour without repeating the fame charader threetimes in a word, each containing fix letters,and but three charaSiers : if thefe characterswere primarily confidered as only each the re-prefentative of one letter, this reafon is notvalid, but the next becomes ftronger, and thedifficulties increafe; for, to form a languageof exactly three letters in every radical word,pre-fuppofes a perfsdl acquaintance with a dif-tind fet of founds, befide a general confent ofthe perfons engaged in the compofition of thelanguage, and memories fufficient to retain onecompofed by permuting twenty two letters bythree. It requires more genius to efFedt it with-out, than with characters: by an alphabet itmight be the compofition of one man, but ishowever the produdion of a great effort ofgenius, and approaches towards a philofophicallanguage.

All the world have to lament that not onlythe circumnavigators of different nations, buteven of the fame nation, v/ho make vocabula-ries of the langu*iger, they hear, are fo little

acquainted


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CADMUS. 15acquainted with the phllofophy of fpeech, asnever to write them alike: indeed the fameperfon cannot read in his fecond voyage, butwith difEcuhy, what he wrote in the preced-ing one, with a pronunciation intelligible toa native : yet mod people are capable of repeat-ing with tolerable corredinefs what they hearothers pronounce immediately before, even ina different language, provided the fame foundscontained in the word be found in the lan-guage of the imitator; otherwife new foundsmuft be attempted: and every perfon is not fuf-ficiently accurate in his obfervations, to perceivethe effort made by the fpeaker when he uttersfuch founds ; as we may obferve daily in theattem.pts of foreigners to fpeak the th of theEnglifh [b e, &c.]

Shew a fentence in the Roman alphabet toan individual ofeach nation that makes ufe ofthefe charaders, and two pcrfons cannot befound to read it alike : nor can a perfon whounderftands the powers of the letters in onelanguage, be capable of reading a fentence ineach language properly.

B Mofl:


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i6 CAD M U S.Moft of the nations of Europe have receivedj

more or lefs, the Roman alphabet, yet there isnot one language to which it is perfedly a-dapted; however, ahhough in the differentlanguages ef Europe, the fame found is oftenreprefented in each by two or three charaders,we find in moft of them fonie words whichcontain the fame charafter to reprefent the famefound; therefore the formation of an extenfive,fixed alphabet, for the ufe of Europe, will notbefo difficult as ifwe could furnifh no inftanc-es from the different languages, in v/hich theyall concurred to give the fame found to the famecharacter. But this will only ferve while weattempt to preierve the Roman characters, andproduce as little innovation as poffible in prin-ting : were we to go as far as common fenfewould dire^^, and lay afide the Roman alpha-bet, which is exceedingly complex, adoptingone that might be reduced to fuch fimplicityas to require only one fourth of the time towrite the fame matter, we muft firft fix all thefounds, by making for each language a corre-fpondent table, in diftindt columns, then adaptthe fimplicity of the charafter, as much as pof-

fible,


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CADMUS. 17fible, to the frequency of the found In the dif-ferent languages. The moft certahi mode offixing the founds, is by adopting in each tablethe fimplefl monofyllables in which they arefound, fuch as are commonly pronounced alike,and are the moft frequently ufed. The fameletter or character fhould ftand at the head ofeach correfponding perpendicular column, inthe feveral tables, and the fame alfo at the be-ginning of each horizontal line ; thus repre-fenting always the fame found, as far as thefefeveral charadlers can be applied. If the famefound cannot always be found in one languagethat a letter in another reprefents, this lettermuft not be ufed in the firft, on any account,as it would produce confufion ; for it makespart only of an univerfal alphabet. Suchcharacters might however foon come into ufe,by adopting, with all future difcoveries, thenames given by the inventors, either in artsor fciences, and in whatever language. Anyfubfequent improvements in the arts wouldbe more eafily comprehended in writings, werethe names and terms every where the fame.If one nation only take this advantage, only

one


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i8 CADMUS.one will enjoy this benefit : but were morenations to do it, languages would in time affi-milate as knowledge became more difFufed byintercourfe; the origin of the difcoveries wouldbe more eafily traced, and all the world feemmore nearly allied. Nothing indeed can bemore ridiculous, than to alter a proper name^merely to make its termination more correfpon-dent to the general laws of a language: iyetin how many inftances have the French, En-glifh, Germans and other nations done this IAt the fame time they urge the neceility ofpreferving an orthography vyhich has very fewtraces left of the radicals, and has little moreaffinity with the fpoken language than twodifferent languages have with each other : thus,to read and write, and to fpeak the fame things,are arts as different and difficult as to learntwo diflind languages ; for they are in gen-eral written by miferable hieroglyphics; and,it is as difficult for a perfon to remember thata particular written word fignifies a certainvocal one, as to remember that the fame wordfignifies a particular objedt. We 'cannot thenbut lament the many mifpent years of our

youth.


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CADMUS. 19youth, and the continual excrcife of crueltywhich is inflicted.; to make them imbibe the ig-norance of their nnceftors, and for ever fhackletheir minds with f^lfe and ablurd prejudices.

Voltaire, that gilder in literature, who neverwrote any thing folid upon any fubjed, butwhat may be attributed to the much injured andobfcure Pere Adam, or the celebrated Durey deMorfan, gave fome pieces iu favor of a refor-mation in fpeiling, but did not exceed a fewterminations of words, which he urged to theFrench Academy; they however ar.medfor thepropriety of retaining the old mode, left theyIhould not know the derivatbns of wordswhich are, indeed, as folely the province ofantiquarians, as the derivations of cuftoms andthings; but were they really requifite to Schol-ars, they have only to turn to didtionaries, andfag through a fev/ references.

Many urge the utility of the old orthographyto prevent obfcurity in writing, but i thoughhalf a dozen words of different acceptation hadtb^e fame orthography, where would be the

difficulty


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CO CADMUS.difficulty of obtaining the meaning ? for iafpe^king we find none, and many words inEnglifh have the fame found; for inftance^^^rto drink, and bier to carry the dead upon ; alfohear the verb to carry, bear the beaft, and barenaked, are never miftaken in converfation, thecompofition of the fentences conveying per-fedly the diftinftion. If any obfcurity be per-ceived, an alteration fhould be made in thewords themfelves, and the orthography regu-lated thereby: inftances may be pointed outwhere it would be highly proper to adhere, notonly to particular diftindions in the prefentorthography, but to conform to them in fpeak-ing h If youfpeak like moderns^ ivhywouldye 'write like ante-chrijiians ? pronounced, ant^not ant/, otherwife there would be no differ-ence between, before Chrift, and againji Chrift,

Several of the Englifh argue for the pre-fervation of derivatives, but it is the laft argu-ment that ought to have been ufed, in delicacyto their own feelings ; for none of their molllearned grammarians or lexicographers, except,

perhaps


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CADMUS. 21perhaps, James Robertfon,^ knew the derivati-on of even the commoneft monofyllables, 'tillJohn Korne Tooke cleared away all the ob-fcuritles, under which ignorance was veiled,and deteded the learned abfurdities of Harris,johnfon, Lord Monboddo, and many others.-James Robertfon, in his Hebrew grammar,(the firft edition of which was publiihed fiftyyears ago) gives hints which, indeed, couldnot efcape a perfon of much lefs learning andpenetration than John Home Tooke ; but Iwould by no means infer thence, that any hintshave been borrowed, becaufe his name, I amconfident, would have been mentioned.

Some of the moft learned men are menof the lead knowledgetake away their fchoo!-learning, and they remain children. As alltheir confequence in life confifts in their ac-quaintance with dead languages, they, nodoubt, would condemn any attempt to leiTenthe dignity of fuch acquirements. ' You muftnot alter the orthography of languages, be-caufe we cannot afterv/ard derive the words,

then* ProfefTor of the Oriental larguages in the Univcrf:*:)? of Edlnb'..r^!-u


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23 C A D M U S.then all the learning we have taken fo muchpains to acqnu'e will be uielefs.'We muftthus preferve bad fpeiling to render dead lan-guages ufeful in its derivation, and we muftlearn dead languages to derive bad fpeiling.i When does the lady (v/ho fpeaks the mofl:elegant language) afk the pedant W'hence thewords are derived ! He has fpent tvvo minutesin tw^o languages to know the meaning of theword, and ilie has fpent two minutes in onelanguage; and nvhereis the difference ? A childiBuft fpend many years in learning dead lan-guages, that he may kno-v more perfectly hisow-n.Few acquire more than one languagewith its elegancies. I have known good latinfcholars, in England, incapable of w^rltin^Englifh tolerably. i tlow much more rationalwould it be, to fiudy the Engliih twice as long,than to llu-dy another language to obtain theEnglifh! There is fcarcely one man in fiftyaeven anaong the learned, that writes everVword with what is, 7fiG/i erroneoujly^ called acorreft orthography, without a lexiconamongthe unlearned none, and few among well edu-cated ladles, Thefe dilncultics depend greatlyupon


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CADMUS. 23upon faife fpelling, becaufe they all pronouncemuch more alike than they write ; and thatfalfe fpelling, in its origin, depended as muchupon a want of knowing the alphabet, as uponthe chanire of language for the fake of eu-phony. People are more a(hamed of expofingbad orthography than bad writing : the onlydifference, however, between what the worldcalls bad fpelling and good, is, that the firftcontains the blunders of the writer only, thelatter contains the blunders of everybody elfe.

Dr. Johnfon, in the grammar which is pre-fixed to his dictionary (under letter Z,) fays" For pronunciation the bejl rule is^ to conftder" thoje as the mojl elegantfpeakers ijuho deviate^^ leaf,from the ijuritten Ivords,^'' If the Dodor^with all his learning, had heard any page ofhis own works read corredly, (according tothe orthography) he would with difficulty, ifat all, have been able to conftrue it, and wouldhave been even more at a lofs than foreignersare when the Englifh fpeak Latin. I am forrythat the vague opinion of an eftablifhed cha-rader can impofe upon the generality of men,

C and


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^4 CAD M U S.and I lament how much fooner tiie errors ofthe great are embraced than the truths of thelittle. The Dodor immediately after this al-lows " our orthography to beJormed by chance^" and is yet fufficiently irregidar.^^ I cannotconceive by what rule the irregularity can bedetermined, but by its non-conformity to thefpeech, which would thus deny his previ-ous alTertion. ^' Some reformers'^^ he adds," have endeavoured to accommodate orthogra-" phy better to the pronunciation-^ ivithout con-^^Jidering that this is to meafure by ajhadoiv^" to take that for a model orjlandard ivhich" is changing ivhite they apply itJ*^ If languagechange, the orthography ought alfo to change;but if orthography were once properly accom-modated to language, even this would not beliable to change, confequentiy that : and itwould then be confidered, by all butjohnfoni-ans, as great an im.propriety to mijcall a writtenword, as now to pronounce it properly," Others^'* he fays ^' lefs abfurdly indeed^ but" tvith equal unlikelihood offuccefs^ have en--^' deavoured to proportion the number of letters

C( to


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CADMUS. 25^' to that ofjounds^ that every fciind ?nay have" its ozvn charaBer^ and every character a finale^^found. Such zvoidd be the orthography of a" nevu language to heformed by afnodofGram-" marians upon principles 0)fcience. But nvho" can hope to prevail on iiations to chaw^e their^^ p)rG5iice^ and make all their old books ifelefs ?" or ivhat advantage vuoiild a nevj orthography" procure^ equivalent to the conjifion and per-^^ plexity cfjuch an alteration?'''^ In anfvveringthe above! will iirn afe the fimple queftioii1 what is ih'j iije of writing? It is to exhibit tothe eye tlie fame words that are fpoken to thecar: and it is impofhble to do this withoutgiving a difiind mark for every diftind found :to deviate from this rule is to run into error.A fynod of grammarians would not require anew language to accommodate true fpeliino- to,it may be fo eafily accommodated to ^' all lan-

guages ;* Tn a tour thro-igh Scotlan.i, I vifited the Hebrides, andrr.et witli manyold men \7ho neither Ipolce a word of Englifli, nor could they read aword in any language; thefe men repeated many of the poems allribed

to Offian, and oth-r ancient bards. One of thefe Poems I wrote with fuchorthography and charadlcrs, a? 1 thought might anfwer to the fouucs whichwere rcp.-ated by an old man. I afterwards read it flow]y to a fenfible oldwomin, who underftood it, and the Enolifii, v/ell enough to give me atranilation; this was as regular a poem as any I have le n tranflared, pofrfefli.ig alfo much genius, but (he often lamented the poverty of the Enghfnlanguage, svhich (he fuid was incapable of cxpreffin-j the fublin^-iry ofmany


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26 G A D M U S.guages ; and if falTe orthography does notchange a language, it is very improbable thatcorred: orthography would alter, but ratherferve to lix it; and to fuppofe the contrary isablurd. As to " making all their old books vfe-lefs^^"" I anfwer, that the Dodor, though hereafons thus, could read Chaucer and otherancient poets with fufficient facility. All goodauthors whofe works are too voluminous orexpenfive, or too abftraded for new editions,-would ftill afford ample matter for the learnedand ingenious, and they would be read, withas much eafe as the ancient Enghih or French.If they were books of more general ufe, andworthy of new^ editions, they would no doubt berepubliflied; if not, the rifmg generationwould be much benefited by their fupprelfion.

Somemany of the paflagcs. It might befo, but I conceh'ed there was another,and a more lorcibit reafon, viz. licr being more exteniively acquainted withthe gatiic than the i-ni^lifh. 1 will here digreisfo far as to declare, that Ifaw and hedrd uiore unpubJillitd poems, of this kind, than have been printedby James Macpherion, and John Clarke (Tranllator of the CaledonianBards) and have heard aUo foiiiC of the poems which thefe Gentlementraniiattd. '1 hough 1 wrote tolerably fait, 1 learnt by fome ofmy acquaint-ance, that the venerable old man could repeat fuch a variety as to keepme wntaig halt a) ear. 1 will not attribute "the intelligible manner inwhich 1 repe:iteu the poem, entirely to the orthography and charadlers made

'uie ot ; lor my mtnior), as 1 read it foon after, aided mxe much, and Iliaci not then maae the lubjedl of this treatile my ftudy : but at prefentthere is no lan^^uage, that 1 can pronounce, which 1 cannot write intelli-gibly, and this may be learnt by any one in a very Ihort time.


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i.CADMUS. ^7Some of" the advantages ivhich a nczv ortho^graphyivould prociire^'^'* fhall be cnumerai.d.

I ft. Travellers and voyagers [Page 14 i r,]would be enabled to givefucb perfed vocabula-*ries of the languages they hear, that theywould greatly facilitate all future iatercourfe.

2dly. Foreigners would, with the affi^anceof books alone, be able to learn the languageia t eir clofets, v^'hcn they could not havethe benefit of mafters ; and would be ableto converfe through the medium of books,which at prefent are of no fervice whatever,in learning to fpeak a language ; and if thiswere to be adopted by the Americans,AND NOT BY THE ENGLISH, the beftEngiifh authors v;ou!d be reprinted in America,and every firanger to the language even mEurope^ who thinks it of more confequenceto fpeak the Engiifh correctly, than to writeit with the prefent errors, w^ould purchafeAmerican editions, and would be ajhamed tofpell incorredly, when he could acquire themode of fpelling well \ for he would not be par-tial to difficulty, and would examine the old

and


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aS CADMUS,and new modes with more philofophy, than ourblind prejudice will allow us to make the teftof reafon.

3d. Dialeds [page 38] would be utterlydeilroyed, both among foreigners and peafants.

4th. Every one would write with a per-feftly correct orthography [p. 38.]

5th. Children, as well as all the poorer claffesof people, would learn to read in fo fhort atime, and with fo little trouble, having onlyto acquire the thirty letters, that this alonsought to Jilence all the objeSiions that can bebrought^ and, particularly with the foregoingreaions, mufi: be deemed more than " eguiva^" lent to the confufion and perplexity ofJuch an*' alteration,^'* But, independent of what isfaid above, I admit neither confufion nor per-plexity to be the confequences of fuch achange : thofe who were never before taughtto read, could have no idea of any other me-thod, and thefe who now read would find nomore difficulty in the two modes, than is foundin reading by any fecret charader. Even fhort-

hand


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C A D M U S; 29hand writers, if in pradice, find no dlfiicultyin reading words which do not contain a finglecommon vowel : fimple marks are ufed, andthey attend not to the prefent ahfurd ortho-graphy of any word i how much more eafythen to read words which contain the fymbolsof every found, and efpecially when moft ofthe common charaders are ufed ! befides,thofe whofe thirft after knowled.ê is quench-ed, may hereafter amufe themfelves with thebooks now publifhed. I fhould have been af-tonifhed at the Dodor's obfervations, if I hadnot been acquainted with his prejudices.He gives fome fpecimens of the reformed

orthography, of Sir Thomas Smith, fecretaryof ftate to Queen Elizabeth;of Dodor Gill,the celebrated mailer of Saint Paul's fchool inLondon;of Charles Butler;and fliows thatMilton wâs inclined to change the fpelling: fin-ally, he mentions Bifhop Wilkins, as the laftgeneral reformer. The fpecimens howeverwhich he exhibits as a " guide to reformers^ orterror to iiinovators'*^ I am. afraid will anfvvêrneither intention, being tooimperfed to fervethe


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30 CADMUS.the former, and too incorredl: to deter the latterfome of the imperfedions he attributes to thewant of proper types ; yet by thefe inftances,we find, at fo early a time, many advantagesover the barbarous fpelling of the prefent age.To examine the common-place obfervations,of even the generality of profodial writers,would be too tedious a tafli for the author, togive any account of them, too tedious to thereader, who {hall therefore be fubjeded to asfew remarks as poffible, upon what others havewritten on the dodlrine of articulate foundsbut as Thomas Sheridan is one of the latefl au-thors on the fubjed, and his pronouncing dill-onary, in which he has much merit, Is moregenerally known than any other, a few obfer-vations on different parts of his work will beindifpenfable.

;

The diftindion which he -^ and other gram-marians make, between a uoivel and a confo-^nanty is, that the firfl: can be uttered or pro-nounced by itfelf ; the latter cannot. Howharmlefs foever this may appear, it has been

more* Sec his diclionary.


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CADMUS. 31more fatal to fcholars than Sylla or Charybdiswere to Mariners.

If a confonant cannot be pronounced by it-felf, it muftbepart of a compound; thereforeMr. Sheridan fhould have made nineteen addi-tional compounds to thefj and^^ in his fchemeof the alphabet yet, he fays:j: '* there are^' tiventy eightfimple founds in our tongue ;Jix of ivfolch honjuever^ are i/iiites-y h he fays,is no letterI think he might have clafied it%vith his mutes; at the idea of fpeaking andhearing of which, rcafon revolts.If h be re-jected as a letter, merely becaufe it is a markof afpiration, the /^,/>, t and o ought as well tobe omitted, becaufe they are only marks of af-piration : f,yi 0, J" are alfo afpirates, but moreforcibly made than the former. If a letter benot neceiTary to m.ark the fimplefl: afpirate,there is no difference between heating a. cakeand eating it ; but if even a dot be neceffaryto mark it, and if in every other inftance thatdot have the fame fignification, it would be asmuch a letter as any other charader; for everyD mark

t Pa^e ifl of his Drofodial grammar, vi Page IX. Id.


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32 CADMUS.markwhich is pronounced, diftinguifhing there-by one w'ord from another, is really a letter, be-caufe, it fubjedls to the eye what the ear re-quires of the voice.I do not however con-fider accents, of which the French and fomeother nations are fo Uberal, as letters, but asnotes by which the high found of particularletters may be directed.He makes nine vowelsbut there does not

appear to be any difference between the foundof his fecond ^, as in hate^ and his firfl; e as inbet-, except in length ; for, fubftitute the lafl forthe firft, and the word het will make by pro-longation heet^ written at prefent hate.Histhird e as in beer^ appears to be precifely thefirfl: i as in J?/, for by lengthening the i m fitwe make j^V/, vvrittenj^^^/; (beer, ^/V; beet,/;?/>,) nor can we make it otherwife.

He follows the Scotch mode of naming theconfonants, by placing before each a commonvowel, infl:ead of adopting the 7}iore hratmialplan of the Englifli, who fometimes put thevowel before, and fometimes after the charader

to


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CADMUS. 35to give it a name : but here is the rock oferror, upon which all grammarians have ftruck,who have attempted to give a rational accountof the formation of language. The Hebrewsand Greeks led Europe into this miftake, whichprejudice fincehas taken great care to preferve.The Phenicians, and after them the Hebrews,not diftinguifliingfufEciently the fimple form-ation of the elem.ents, adopted words whichbegan with the founds, without confidering, infome inftances, any relation that the foundhas with the objedt. Thus X begins the nameof the ox, which is alpha in the Phenician (and^ aleph in the Hebrew) hence the Greekname alpha-, when Cadmus introduced lettersInto Greece.The B being the firfl: letter ofthe voice of the fheep, was repreiented a-mong the Egyptians, by a Hieroglyphick inthe form of a iheep. The * names of the

letters* I have been alked how we fhall be able to fpell words to each other,

without naming the letters- It would be thought ridiculous to aflc the namesof the words that compofe a fcntence, but the queftions are exadly parallel,or of one form ; by this mode the mere pronouncing of the loordJloivly is fvjfici"ent^ and there is no otherfpelling ; thus a child, that reads the letters, readswords compcfed of them, as he reads fentences compofed of words. If Iwere to teach a child, not by afiBnity of found or reafon, but by mere re-petition, to call the letter jy}w, the e ten^ and the x fi-^ to fpell the word

/;, it would be deemed very irrational, but it is much kfi lo, than themode


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34 C A D M U S.letters, inftead of the powers, have been hi-therto invariably ftudied; \ve conceive themtherefore, not to be fimple founds, and hencethe ridiculous divifion of the alphabet intovowels; confonants; mutes, pure and impure;femivowels and their numerous fubdivifions.

The charadlers ought all to be divided intotwo claffes; vowels and aspirates.A vowel is a letter that is founded by the

voice,f whence its name. An afpirate is a let-ter that cannot be founded but by the breath.Of the former there are twenty one in the En-glifli Language ; ofthe latter nine, making thir-ty letters.

Thetnode by which mcll of the words in the Engliih language rre taught ;for iiiftance, double-uayt/haifceaytfi, are to be hammered, by name,into a child's head to produce the word ivhlch ! Oh, cruelty, ignorance,and lofs of time ! (See table of founds hne 13.f Speaking is rendering ideas audible by the voice ; 'whifperlng is renderingthem audible by the breath ; and a perlon cannot therelore, with propriety,

befaid to fpeak in a whifper. Voice is deiivcd from 'vox a found, but wehave fixed the idea to a certain clafs offounds^ othervvife it would be asjjroper to call any fouud whatever, voice^ as to call by tliat r;ame the pa;vticular founds uttered by the human organs of fpeech.


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CADMUS, 'iSThe Charale> s*

Commo nafal ftopt fibilant (hortan lEIOU YZRLJVDW MNDGBDfFeS KPT OH

Vowels Afpirates

snaeiou yzrljv^wmnD gbd ff^s kpt oh

The folloiving charaElers are particularlyrecommended.

anAEiouyzRLjVDuimnDGaDfresKPTOHIt were much to be wifhed that one fet of

charadlers be ufed inftead of capitals and fmallletters, for they only increafe the difficulty offinding a fufficient number of eafy forms, foran univerfal, or even a copious alphabet. Thefame letters made larger at the beginning ofanemphatic word, or the whole made a largerfize, or in Italics, would be fufficiently charac-leriftic. The printing letters, as in the third

line


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3^ C A D M U S.line of charaders, above, neither afcending nordefcending out of the line, would render books,printed in this type, the moft beautiful thatever yet appeared, and the lines would be morediftina.

The written charafters may be accommo-dated to the others by degrees ; at prefent Ifhall make little innovation in them.

^ Pronounced


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3S C A D M U S.Rules'for pronouncing* thefe letters, f fliew-

ing the formation of each diftlncl: found, in theEnglifh language, to which it is thought ne-cefTary to appropriate a character; having a truekno%vledgc of ivhich^ it ivill be impojjible totvritc inoorredly ivhatever is heard in any Ian-giiage-i eoiitaining only thefe letters ; attd as im-pojjible to read incorreSily any language


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CADMUS. 39even for oratory, every man of good capacityand utterance.The reader is now to reject all prejudices

refpecting Names of letters, and is to ftudyonly their Powers, which in all cafes ?nay beprolonged^ except in the ftopt vocals and theirafpirates ; and a good mode of obtaining pre-jcifely the true povv^er of each, is, to tranfpofethe letter to the end of any word which thatletter begins, then, by repeating the word ra-pidly, the letter will take its proper place, andthe ear vvill determine if it pofleffes the truefound.

Pronunciation of the Letters

Is made by opening the mouth a very little,juft fufncient to fhew the edges of the upperteeth, producing a 'vocal found low down inthe throat, and fuftcring the tongue and lipsto remain at reft, the epiglottis only being

E raifed


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40 C A D M U S.'raifed by the breath, v/hlch, by a contrafticrfof the glottis by the lurrounding mufcleg,occafions a tremulous motion and found calledvoice, that can be felt by applyi-ng the fingersto the throat ; but this tremulous motion canonly be felt when vocals are founded, fo thatthofe who are born deaf, may be made fen-fible of the difference, by feeling only, andcan thus difcover, when they are learning*the elements of fpeech, whi^ther or not theypronounce properly. The Elnglifh h is theafpirate of this vocal : it is a vowel much ufedin that language, taking the place of o veryoften when friort, but it was not reprefented-by a charader.Its po^^er may be found inthe firfi: perpendicular column of the facceedingtable, in, sz^n, s:in;--r/^iT, r:if; &c.

nTo pronounce the fecond common vowel,

the mouth muft be more open than for J, butthe lower lip muft not dilcover the lower teeth :the found is made in the threat, m.ore eafilycontinued, and is fuller than in pronouncingar, and the tongue is drawn back, the tip of it

reftiner


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CADMUS. 41refting on the bottom of the mouth. It is alfoa very common vowel in the Engllfh language,though there was no charader afiigned to it.The power of n may be found in the fecondperpendicular column of the table of founds, inya'wny yznN; zazv^ szz; rai^j, Rzn; 2cc.--

aThe third common vowel: the mouth muft

be Rill more open than for n ; the lov/er lip de-fcends a little below the tips of the underteeth ; and the tongue muft He Hat. Its powermay be found in the third perpendicular co-lumn, in the words, yarn;zag ; satj-RAT &C,

eThe fourth con:men vowelThe mouth a

little more fliut than for n^ but tlie lower lipexpofing ftill more the lower teeth, and the tipof the tongue gently preffing the under teeth.Its power may be found in the fourth perpen-dicular column of the table, in, y^lh yel j^^phyr, ZEr3R;CETj-RED, &c.

Fifth


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42 CADMUS,i

Fifth common vowelthe mouth rathermore contracted than for ^, but the under lipfo low as to fhew the infertion of the lowerteeth ; the corners of the mouth a little ex-tended; the tongue prefFmg gently upon theedges of the lower teeth. Its power may befound in the fifth perpendicular column, in,y^, Yi ; zea\^ ziil;siT; rip ,&

Sixth common vowel-the mouth is nearlyIn a natural ftate, the lips brought rather clo-fer togetherthe tongue drawn back a little,and the found refembles the n, but the o ismade more in the mouth than in the throat.The Greeks ufe two charaders for this found,though really one is only longer than theother, and the original intention was good,becaufe the long found was denoted by the famecharacter being marked twice (oo w], and itought not to have been admitted as a new let-ter, as it indicates thereby, not a continuance,but a difference, of found. The ancient Greeks,

as


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CADMUS. 43as mentioned by Plato, made no diftlndion ir^the long and fhort (called now the great andlittle 0) nor in the long and fhort , as may befeen in the word ^stpatefon written atprefent STPATiirnN. The power of o may befound in the fixth perpendicular column, in thelK^ords, yc^ke, yook;Z(9ne, zoon; sot;

uSeventh common vowel : the organs arecontinued in the fame pofition as in pronounc-

ing Oy except that the lips are fo much con-*tracled as to leave only a very narrow aper-ture, and are much protruded.z/ is pronouncedin the fame manner as the Greek . Its powermay be found in the feventh perpendicular co-lumn of the table of founds, in the words, yezc;,yuu;ze?/gma, zuugma;f^z^p, suup; xooX.^ruut; &c.

7The eighth vocal found, is pronounced in the

fame manner as the fifth common vocal /, ex-cept

-* Farkhurft'sLcsicon of the New Teftament (H.)


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44- CADMUS-cept that y requires a more forcible effort ofvoice, and the back part of the tongue rifesa little, to Intercept the found, which thusbecomes tremulous. It is the vocal of theGerman c|), and of the gh of the Gaelic,Scotch, &c.Its power is found in the firfthorizontal line of the table of founds, in theword^, .j^^awn , :^nn^ ^rarn^ yAi^i ; -y^^

Ninth vocalThe lips are fufficiently opento fiiew part of the upper and under teeth,which are nearly fhut, and the edges perpen-dicular : the tip of the tongue is placed gentlyagalnft the roof of the mouth, near the infcr-tion of the upper teeth ; the corners of themouth a little drawn up, and a tremulous vo-cal found produced; the power of which isexhibited in the fecond horizontal line, in thewords, zag;zephyr, zefjr;zeal, ziilj&c.It is the vocal of the afpirate S.

Tcntli


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CADMUS. 45r

Tenth vocalthe mouth a little openthdtongue raifed fo near to the roof of the mouth,that the voice cannot pafs between themv;ith-out occafioning a rapid vibration or tremor ofthe tongue. The found imitates the fnarlingof a dog. The afpirate of r is not in theEngliQi language, but in pronouncing givesthe fame tremulous motion to the tongue, andimitates the flight of the partridge and fomeother birds : this afpirate is however in theRuffian language, though it has no letter orchara(fter. The power of r may be found inthe fourth horizontal lineof the table of founds,in the words, ruff, r:if ;raw, Rnr ;rat ,RED, &C.

1.

Eleventh vocalthe m.outh a little open ;the tip of the tongue touching the roof ofthe m.outh, and the found iffuing by its fides.It is very fimple, requiring little effort, andis fimliar to w, except that the found of thelatter paflfes by the nofe. The power of / may

be


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46 C A D M U S.be found in the fifth horizontal line of the tableof founds, in the words, /ump, l^mp;/aw,Lnn.;/afs, las:let, &c.

JTwelfth vocalthe middle of the tongue alittle raifed; the teeth brought nearly together;

the ends of the under lip raifed, the aperture ofthe mouth becoming thereby more circular.This is the true French y*, and is the vocal ofthe afpirate )h (page 52,) expreiTed by onecharafter, which is the jf inverted. The pow-er of j may be found in the fixth horizontalline of the table of founds, in the words, ma-jefty, mADjaSTi;trea/ure, tre jjr;zei2:ure,siijjr; &c.

Thirteenth vocalThe edges of the upperteeth, w^hich are difcernable, are placed uponthe lower lip ; the tip of the tongue nearlytouches the under teeth, and a vocal found ismade, the power of which may be found inthe eiehth horizontal line of the table offounds in the words, i^ery, JvJRi;i;auntvnnnT;


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GAD M U S. 47VCunT;'VAST;'L'ain, veen, &c. This isthe vocal of the afpiratey! Some of the an-cient latin monuments lliew that the h hasoften been put for the *l', by confounding thefounds, and thereby confounding the fenfe ofthe V7ord; as in acerZ'US for acer*z;us, and *z;e-neficium for ^eneficium,The Iin?:lirh in thetime ofChaucer, wrote foff-^ faaf^ for fave orexcept \ and in the reign of Queen Elizabeththe /was written for the %\ as may be ittnin Spencer Jafe pro fa^ve. The Spaniards,even now, in the moft polite companies, of-ten confound them.


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4^ CAD M U S,be found in the fifth horizontal line of the tableof founds, in the words, /amp, LaMP;/aw,Lnn.;/afs, Lx\s;let, &c.

JTwelfth vocalthe middle of the tongue a

little raifed; the teeth brought nearly together;the ends of the under lip raifed, the aperture ofthe mouth becoming thereby more circular.This is the true French j*, and is the vocal ofthe afpirate )h (page 52,) expreiTed by oneeharafter, which is they inverted. The pow-er of J may be found in the fixth horizontalline of the table of founds, in the words, ma-/efty, mADjaSTi;trea/ure, tre jjr;zei2:ure,

JJ yX- cV^-a^^^xlhou*^ .i "Z^- *->.^C ^>-^^ /t*i-r

7^!U-r-ui


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CAD M U S. 47VnnnT;'VAST;^'ain, veen, &c. This isthe vocal of the afpirate f. Some of the an-cient latin monuments lliew that the h hasoften been put for the l', by confounding thefounds, and thereby confounding the fenfe ofthe word; as in acerZ>us for acerz;us, and *z;e-neficium for ^eneficium,The Ln?:lifli in thetime of Chaucer, wrote fiff-^ Jaaf^ for fave orexcept \ and in the reign of Queen Elizabeththe /was written for the %\ as may be feenin Spencer Jafe pro fave. The Spaniards,even now, in the mofl: polite companies, of-ten confound them.

Fourteenth vocal-the mouth is a littleopened, fo that the tip of the tongue touchesthe edges of the upper teeth, and fcarcely reftsupon the under teeth. Though fome oldEngllfh authors give this as the vocal of e, itis not thus ufed among the Saxons ; for ^orn ispronounced thorn with two afpirates; thus alfothey pronounce dau (dew)Dun (to do)BEiL (a part), &c, I however adopt it as the

F vocal


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43 GAD M U S.vocal of e, and exhibit its power in the tenthhorizontal line of the table of founds, in thewords, //je, dj;/ât, bat;/êm dem ;&c People who lifp make ufe of this foundin all cafes ioitead of z.

wFifteenth vocalThe organs the fame as in

pronouncing the z/, except that the lips are alittle more protruded and contraded ; the airis alfo forced into the mouth with moreftrength, and not being permitted to efcapewith fuch facility, a hollower found is pro-duced; and if pronounced very full, the cheeksare a little expanded, and the voice becomesfomewhat tremulous. This is the true vocalof the Gothic afpirate o (p. 58.) reprefent-ed in modern Engiifh by uuh^ but more pro-perly in ancient Engiifh by hiv, W is fo feldomufed in the Englifli language, that I had doubtswhether I fliould admit it, or fubftitute the z/,as it Is only neceffary in cafes where thefoundof the u follows. It is not however v;hat ThSheridan fuppofed viz. the French 'ôu as in

Old* Profod ; Gram : xlv.


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CADMUS. 49oui 'y for ihefe make the fimple u as in hlue^h\u ; Its power will be found in the twelfthhorizontal line of the table of founds, in thewords, ^juo\f^ uiuLT ;ic'ool, uiul ;it'ould,UIU'JLD.

mSixteenth vocalThe lips are fhutthe

found confequently paffes through the nofe,and this is therefore called a nafal vowelbyf)me 7migitus^ from its refembling the lowingof cattle.Its power is found in the four-teenth horizontal line of the table of founds, iathe v/ords, ;;raft, inJF ;---wiaw, mzn j;;?afs,m.'is; &c.

nSeventeenth vocal : the momh is a little o-

pen ; the tip of the tongue railed to the roofof the mouth, and the f)und paffes throughthe nofe; this is therefore another nafal vowel.Its power may be found in the fifteenthhorizontal line of the table of founds, in thewords ;iut, n^T jcaught, nnur ;nAP;week,nLK ; &c.

Eighteenth


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50 C A D M U S.Eighteenth vocal : the mouth remains open

as in the laft (72) the tip of the tongue is drawnback, the middle, being raifed to the back ofthe mouth, and preventing the found from if-fuing but by the nofe : This is therefore thethird nafal vowel. This found is very com-mon in the Englifh language, though therewas no appropriated character, but it was gene-rally expreifed by tig as in longings or by ji asin lo;2ger. Its true power may be found in thefixteenth horizontalline of the table offounds,in the words, to;/^ues, Taioz;-ha;2^, had ;laigih^ L3D0, &c.

SThq nineteenth vocal-the mouth remains

as in the two laft, but the tip of the tongue isa little raifed by the dilatation of the tonguebehind, v^hich flops the found entirely,* tillthe lungs have made fuch a vocal effort, as to

force* When the voice, by pafling the Glotti=;, has filled the Cavity with oir

between that and the part prelTcd by the mirldk of the tongue, the foundceafesor ftops, anJ cannot be continued as in other vowels; thercfv)re Ihave called this a flopt vocal. Of fimilar formation are l> and V, thereforeof the fame dcnominuticn. '1 hefe three vowels can alfo be pronounced in-telligibly, although the mouth ai:d nofe flioukl both be flopt.


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CADMUS. jtforce the air between the tongue and the backpart of the roof of the mouth, at which timethe g ceafes, and, by opening the paffage andftrongly afpirating, the k is heard. The modernGreeks even put the laft for the firfttheancient Greeks wrote ArprnTOS, the modernAKPrnxos. The power of the^ maybefound in the feventeenth horizontal line ofthe table of founds, in the words, ûn, GJnjâll, Gn UL ; gap 5 get, &c.

Twentieth vocalthe lips muft be fhut,and a vocal found made, which muft not pafsthrough the nofe, but have a determination tothe lips : it is there ftopt, but when the lipsopen, the vocal ceafes, and an effort of breathterminates in the /?, its afpirate.j The powerof bi may be found In the nineteenth horizon-tal line of the table of founds, in the words,ût, B3T ;/'all, BLZL ; bat ; bet, &c.

Twenty-f The 6 is often put for the fi, and 'vice ver/a, by the Spani{h, the Ger-mans, the Wslfh and other IModcrns, as well as formcTly by the Armeniax>6

and other Orientals ; and by the Romans fyr v.


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52 CADMUS,d

Twenty-firft vocalthe tip of the tongue isralfed to the roof of the mouth, which is ajittle openthe found is alfo ftopt, and themoment it ceafes as a vocal, by opening thepalTage to the breath and afpiring ftrongly, the/ is produced, which is its afpirate. The pow-er of ^ may be found in the twenty-firft hori-zontal line of the table of founds, in the words,Jull, D JL ;


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CADMUS. Siyocaly is alio abfurdly reprefented by j, as iatreaj-ure; z as in feizure;^ as inlod^e; (tableof loundsjy?, as in conclii/zon, perfua//on; andwhere the j is written, it is always pronounc-ed wrong, being ever preceded in pronunciationby J. Erroneous applications of this found aremade by the Engliili in many inftances, in feve-ral languages, not only in living ones, but evenin the latin.- The letter f is very commonin the PvufTian, and is thus made ^ : TheFrench fubftitute ch; the Germans /


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54 CAD M U S.Let the organs be difpofed exactly in the famemanner as in forming the vocal 'Uj and by afpi-ration only, thej^ will be produced. The la-tins called this the digamma ceoliciim on accountof its figure (r) which now forms the (F);and, being inverted in the time of Claudius tofi^nify the i;, which is its vocal, (as in Di5 ai,amplia^it) it appears that the Romans,though well acquainted with the affinity, madea proper didindion between their powers.The true found ofy commences the words,yim, FJn;^/all, fddl;fat;yame FEEm*&c. in the ninth horizontal line of the tableof powers.

Twenty-fourth letter, and third afpirateThe tip of the tongue is placed againfl: thepoints of the upper teeth, exactly in the famemanner as in pronouncing its vocal d; but thisis only an afpirate, yet ftrong, and of the fibi-lant or hiffing kind, imitating exactly thehiffing of a goofe. The Englifli affert this tobe the found of the Greek theta^ but no nation

agrees


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CADMUS. 55iigrees \7ith them, and but few individuals,among whom however is Erafmus. They may-be condemned by fome for not adopting thegeneral error, for it is certainly an error togive two founds to one charader ; and thoughmany grammarians conceive it, in the Greek,to be a ftrongly afpirated T^only, diftinguifhedthereby from the more gently afpirated tau^they will find it on examination to be th^ forGEos written heojl and pronounced rapidly willproduce theos,People who lifp make ufe ofthis found in all inftances where the s ought tobe pronounced (fee b). The power of o maybe found in the eleventh horizontal line of thetable of founds, in the words, th'ixi^ ojrd;^/?aw, enn; /Z?ank, OxIDk;//?ane, eEn; &c*

s

Twenty-fifth letter, and fourth afpirateThe tip of the tongue muft be raifed to the roofof the mouth, near the infertion of the teeth,as in pronouncing its vocal z, but it muft beprefled harder, and a forcible afpiration produ-cing a hiffing found will form the s ; the power

G of


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S6 CAD M U S.of which may be found in the third horizontalline of the table of founds, in the \vords,yun^SJn;-^W5 sun; s.^T ; &c.

Twenty-fixth letter, and fifth afpirateThemiddle of the tongue muft be preiTed againfi:the back part of the roof of the mouth, as informing its ftopt vocal g. It requires only aflight, but fudden effort of, breath, as the paf-fage opens from the ftoppage neceiTary to formthe g\ and whenever^ is pronounced, with-out being joined by another letter, the k isunavoidably formed as foon as the^ ceafes, andthe tongue leaves its pofition.---^ is to be al-ways fubftituted for the q now in ufe, alfo theX when it has the found of /.', (for it has oftenthe found of gz^) and for the hard c v;hich Irejeit entirely, for c is taken from the Greek c,and this is from the Hebrew (Samech) p, re-verfed, when the mode of writing from theright to the left hand was changed to the con^trary. The c is therefore as often ufed for s asfor /:, as in peare, piis ; ranker, kadkjr j bc-

fides


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CADMUS. S7fides having the found of r, as in,'fpenaSSPEfJL. It was aho iifcd by the Latins Ibr,.^,as in, necleda, for nei> leda ; and for q whenfhort, as, rotldie for yuotidie, as may be {qqwin Terence: and it was thought proper not toadmit it here, ieft cuftom might continue tofupport error. The power of k may he found inthe eighteenth horizontal line of the table offounds, in the words, rome, icam ; rail, kh^l;t alm , K A Am \c


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58 C A D M U S,t

Twenty-eighth letter, and feventh afpirate.The tip of the tongue is placed at the roof ofthe mouth, near the infertion of the teeth, asin pronouncing its vocal d, A flight effortof breath only is requifite to form this afpi-rate, which has the fame affinity with its vocal,that the two preceding have with theirs, and af-ter the termination of J, will always be formedin like manner. Thefe three are called fhortafpirates, on account of the impoffibility ofcontinuing them. The t has not only beenfrequently fubftituted for d by the Germansand fome other nations, but by the Romansthemfelves, as in, fe^, for {td\ and apu^ forapu^, which arecommon in Terence. The powerof t may be found in the twenty-fecond hori-zontal line of the table of founds, in, /un, ran;ralk, innK;tan;ten; &c.

Twenty-ninth letter, and eighth afpirate.This is the afpirate of the nv^ the lips requir-ing only to be placed in the fame pofition,

and


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CADMUS. 59and a moderately ftrong breath given, as ifgoing to whiftle. This alpirate is commonin the Englifli, though it had no'charader. Itis the biv of the Goths, and words written inthe old Saxon were with /?7x;, which the En-glifli have erroneoufly and afFededly changedinto Lc;A. Its power may be found in thethirteenth horizontal line ofthe table of founds,in the words, ivhdii^ Ou r ;Wjile, qail;wAen, oEn;Wjich, oixr;

Thirtieth letter, and ninth afpirateThemouth muft be a little opened, without anyparticular effort, and by breathing a little moreforcibly and fuddenly than common, /?, the theafpirate of a will be produced.This is the moftfimple afpirate- Its power may be found inthe twenty third horizontal line of the table offounds, in the words, ^ut, H jt ;-6all,JiuuL ; HaT, 6-'^.

Affinitief


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6o CADMUS.Affinities of Letters,

3zJ

^ { wGB

LD

Vowels Afpiratcsr of theCO \ Germans*fXhe Ruf-^ -^ fianshavej this afpi-

/ I rate butI no appro-P I priatedlel-k L tcr.

To render this alphabet ufeful, It will beproper for the teachers of Children to learn thetrue Pronunciation of the letters, by the pre-ceding rules, which refer to the table of founds,in which the common vowels are placed atthe top of the feven perpendicular columns,and the remaining vowels and afpirates op-pofite the horizontal lines. The charaQersare generally at the beginning of the words,fucceeded by the common vowels, except j

and

The Scotch and Irlih have alfo this found.


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CADMUS. 6%and D, which the common vowels precede.The commoneft monofyllables, and words ofthe mod limple pronunciation that contain theib unds, whether written or not, have beenfought for in compofing the table, to illuftratethe charaders, and che true mode of fpellingis placed under iuch as are not written with acorred ortliography, or that do not at prefentcontam the written letters. When the truepronunciation of thefe feveral powers is learnt,it wdll be eafy to teach them to children, of amoderate capacity, in a few days, and in a fewweeks a child would be able to read perfeftly,provided the language were corredly fpel-led.

The


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6a CADMUS.The following table is intended to give a

true idea of the power of each letter, by exhi-biting a determinate found to each charaiter^ia feverd ofthe mbft familiar examples*

Table


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TABLEOf all the di/Vnfl founds contained in the EngUp Language,

J n a e i o

I'lof^apn^e it.)

y


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CADMUS. 6:iAs all future improvement in orthography

depends upon a perfed knowledge of the foundof every letter, it is neceffary to obtain themwith great precifion, and to fix them in the me-mory ; for on rememberings and being capable ofrepeating ivith propriety^ theje thirty founds^depends the ivhole art ofreadings which confiftsin reading Utters^ not uuords^ for we only fpeafcletters, and* never more than one at a time;but when they are rapidly connected, the gen-eral found of a word varies as much from a-nother, though it poffeffes feveral of the fameletters, as one word varies in appearance fromanother in (hort hand. If then we fix a certainchara(5ter to each found, there will be no moredifficulty in writing with a corred orthographythan in fpeaking with one, as Vvc fpeak let-ters, which form words, that make fentencesand I muft repeat that thus ought we, in read-ing fentences, to read words, by reading letters;and thus will the tongue and pen exprefs everyidea with perfed uniformity,

H Some* See Dig raphs and diphthocgsfcq :


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^4 C A D M U S.Eome letters are formed by the glottis being

more or lei's dilated "f v\hile the mouth fervesas the chamber of found, or body of the windinflrument ; and is expanded or contrcVted,by its own adxion or that of the tongue, produt:-ing tlrarper or graver tones, by a v^ ider or nar-rower externa! aperture through either the teethor lips; others are produced by permitting thefound to efcape only by the nofe, the paffagethrough the mouth being ftopt by the middleof the tongue, the tip of it or the lips ; andfnme are made by fo forcible a vocal found, asto produce tremor either in the throat or mouth.Afpirates are formed in the fame manner astheir vocals, with refpedl to pofulon of the ori-gans, but are produced only by the breath,whence the derivation of their name: fome af-pirates depend upon fo violent an effort of thebreath that a hiding noife is produced.

Prom what has been already obferved, it mayperhaps appear difficult, in ivkifper'ing^ to dif-tinguiih between njo^a:d Utters ajpirated ^ni,

realf See the theory of language, by tr.y wcrthy and very Irgenlous friend

I cvf.cr Lt'cittic.


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CADMUS. 6srea! afpirats\ efpecially, as the only dlftlnOHoaI pointed out, was in their being vocal or a'pi-rated; but no difficuky arifes here; ior, infpeaking, there is a lels eirorc made by thebreath to produce a real vocal fuund than anafpirate; and in whirpering there is no differ-ence between vowql ^tiers and their aipii-:-ev,but that .the Hrll *are mote flowly and iamriyafpirated," v.hile tê. ^Ciie afpirates rtniain ur.-^cîiininilhed in fbê."**Tlie fojiowing hne liiCvvsthe truth of't^hele abfervai/ons.

r ,1. t" I vow^by G'd, that Jenkin is a v/iz-

zard/'2. Ai V0U5 bai G-d. Dat Djenkin iz a uiz-

zard,3. Ai fou, paiK-t, eat IrrDkin ifs a uiiTart.The ifl: line Is v^^ri^ten 'v^ the comrron man-

ner, the 2d i^ ^.vrinen nroTêr'v, and the 3dwith afpimtes. If the 2d and 3d he ^^h^/nered,no difference wnate-er will b? found betw. onthem, except that the letters f, /;, k, /, ^, /^ .:,irj the third line, are pronounced o'lch rr^ efjrJibly than their correfpondent vocals in r -^

fecoiui\ Divcruons of rurlejr-


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66 CADMUS.fecond line, wben ofptrated or nvhifpered*^ artdit is eafy to diftinguifh which line is repeatedin a whifper. The Welfli pronounce this linewith afpirates inftead of vowels, and produce aftrange effect in fpeech. The' lower clafs of thefaxons are fo- inatientiv^ to the difference ofthe p and b^ the / ^ni4'i the /.and;y, &c. thatin Englifli they rarely f^ieak^'ithoUtimifplac-in;.; them; bat fomje.gdftl/ferMji error- at; to al-moft regularly put one for the other, and in-ftead of . * V ' . JBoy bring both Tails to the pond,(Properly) Bbi briD bo^ Peelz tu bj pond,(would lay,) Poi prliD poth Beels tii d'j Pont.

The Irilli, in fpeaking the Englifh language,afpirate very frequently, where there are no trueafpirates; and perhaps in confequence of theIriflx language abounding, like many others, inafpirates. One probable caufe too of the mif-takes they commit in fpeaking Englifh, maybe derived from the fubftantive being placed inthe Irifn before the adjedive, not after^ as inthe more artificial language of the Englifh.

Much


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CADMUS. 67Much has been written by many fages and

learned men (fbncerning the origin of language,which has generally been attributed to divinity,and the variety of tongues has been confideredas the effed: of the confuilon at Babel. I willnot pretend,to ddcant en the fubjed, nor to de-ny fuch authority, but )\ill humbly premife afew obfervations which will be lufficient to au-thorize acorljedlure fefpeding the formation,and alfo the a! terafiohs,, without the aid whichis to be d^rbved from the great lawgiver of theJews.. * W know that men in different coun-tries fpeak different languages. d)ut whodoes not know' at the fame time that the En-glifh language -a few. centuries ago, would notbe undtvftood nov\^^ and that if a fmall colonyof Englifh had been feparated from the nationin general, they would have been taken for adifferent people? the manufacturers of En-gland, who never go two miles from the place,for generations, cannot be underftood by aCockney. Languages differ fo much in a fewyears, by the particular circumftances of thepeople, that there is no occafion for miracles to

explain;


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68 O A D M U S.explain the varieties ; and one half of oiir lan-guage is calculated to give ideas of arts and fci-^ences, which have been invented during thememory of man. We have many inftances ofthe invention of terms for new ohjeds in thegreat South Seathe Otaheiteans called ^ gun,tik-'tik'bou ! imitating thereby the cocking andreport of the objedl; and we find among fav-a.r;e nations, many things fimilar. The Ian*guages acquired by imitation are certainly themoft natural and expreffive, and I am confi-dent that the language of man, was ori inallyformed by imitating the objedts of nature, andthe names ct many animals were given byimitating the voice of the individual : jve findthis even at prefent in all lan-iiages, But par-*tlcularly in the lefs refined. Man, in a fav-age ftate, imitates birds and beafts to decoythem, and by imitation alone he forms a veryextenfive fcale of founds. The founds of theco?777non vowels, with /, ?;/, 7z, D, we hear dailyamong cattle and domeftic beafls ; the r, z,j, *y,B, are like the buzzing of beetles ; f, f, ^, /,like the hilling of ferpents, particularly the s^%vhich might Vv'ith propriety have fignified the

Generic


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CAD M U S, 69Generic name, till it became part of anotherappeliative> and confequently a letter. In themoil ancient alphabets the Phoenicians, Etruf-can?, Latins and Goihs, adopted the form ofthe ferpent for the charader of i, which wouldhave been a very cxprefRve Hieroglyphic.The -a- of the Greeks, as pronounced by theEngli/h^ is exadly like the forcible biffing ofa goofe, and is found in very few languages:the Eagliih contains fo many of thefe buz-zing and hiiTing founds, that fome Foreignershave called it the language of fnakes.

r imitates the fnarling of dogs, and we findnations where there are no dogs that have notthe letter r in their languages. The afpirateof ^* imitates the flight of the partrid :e andfome other birds, as well as the voice of fomelocufts: Gutturals imitate the croaking offrogs or toads: the ftopt vocals and their af-pirates are generally joined to fome of thecommon vo vels by animals : bee^ the fhcep^-^bou^ the dog kuii^ the dove, krook^ theraven kuaak-^ the duck-/;///, the buzzard

'//?;* See Page 45.


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7o CADMUS.'^'^thi-it^ the lapwing ; kitk-ku^ the cuefeoo?&c. There are alfo a great variety of foundsamong animals, which man has had no occa-fion to adopt, in forming a language of hi? ownwants, as their articulation is too difficultfor common ufe, and there are alreadymore than fufficient for every ufeful purpofe.Indeed we find few languages which donot contain feveral characters that are ufelefg,and to which the fame founds are appropriated-The Engliih contains the following; c whichhas fometimes the power of j, fometimes of yjy, which havS always the power of k-y and ;c,the powers of ks^ of gz^ or 2^.

Language does aot require half the numberof letters made ufe of by any nation; becaufe,were ten or twelve letters well arranged, theywould be capable of expreSing every idea wjq

have* Mr. Shfndan hath not only re}e

which he ought to have retained inilead of the ezh tal^en from WjJkins,iwhich is really not in the En^iifh language; but they, as pronounced bythe French, is a very common vowel, and 1 am the more aironifiicd at hi^ notadopting it, as he knew fo well the power ofy :But hi^ error is uniform,never having ufed the j even in the words w.-cyo/z, okcejsn (occiizhltn She; ;)"adhefion^ adbnjiti (adhezhun) decifton^ explofon^ couJu/ioffFioiod ', gram :xlviii.


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CADMUS. JThave acquired, or fhould be able to invent*Wachter, in his Nattirds et Scripture Concordiatendeavours to fhow that ten letters are fufficientfor a very comprehenfive language. Tacquetthe mathematician calculates the various com-binations of the alphabet of twenty four lettersto be no fewer than 620,448,401,733,239,-439,360,000. Clavius however only makesthem 5,852,616,738,497,664,000: they areboth wrong; but the human mind cannot forman ideaof fuch apparent infinity of combinati-ons, nor could the inventive faculties of maaexhauft them in language. Hence it does notfollow that the moft extenfive alphabet wouldbe required by the moft copious language.

We find among fom.e favage nations fuch apaucity of expreffion, that they cannot be laidto have a more extenfive language than fomebeafts 1 and upon which would philofophersreafon, on the formation of language? 1 on thebeautiful, artificial Hebrew, or the confined ex-preflTions of the moft ftupid of the human race ?among whom a few fyllables compofe the wholevocabulary, and exprefs all that their appetites

I crave


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72 C A D ^I U S.crave. Shev^;' thefe people new objeds, and theywill, as every traveller evinces, form newv^rordoto exprefs them : and, if the formation of anylanguage can be thus proved, it is vain to lookfor another origin. I am alio of opinion thatalphabetical writing took its rife in monofyl-lables, to which hieroglyphicks could not beapplied, and that thefe marks becoming thefymbols of the founds, and not of the things,were regularly put for the fame founds in thecompofition of other abftradt terms and me-taphyfical ideas, till the fcale of marks increaf-ed, and led gradually to a mark for each found.Some authors, whofe admiration of the inven-tion bewilders them too much to permit an ex-amination of the principles, declare that thedifcovery is perfed, but they can only fpeakrelatively ; for the alphabets of fome modernlanguages are fo much more extenfive thanmany ancient ones, that thefe are very imperfedtif we fpeak of a general alphabet for humanfpeech, and not for particular languages. Ifa Chinefe were to ftudy the Englifh, he wouldbe eafily perfuaded that the alphabetical mode

of


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CADMUS. 73of writing was an invention of the Englifh,;and that it was not yet perfeded, from the in-numerable faults, deficiencies, fuperfluities, ir-regularities, &c. of the written language. It isfo fhamefully incorred, that, when read as it iswritten, an Englifhman cannot tinderjiand it^yand a foreigner reading it becomes the objed:of his laughter, akhough, as a good fcholar,he reads it perfedlly, according to the ortho-graphy. I have often heard the quefiion ' ? do* you fpeak French r' with the anfwer ' no* fir, but I read and w^ite it.' The fame isfaid of the Englifh and fome other languages;every ftranger to them lamenting, that thelearned bodies of men, eftablifhed in fo manyplaces for the benefit of mankind, fhould fo longhave negleded to facilitate the intercourfe ofnations, by rendering the mode of acquiringevery language eafy, which might be obtain-ed as V. ell by books as by travelling into thedifferent countries w^iere they are fpokcn, iftbofe books were correcx.

* rrpeciilly if the common vowels fhould be reiJ with their variouspewers niifpliced, for there are no marks to determine them.


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74 CADMUS.Syllables.

No word or fyllable in the Englifh languageis formed by afpi rates alone, but many fyl-lables are formed by what fome of the moft m-genious call confonants, and their argumentsupon them fall, becaufe built uponfalfe data,Th : Sheridan fays " The terminating ble

is al vays " accounted a fyllable though in*' ftrid propriety it is notfo; for, to confti-*' tutea fyllable it is requifite that a vowel iliould" be founded in it, which is not the cafe here;*' for though there is one prefented to the eye" at the end, yet it is only e final mute, and' the bl are taken into the articulation of the*' former fyllable; but in pointing out the feat" uf the accent I Ihall confideritin the ufual way*' as forming a fyllable."*

If Mr. Sheridan had confidered the true pow-er of either b or /, he would have found theml;()th vo^els, and that to>i;ether they form aperrecl fyllable, as well as /, z/, vly mU nU glydUft) Jl^ kU pi, tU ^^h !^i 2;z, vuy dn-ifih tn-, nd^

Pagexliv. Prorod: Gram: (prefixed to his di


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CADMUS. 7^nt^fnt: If a Line of Poetry be fcanned -A'hichcontains any of the above fyllables^ the readerwill be convinced of their being fuch, by theImpofTibility of reading them othcrwife.

" A wild, where weeds and flow'rs promif-c'ous fhoot,

" Or garden tempting with forbidden fruit.*' Together let us beat this ample field," Try what the open, what the covert yield;*' The latent tradts, the giddy heights ex-

plore.* * * * *

Pope's EfTay on Man line 7th.

Properly ivritten thus.Aualld, Geeruiidz and flourz promiskjs fuut.Or garJw temtiio uie iorhiidn fruut.TogeD Jr let us biit dIs am^/fiild,Trai GiZt b\ 01pm ont dj kovjrt yiild;Da leetant trakts dj giddi baits eksploor, &c.It is to be obferved that the word the chang-

es its termination a or ^ into i before words thatbegin with J, n, a, e.o^ ti, on account ofthe hia-tus that mull otherwife be made, to prevent itfrom


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76 CADMUS.from flidlnginto the next found, but tlilscliangfiis not made in any other inftances. It is omit^ted totally in Poetry when the next word beginswith /*

If only one letter divides two common vow^els, the three letters form two fyllables : if morethan one divide them they alfo form two fylla-bles only, imlefs two other vowels intervene, asin ablcnefs, e-bl-iies.

Whenever two nafals, flopt vocals, or afpi-rates of the fame power follow any of the com-mon or other vowels, and another of thefevowels fucceeds, a divifion of the word takesplace between the double letters.

The great diilinction between one fyllableand another, is, that if the organs of fpeech bein their progrefs to the pronunciation of a let-ter, the voice may fucceflively in the fame flex-ion embrace one or two vowels, nafal, ftoptvocals, or afpirates, provided thefe letters arcfuch as glide fmoothly, and one ccmm.enceswhere another ends; and the falling as vvcll as

rifing


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CAD M U S. 77fifing of that flexion may alfo embrace one ortwo more of thefe letters, and form only onefyllable: but if the effort be interrupted byanother vowel, ivhich gives a differentflexionto the 'voice^ a divifion will take place, and ano-ther fyllable be formed. Quoties vox mutatur,toties mutatur fyllaba.In dividing words, the nafals, the ftopt founds

and afpirates, have fuch particular affinities,not only vv^ith each other, but with fome ofthe other letters, that it is not diificult to com-pofe fyllables which contain fix different let-ters, joined by a fingle common vowel only but, as foon as the voice has glided through acertain unity of founds, every additional changebecomes another fyllable. When a word, oftwo or three fyllables, is compofed of any ofthe ftopt founds and their afpirates, they arepronounced in the firft fyllable as the organsleave the pofitions ufed in producing thefefounds, and in the fecond fyllable they formthe founds as they advance to, and jufl be-fore they arrive at, their true pofitions; thethird fyllable takes another flexion, and is like

the


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78 C A D M U S,the firft, &c. as in gibbakkad'-dtipt. Bythis, feveral hiatus are avoided, though thefyllables dividethemfelves naturally, and with-out effort.

There appear to be laws to govern the divi-fion of words, if we examine fome ; for thereare few nations which have adopted a particu-lar fet of letters, that would not make the famedivifions if certain words were prefented; again,there are words that would not v^^arrant anyfuch conclufion ; therefore we muft confidertheir divifion into fyllables, arbitrary in manyinftances ; and a multiplicity of rules would ra-ther perplex and confound, than enlighten.

Accentsought only to be placed

where a ftrefs of the voice is abfolutely re-quifite, to denote a difference in the letter orfyllable, and which w^ould othervv^fe be unin-telligible, or would give a dlfgufting tone; butif words be* properly written I think they

will* Itisfaid.in an extract from thejoiirnalsof the Royal Society, refpe cling a

letter from a Jcfuit at Pekin in China ( Phiiofophical Tranfadions, Vol. 59,page


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CADMUS. 79will not be deemed neceffary upon many oc-cafions ; for, where the nouns and verbs arenow perfectly fimilar in their orthography,we fhall generally find fuch imperfedion infpelling, as, when correded, to reduce theneceffity of accents to a very few inftances; andwhere they appear to be requifite, the excepti-ons will be foeafily acquired, ormakefuch lit-tle difference in language, that they are fcarce-ly worth attention : however, where no differ-ence is obferved in the orthography of verbsand nouns of two fyllables, the ftrefs is gene-rally on the firft fyllable of the noun, and onthe lafl of the verb ; but attention to goodfpeakers will make more forcible impreflions

K thanpage 494) that ** the Chinefe tongue counts but about 330 words." From hence the Europeans conclude, that it is barren, monotone, and" hard to underftand. But they ought to know that the four accents* called/%, uni (even)^ chunr, eleve (raifed), kiu diminue (lejfened)^*^ jou, rentrant, (returningJ, multiply almost every ivord into four^ by an in-*' flexion of voice which it is as difficult to make an European compre-*' hend, as it is for a Chinefe to comprehend the fix pronunciations of the" French E. Thefe accents do yet more, they give a certain harmony,* and pointed cadence, to the mofl ordinary phrafes: with regard to** clearnefs, let fad decide. The Chinefe fpeak as faft as we do, fay more*' things in fewer words, and underftand one another."From what is quot-cd we find that the accents multiply almojl every word in four, but iftvery word were niultiplied, there would be only 1320 which is but a fmallnumber to compound into fo copious a language ; and I am certain that aper-fon of good genius, who underftands the fymbols of fpeech perfedlly,would as eafily reduce the Chinefe language to regular charaders, as anyother ; but the hieroglyphics of the language would bs as unintelligible aiit is at prefent to the generality of that nation.


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8o CAD M U S.than anv rules laid down, and were a fcr-reigner to make no difference in utteringthefe particular words which grammariansthink require accent, and the differenee of whichorthography does not point out, the defed:would fcarcely ever be noticed. Tho: Sheri-dan gives many rules on accent, but they chief-ly tend to point out the firP:, fecond or thirdpower of his vowels, which in good fpellingwould be rendered ufelefs. He gives us manyinftances of nouns and verbs which receiveaccents by habit only, no difference beingmarked either by fpelling or otherwife. I willgive a few, which may fnow that the fpellingonly of the words will be a fufficient diftinc-tion, without any accents being marked ; andthe general rule of laying it upon the laflfyllableof the verb, or rather, upon the com-mon vowel of the lafl fy liable of the verb, andthe common vowel of the firfl fyllable of thenoun may ferve;

Nouns


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C ANouns

a or an Ac^ centCem'entCon' certCon' test

D M U S. SiVerbs correded

to accent' aksnt aksentcement' semant simentconcert' konscxri kans.irtcontest'' komest kjntest.

1 had written a great number of rules onpolyfyllabic words, as fhort and fimple as Ithought it poffible to compofe them, but onreading what I had written, thought them tootedious, difficult, and liable to exception, there-fore have omitted them wholly, by which Ithink I have not only done a juftice to myrelf,but alfo a kindnefs to the reader.

Many words that grammarians have thoughtproper to accent, and for which they havegiven long-laboured, difficult, and complexrules, with as many exceptions, require no ac-cent whatever; for, if they are pronouncedw^ith all the monotony and even-nefs of whichthe organs are capable, the very compofition ofthe words, if corredly written, gives greaterforce to one part than to another, and it is im-

poffible.


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82 CADMUS.poffible, without afFedatlon, to pronounce themimproperly, even according to the ideas ofgrammarians. Where the common vowels arelong they ought to be written twice, as amongthe ancients, who wrote amaabam-t feedesy&c.The / inftead of being written twice, wasmade twice as long, as in vivus, piso, &c.In Englifti the "^common or firftclafs of vowelsare often doubled at prefent, when long, butnot univerfally ; and in corred: writing, theaccent will alfo be laid, where the other vovv'els,or the fecond clafs, and the afpirates, are double.

A diaionary alone will contain the meansof correding all uncertainties w4th refpedt tothe accent, as well as orthography of words ;and attention to the fenfe and to good fpeakersthe only modes of correcting our ideas con-cerning the emphatic

thorton, elements of the written language, philosophical division of speech

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