The place or position of a word may affect its significant use. Thus in
English we say _John struck James_. By the position of those words to
each other we know that John is the actor, and that James receives the
action.
By the grammatic processes language is organized. Organization
postulates the differentiation of organs and their combination into
integers. The integers of language are sentences, and their organs are
the parts of speech. Linguistic organization, then, consists in the
differentiation of the parts of speech and the integration of the
sentence. For example, let us take the words _John_, _father_, and
_love_. _John_ is the name of an individual; _love_ is the name of a
mental action, and _father_ the name of a person. We put them together,
John loves father, and they express a thought; _John_ becomes a noun,
and is the subject of the sentence; _love_ becomes a verb, and is the
predicant; _father_ a noun, and is the object; and we now have an
organized sentence. A sentence requires parts of speech, and parts
of speech are such because they are used as the organic elements of
a sentence.
The criteria of rank in languages are, first, grade of organization,
_i.e._, the degree to which the grammatic processes and methods are
specialized, and the parts of speech differentiated; second, sematologic
content, that is, the body of thought which the language is competent to
convey.
The grammatic processes may be used for three purposes:
First, for _derivation_, where a new word to express a new idea is made
by combining two or more old words, or by changing the vowel of one
word, or by changing the intonation of one word.
Second, for _modification_, a word may be qualified or defined by the
processes of combination, vocalic mutation or intonation.
It should here be noted that the plane between derivation and
qualification is not absolute.
Third, for _relation_. When words as signs of ideas are used together
to express thought, the relation of the words must be expressed by some
means. In English the relation of words is expressed both by placement
and combination, _i.e._, inflection for agreement.
It should here be noted that paradigmatic inflections are used for two
distinct purposes, qualification and relation. A word is qualified by
inflection when the idea expressed by the inflection pertains to the
idea expressed by the word inflected; thus a noun is qualified by
inflection when its number and gender are expressed. A word is related
by inflection when the office of the word in the sentence is pointed out
thereby; thus, nouns are related by case inflections; verbs are related
by inflections for gender, number, and person. All inflection for
agreement is inflection for relation.
In English, three of the grammatic processes are highly specialized.
_Combination_ is used chiefly for derivation, but to some slight extent
for qualification and relation in the paradigmatic categories. But its
use in this manner as compared with many other languages has almost
disappeared.
_Vocalic mutation_ is used to a very limited extent and only by
accident, and can scarcely be said to belong to the English language.
_Intonation_ is used as a grammatic process only to a limited
extent--simply to assist in forming the interrogative and imperative
modes. Its use here is almost rhetorical; in all other cases it is
purely rhetorical.
_Placement_ is largely used in the language, and is highly specialized,
performing the office of exhibiting the relations of words to each other
in the sentence; _i.e._, it is used chiefly for syntactic relation.
Thus one of the four processes does not belong to the English language;
the others are highly specialized.
The purposes for which the processes are used are _derivation_,
_modification_, and _syntactic relation_.
_Derivation_ is accomplished by combination.
_Modification_ is accomplished by the differentiation of adjectives and
adverbs, as words, phrases, and clauses.
_Syntactic relation_ is accomplished by placement. Syntactic relation
must not be confounded with the relation expressed by prepositions.
Syntactic relation is the relation of the parts of speech to each other
as integral parts of a sentence. Prepositions express relations of
thought of another order. They relate words to each other as words.
Placement relates words to each other as parts of speech.
In the Indian tongues combination is used for all three purposes,
performing the three different functions of derivation, modification,
and relation. Placement, also, is used for relation, and for both lands
of relation, syntactic and prepositional.
With regard, then, to the processes and purposes for which they are
used, we find in the Indian languages a low degree of specialization;
processes are used for diverse purposes, and purposes are accomplished
by diverse processes.