and explained. There are formations in Greek and Latin and English which
have hitherto baffled all tests; and there are certain contrivances, such
as the augment in Greek, the change of vowels in Hebrew, the Umlaut and
Ablaut in the Teutonic dialects, where we might feel inclined to suppose
that language admitted distinctions purely musical or phonetic,
corresponding to very palpable and material distinctions of thought. Such
a supposition, however, is not founded on any safe induction. It may seem
inexplicable to us why _bruder_ in German should form its plural as
_brüder_; or _brother_, _brethren_. But what is inexplicable and
apparently artificial in our modern languages becomes intelligible in
their more ancient phases. The change of _u_ into _ü_, as in _bruder_,
_brüder_, was not intentional; least of all was it introduced to expressed
plurality. The change is phonetic, and due to the influence of an _i_ or
_j_,(355) which existed originally in the last syllable and which reacted
regularly on the vowel of the preceding syllable; nay, which leaves its
effect behind, even after it has itself disappeared. By a false analogy
such a change, perfectly justifiable in a certain class of words, may be
applied to other words where no such change was called for; and it may
then appear as if an arbitrary change of vowels was intended to convey a
grammatical change. But even into these recesses the comparative
philologist can follow language, thus discovering a reason even for what
in reality was irrational and wrong. It seems difficult to believe that
the augment in Greek should originally have had an independent substantial
existence, yet all analogy is in favor of such a view. Suppose English had
never been written down before Wycliffe’s time, we should then find that
in some instances the perfect was formed by the mere addition of a short
_a_. Wycliffe spoke and wrote:(356) _I knowlech to a felid and seid þus_;
_i.e._ I acknowledge to have felt and said thus. In a similar way we read:
_it should a fallen_; instead of “it should have fallen;” and in some
parts of England common people still say very much the same: _I should a
done it_. Now in some old English books this _a_ actually coalesces with
the verb, at least they are printed together; so that a grammar founded on
them would give us “to fall” as the infinitive of the present, _to
afallen_ as the infinitive of the past. I do not wish for a moment to be
understood as if there was any connection between this _a_, a contraction
of _have_ in English, and the Greek augment which is placed before past
tenses. All I mean is, that, if the origin of the augment has not yet been
satisfactorily explained, we are not therefore to despair, or to admit an
arbitrary addition of a consonant or vowel, used as it were algebraically
or by mutual agreement, to distinguish a past from a present tense.
If inductive reasoning is worth anything, we are justified in believing
that what has been proved to be true on so large a scale, and in cases
where it was least expected, is true with regard to language in general.
We require no supernatural interference, nor any conclave of ancient
sages, to explain the realities of human speech. All that is formal in
language is the result of rational combination; all that is material, the
result of a mental instinct. The first natural and instinctive utterances,
if sifted differently by different clans, would fully account both for the
first origin and for the first divergence of human speech. We can
understand not only the origin of language, but likewise the necessary
breaking up of one language into many; and we perceive that no amount of
variety in the material or the formal elements of speech is incompatible
with the admission of one common source.
The Science of Language thus leads us up to that highest summit from
whence we see into the very dawn of man’s life on earth; and where the
words which we have heard so often from the days of our childhood—“And the
whole earth was of one language and of one speech”—assume a meaning more
natural, more intelligible, more convincing, than they ever had before.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
And now in concluding this course of Lectures, I have only to express my
regret that the sketch of the Science of Language which I endeavored to
place before you, was necessarily so very slight and imperfect. There are
many points which I could not touch at all, many which I could only allude
to: there is hardly one to which I could do full justice. Still I feel
grateful to the President and the Council of this Institution for having
given me an opportunity of claiming some share of public sympathy for a
science which I believe has a great future in store; and I shall be
pleased, if, among those who have done me the honor of attending these
Lectures, I have excited, though I could not have satisfied, some
curiosity as to the strata which underlie the language on which we stand
and walk; and as to the elements which enter into the composition of the
very granite of our thoughts.
APPENDIX.
[Transcriber’s Note: The Appendix contains genealogical tables of the
language families. In the original, they were displayed as wide landscape
pages, which could not be rendered effectively in e-book format. The
information in them has been reproduced here in textual paragraphs.]
No. 1. Genealogical Table of the Aryan Family of Languages.
The Aryan Family consists of two Divisions: The Southern Division, and the
Norther Division.
The Southern Division consists of two Classes: the Indic and Iranic.
The Indic Class consists of the dead languages Prakrit and Pali, Modern
Sanskrit, and Vedic Sanskrit, and the modern Dialects of India, and the
Dialects of the Gipsies.
The Iranic Class consists of the dead languages Parsi, Pehlevi, Cuneiform
Inscriptions, Zend, and Old Armenian; the the living languages of Persia,
Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Bokhara, Armenia, and Ossethi.
The Northern Division consists of six Classes: Celtic, Italic, Illyric,
Hellenic, Windic, and Teutonic.
The Celtic Class consists of two Branches: Cymric and Gadhelic.
The Cymric Branch consists of the dead language Cornish, and the living
languages of Wales and Brittany.
The Gadhelic Branch consists of the living languages of Scotland, Ireland,
and Man.
The Italic Class consists of the dead languages Oscan, Latin, and Umbrian,
together called Lingua Vulgaris, or Langue d’oc and Langue d’oil, and the
living languages of Portugal, Spain, Provençe, France, and Italy.
The Illyric Class consists of the living languages of Wallachia, the
Grisons, and Albania.
The Hellenic Class consists of the dead Κοινή languages, Doric, Æolic,
Attic, and Ionic, and the living language of Greece.
The Windic Class consists of three Branches: Lettic, South-East Slavonic,
and West Slavonic.
The Lettic Branch consists of the dead language Old Prussian, and the
living languages of Lithuania, Kurland and Livonia (Lettish).
The South-East Slavonic Branch consists of the dead language
Ecclesiastical Slavonic, and the living languages of Bulgaria, Russia
(Great, Little, White Russian), Illyria (Slovenian, Croatian, Servian).
The West Slavonic Branch consists of the dead languages Old Bohemian and
Pelabian, and the living languages of Poland, Bohemian (Slovakian), and
Lusatia.
The Teutonic Class consists of three branches: High-German, Low-German,
and Scandinavian.
The High-German Branch consists of the dead languages Middle High-German
Old High-German, and the living language of Germany.
The Low-German Branch consists of the dead languages Gothic, Anglo-Saxon,
Old Dutch, Old Friesian, and Old Saxon, and the living languages of
England, Holland, Friesland, and North of Germany (Platt-Deutsch).
The Scandinavian Branch consists of the dead language Old Norse, and the
living languages of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland.
No. 2. Genealogical Table of the Semitic Family of Languages.
The Semitic Family Family consists of three Classes: the Arabic or
Southern, the Hebraic or Middle, and the Aramaic or Northern.
The Arabic or Southern Class consists of the dead languages Ethiopic and
the Himyaritic Inscriptions, and the living languages of Arabic and
Amharic.
The Hebraic or Middle Class consists of the dead languages Biblical
Hebrew, the Samaritan Pentateuch (third century, A. D.), the Carthaginian,
Phœnician Inscriptions, and the living language of the Jews.
The Aramaic or Northern Class consists of the dead languages Chaldee
(Masora, Talmud, Targum, Biblical Chaldee), Syriac (Peshito, second cent.
A. D.), Cuneiform Inscriptions of Babylon and Nineveh, and the living
language Neo-Syriac.
No. 3. Genealogical Table of the Turanian Family of Languages, Northern
Division.
The Northern Division of the Turanian Family consists of five Classes: the
Tungusic, Mongolic, Turkic, Samoyedic, and Finnic (Uralic).
The Tungusic Class consists of two Branches: Western and Eastern.
The Western Branch consists of the languages of the Chapogires (Upper
Tunguska), Orotongs (Lower Tunguska), and the People of Nyertchinsk.
The Eastern Branch consists of the languages of the Lamutes (Coast of
O’hotsk) and Mandshu (China).
The Mongolic Class consists of three Branches: Eastern or Mongols Proper,
Western Mongols, and Northern Mongols.
The Eastern or Mongols Proper Class consists of the languages of the
Sharra-Mongols (South of Gobi), Khalkhas (North of Gobi), and Sharaigol
(Tibet and Tangut).
The Western Mongols Class consists of the languages of the Chosot
(Kokonúr), Dsungur, Torgod, Dürbet, Aimaks (tribes of Persia), and Sokpas
(Tibet).
The Northern Mongols Class consists of the language of the Buritäs (Lake
Baikal).
The Turkic Class consists of three Branches: Chagatic, S. E., Turkic, N.,
and Turkic, W.
The Chagatic Branch consists of the languages of the Uigurs, Komans,
Chagatais, Usbeks, Turkomans, and People of Kasan.
The N. Turkic Branch consists of the languages of the Kirgis, Bashkirs,
Nogais, Kumians, Karachais, Karakalpaks, Meshcheryäks, People of Siberia,
and Yakuts.
The W. Turkic Branch consists of the languages of the People of Derbend,
Aderbijan, Krimea, Anatolia, and Rumelia.
The Samoyedic Class consists of two Branches: Northern and Eastern.
The Northern Branch consists of the languages of the Yurazes, Tawgi, and
Yenisei.
The Eastern Branch consists of the languages of the Ostiako-Samoyedes, and
the Kamas.
The Finnic (Uralic) Class consists of four Branches: Ugric, Bulgaric,
Permic, and Chudic.
The Ugric Branch consists of the languages of the Hungarians, Voguls, and
Ugro-Ostiakes.
The Bulgaric Branch consists of the languages of the Tcheremissians and
Mordvins.
The Permic Branch consists of the languages of the Permians, Sirianes, and
Votiaks.
The Chudic Branch consists of the languages of the Lapps, Finns, and
Esths.
No. 4. Genealogical Table of the Turanian Family of Languages, Southern
Division.
The Southern Division of the Turanian Family consists of six Classes: the
Taïc, Malaic, Gangetic, Lohitic, Munda (See Turanian Languages, p. 175),
and Tamulic.
The Taïc Class consists of the languages of Ahom, Laos, Khamti, and Shan
(Tenasserim).
The Malaic Class consists of the languages of the Malay and Polynesian
Islands. (See Humboldt, Kavi Sprache.)
The Gangetic Class consists of two Branches: the Trans-Himalayan, and the
Sub-Himalayan.
The Trans-Himalayan Branch consists of the languages Tibetan, Horpa (N.W.
Tibet, Bucharia), Thochu-Sifan (N.E. Tibet, China), Gyarung-Sifan (N.E.
Tibet, China), Manyak-Sifan (N.E. Tibet, China), and Takpa (West of
Kwombo).
The Sub-Himalayan Branch consists of the languages Kenaveri (Setlej
basin), Sarpa (West of Gandakéan basin), Sunwár (Gandakéan basin), Gurung
(Gandakéan basin), Magar (Gandakéan basin), Newár (between Gandakéan and
Koséan basins), Murmi (between Gandakéan and Koséan basins), Limbú (Koséan
basin), Kiranti (Koséan basin), Lepcha (Tishtéan basin), Bhutanese
(Manaséan basin), and Chepang (Nepal-Terai).
The Lohitic Class consists of the languages of Burmese (Burmah and
Arakan), Dhimâl (between Konki and Dhorla), Kachari-Bodo (Migrat. 80° to
93-1/2°, and 25° to 27°), Garo (90°-91° E. long.; 25°-26° N. lat.),
Changlo (91°-92° E. long.), Mikir (Nowgong), Dophla (92° 50’-97° N. lat.),
Miri (94°-97° E. long.?), Abor-Miri, Abor (97°-99° E. long.),
Sibsagor-Miri, Singpho (27°-28° N. lat.), Naga tribes (93°-97° E. long.;
23° N. lat.) (Mithan) E. of Sibsagor, Naga tribes (Namsang), Naga tribes
(Nowgong), Naga tribes (Tengsa), Naga tribes (Tablung N. of Sibsagor),
Naga tribes (Khaü, Jorhat), Naga tribes (Angami, South), Kuki (N.E. of
Chittagong), Khyeng (Shyu) (19°-21° N. lat. Arakan), Kami (Kuladan R.
Arakan), Kumi (Kuladan R. Arakan), Shendus (22°-23° and 93-94°), Mru
(Arakan, Chittagong), Sak (Nauf River, East), and Tungihu (Tenasserim).
The Munda Class consists of the languages Ho (Kolehan), Sinhbhum Kol
(Chyebossa), Sontal (Chyebossa), Bhumij (Chyebossa), Mundala (Chota
Nagpur), and Canarese.
The Tamulic Class consists of the languages Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam,
Gond, Brahvi, Tuluva, Toduva, and Uraon-kol.
INDEX.
Abdu-l-Kadir Maluk, Mulla, Shah of Badáún, his general history of India,
and other works, 151 _note_.
Abhîra, or Âbhîra, at the mouth of the Indus, 204.
Abiria, the, of Ptolemy, 204.
Ablative, the, in Chinese, 119 _note_.
Abraham, the language of, 278.
Abu Saleh, his translation from Sanskrit into Arabic, 150.
Abyssinian language, ancient and modern, 281.
Academy, New, doctrines of the, embraced in Rome, 107.
Accusative, formation of the, in Chinese, 118 _note_.
Achæmenian dynasty, inscriptions of the, 210.
Adelung, his Mithridates, 142.
Adjectives, formation of, in Tibetan, 113 _note_.
in Chinese, 119 _note_.
Ælius Stilo, Lucius, his lectures in Rome, on Latin grammar, 109.
Affinity, indications of true, in the animal and vegetable world, 26, 27.
Afghanistan, the language of, 210.
Africa, South, dialects of, 64.
African language, an imaginary, 223.
_Âge_, history of the French word, 292.
Agglutination in the Turanian family of languages, 291.
Aglossoi, the, of the Greeks, 92.
Agriculture of the Chaldeans, work on the, 279.
Punic work of Mago on, 94 _note_.
Ahirs, the, of Cutch, 204.
Akbar, the Emperor, his search after the true religion, 151.
Akbar, his foundation of the so-called Ilahi religion, 151.
works translated into Persian for him, 151.
not able to obtain a translation of the Veda, 152.
_Albania_, origin of the name, 242.
Albanian language, origin of the, 201.
Albertus Magnus, on the humanizing influence of Christianity, quoted, 129
_note_.
Alchemy, causes of the extinction of the science, 19.
Alexander the Great, influence of his expedition in giving the Greeks a
knowledge of other nations and languages, 93.
his difficulty in conversing with the Brahmans, 93.
Alexandria, influence of, on the study of foreign languages, 96.
critical study of ancient Greek at, 97.
Algebra, translation of the famous Indian work on, into Arabic, 149.
Algonquins, the one case of the, 221 _note_.
America, Central, rapid changes which take place in the language of the
savage tribes of, 62.
great number of languages spoken by the natives of, 62.
Hervas’s reduction of them to eleven families, 63.
Amharic, or modern Abyssinian, 281.
Anatomy, comparative, science of, 27.
Anglo-Saxon, the most ancient epic in, 177.
Angora, in Galatia, battle of, 308.
Anquetil Duperron, his translation of the Persian translation of the
Upanishads into French, 154.
his translation of the works of Zoroaster, 168, 206.
Apollo, temple of, at Rome, 102.
AR, the root, various ramifications of, 252.
Arabic, influence of, over the Turkish language, 83.
ascendency of, in Palestine and Syria, 281.
original seat of Arabic, 281.
ancient Himyaritic inscriptions, 281.
earliest literary documents in Arabic, 281.
relation of Arabic to Hebrew, 281.
Aramaic division of Semitic languages, 276.
two dialects of, 276.
Ariana, the, of Greek geographers, 240.
_Ariaramnēs_, father of Darius, origin of the name, 241.
Aristotle on grammatical categories, 97, 126.
_Armenia_, origin of the name, 242.
Arpinum, provincial Latin of, 67.
_Article_, the, original meaning of the word, 98.
the Greek, restored by Zenodotus, 99.
Ârya. _See_ Aryan.
Ârya-âvarta, India so called, 237.
Aryan, an Indo-European family of languages, 43, 80, 177.
mode of tracing back the grammatical fragments of the Aryan languages to
original independent words, 231-233.
Aryan grammar, 234.
northern and southern divisions of the, 211.
the original Aryan clan of Central Asia, 212.
period when this clan broke up, 212.
formation of the locative in all the Aryan languages, 219.
Aryan civilization proved by the evidence of language, 235.
origin and gradual spreading of the word _Arya_, 236.
original seat of the Aryans, 238.
the Aryan and Semitic the only _families_ of speech deserving that
title, 282.
genealogical table, 394, 395.
Asia Minor, origin of the Turks of, 306.
Asiatic Society, foundation of the, at Calcutta, 158.
Aśoka, King, his rock inscriptions, 146.
_Assyria_, various forms of the name, 247.
Astrology, causes of the extinction of the science, 19.
_Astronomy_, origin of the word, 16.
the Ptolemæan system, although wrong, important to science, 26.
Auramazda, of the cuneiform inscriptions, 207. _See_ Ormuzd.
Auxentius on Ulfilas, 181-186 _note_.
Baber, his Indian empire, 299.
Babylonia, literature of, 278.
probability of the recovery of, from the cuneiform inscriptions, 278.
Barabas tribe, in the steppes between the Irtish and the Ob, 304.
Barbarians, the, of the Greeks, 91.
seemed to have possessed greater facility for acquiring languages than
either Greeks or Romans, 94.
the term Barbarian as used by the Greeks and Romans, 127.
unfortunate influence of the term, 127.
Bashkirs, race of the, in the Altaic mountains, 303.
Basil, St., his denial that God had created the names of all things, 40
_note_.
Baziane tribe, in the Caucasus, 303.
Beaver, the, sagacity of, 24.
Behar, Pâli once the popular dialect of, 146.
Beowolf, the ancient English epic of, 177.
Berber, dialects of Northern Africa, origin of the, 282.
Berners, Juliana, on the expressions proper for certain things, 72.
Berosus, his study and cultivation of the Greek language, 94.
his history of Babylon, 95.
his knowledge of the cuneiform inscriptions, 95.
Bible, number of obsolete words and senses in the English translation of
1611, 45.
Bibliandro, his work on language, 131 _note_.
Birúni, Abu Rihan al, 150.
his “Taríkhu-l-Hind,” 150.
Bishop and sceptic derived from the same root, 257.
Boëthius, Song of, age of the, 196.
Bohemian, oldest specimens of, 201.
Bonaparte, Prince L., his collection of English dialects, 70.
Booker’s “Scripture and Prayer-Book Glossary” referred to, 45.
Books, general destruction of, in China in 213, B. C. 227.
Bopp, Francis, his great work, 166.
results of his “Comparative Grammar,” 234.
_Botany_, origin of the word, 15.
the Linnæan system, although imperfect, important to science, 26.
Brahman, the highest being, known through speech, 88.
Brahmans, their deification of language, 87.
their early achievements in grammatical analysis, 88.
difficulties of Alexander in conversing with them, 93.
Brâhmanas, the, on language, 87.
Brennus, 199.
Brown, Rev. Mr. on the dialects of the Burmese, 63.
Brutes, faculties of, 351.
instinct and intellect, 353.
language the difference between man and brute, 354.
the old name given to brutes, 379.
Buddhism, date of its introduction into China, 147.
Bulgarian Kingdom on the Danube, 319.
language and literature, 200.
Bulgaric branch of the Finnic class of languages, 319.
Bulgarian tribes and dialects, 319.
Buriates, dialects of the, new phase of grammatical life of the, 64.
Burmese language and literature, 63.
dialects, 63.
Burnouf, Eugène, his studies of Zend, 168, 206.
and of cuneiform inscriptions, 168.
Cæsar, Julius, publication of his work “De analogia,” 110.
invented the term _ablative_, 110.
Carneades forbidden by Cato to lecture at Rome, 109.
Carthaginian language, closely allied to Hebrew, 280.
_Case_, history of the word, 111.
Cases, formation of, in the Aryan languages, 218.
Cassius, Dionysius, of Utica, his translation of the agricultural work of
Mago, 95 _note_.
Castor and Pollux, worship of, in Italy, 102.
Castren on the Mongolian dialects, 64.
_Cat_, origin of the word, 365.
Catherine the Great of Russia, her “Comparative Dictionary,” 143.
Cato, his history of Rome in Latin, 104.
his acquisition of the Greek language in his old age, 106.
reasons for his opposition to everything Greek, 106.
Caucasus, tribes of the, 303.
Celtic language, substantive existence of, 79.
Celtic, a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, 198.
Celts, their former political autonomy, 198.
Chaldee, in what it consisted, 276.
fragments in Ezra, 276.
language of the Targums, 277.
literature of Babylon and Nineveh, 278.
the modern Mendaïtes or Nasoreans, 279.
Changes, historical, affecting every variety of language. 44.
rapid changes in the languages of savage tribes, 44.
words or senses obsolete in English since 1611, 45.
smaller changes, 45.
grammatical changes, 46.
laws of, in language, 73.
Children, probable influence of the language of, on the gradual
disappearance of irregular conjugations and declensions, 75.
Chili, language of, 293 _note_.
China, date of the introduction of Buddhism into, 147.
Chinese Buddhist pilgrims to India, 149.
conquered by the Mongols, 299.
Chinese language, ancient, no trace of grammar in, 86, 117.
notes by M. Stanislas Julien, on Chinese substantives and adjectives,
118 _note_.
formation of the locative in Chinese, 218.
and of the instrumental, 218.
number of roots in Chinese, 265.
number of words in the Chinese dictionary, obsolete, rare, and in use,
265 _note_.
no analysis required to discover its component parts, 272.
mode of using a predicative root in, 268.
roots in Chinese, 287.
the parts of speech determined in Chinese by the position of the word in
a sentence, 288.
rudimentary traces of agglutination in Chinese, 329.
imitative sounds in, 366 _note_.
list of Chinese interjections, 369 _note_.
natural selection of roots in, 386.
Chingis-Khán, founds the Mongolian empire, 296.
Christianity, humanizing influence of, 128.
Chudic branch of the Finnic languages, 317.
Chudic, the national epic of the Finns, 317.
Cicero, his provincial Latin, 67.
quoted as an authority on grammatical questions, 109.
Cæsar’s _De analogia_ dedicated to Cicero, 110.
Class dialects, 66.
Classical, or literary languages, origin of, 65.
stagnation and inevitable decay of, 68.
Classification, in the physical sciences, 24.
object of classification, 27.
Colchis, dialects of, according to Pliny, 61.
Conjugation, most of the terminations of, demonstrative roots, 270.
Constantinople, taking of, 308.
Copernicus, causes which led to the discovery of his system, 29.
Cornish, last person who spoke, 80.
Cosmopolitan Club, 107.
Crates of Pergamus, his visit to Rome, 109.
his public lectures, there on grammar, 109.
_Cuckoo_, the word, 361.
Cuneiform inscriptions, the, deciphered by Burnouf, 168.
importance of the discovery of the inscriptions of Darius and Xerxes,
206.
progress in deciphering, 278.
letter from Sir H. Rawlinson quoted, 278.
D, origin of the letter, in forming English preterites, 231.
Dacian language, the ancient, 126 _note_, 195 _note_.
_Dame_, origin of the word, 226.
Danish language, growth of the, 71, 191.
Darius, claimed for himself an Aryan descent, 241.
Dative, case in Greek, 221.
in Chinese, 118 _note_.
_Daughter_, origin of the word, 57.
Decay, phonetic, one of the processes which comprise the growth of
language, 51.
instances of phonetic decay, 52-54.
Declension, most of the terminations of, demonstrative roots, 270.
_Dello_, _dell_, origins of the Italian, 75.
Democritus, his travels, 94.
Dialect, what is meant by, 58.
Dialects, Italian, 58, 69.
French, 59.
Modern Greek, 58.
Friesian, 59.
English, 60.
the feeders rather than the channels of a literary language, 60, 70.
Grimm on the origin of dialects in general, 60.
difficulty in tracing the history of dialects, 61.
American dialects, 63.
Burmese, 63.
of the Ostiakes, 63.
Mongolian, 64.
Southern Africa, 64.
class dialects, 66.
unbounded resources of dialects, 71.
dialectical growth beyond the control of individuals, 74.
Dictionary, Comparative, of Catherine the Great of Russia, 143.
_Did_, origin of, as a preterite, 233.