DISSERTATIONS
ON THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE:
WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL.
To which is added, BY WAY OF APPENDIX,
AN +ESSAY+ ON
A
REFORMED MODE OF SPELLING,
WITH
DR. _FRANKLIN'S_ ARGUMENTS ON THAT SUBJECT.
* * * * *
BY NOAH WEBSTER, JUN. ESQUIRE.
* * * * *
----PRIMA DISCENTIUM ELEMENTA, IN QUIBUS ET
IPSIS PARUM ELABORATUR. _TACITUS._
* * * * *
[Illustration: IT & Co]
PRINTED AT _BOSTON_, FOR THE AUTHOR,
BY ISAIAH THOMAS AND COMPANY,
MDCCLXXXIX.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY,
_Benjamin Franklin, Esq_; LL.D. F.R.S.
Late PRESIDENT of the COMMONWEALTH of PENNSYLVANIA,
The following DISSERTATIONS
Are most respectfully Inscribed,
By His Excellency's
Most obliged and most obedient Servant,
_The Author._
Dedications are usually designed to flatter the Great, to acknowlege
their services, or court their favor and influence. But very different
motives have led me to prefix the venerable name of FRANKLIN to this
publication.
Respect for his Excellency's talents and exertions, as a great
Philosopher and a warm Patriot, I feel in common with all the lovers
of science and freedom; but my peculiar admiration of his character,
arises from considering it as _great_ in _common things_.
His Excellency has not labored to perplex himself and confound his
countrymen with ingenious theories in ethics, and unintelligible
speculations in theology and metaphysics. He has not compiled volumes
to prove or disprove the probability of universal salvation, or the
eternal duration of future punishments; content with a plain doctrine,
taught by philosophy and common sense, and confirmed by christianity,
that virtue and happiness, vice and punishment, are inseparably
connected, and that "if we do well here, we shall fare well hereafter."
In the most elevated stations of life, his Excellency has never been
above a constant application to some useful business; thus complying
with that precept of the fourth command, "_six days shalt thou labor
and do all thy work_," which is as positive an injunction, and as
binding upon all men, as the first article, "_remember the Sabbath day,
to keep it holy_."
In his philosophical researches, he has been guided by experiment, and
sought for _practical truths_. In the world, he has been industrious
to collect _facts_, (which compose all our knowlege) and apply them
to the most useful purposes of government, agriculture, commerce,
manufactures, rural, domestic and moral economy. In communicating his
ideas he does not sacrifice truth to embellishment. His stile is plain
and elegantly neat; and his remarks are not so general as to leave
his ideas indefinite and obscure. His pen follows his thoughts, and
consequently leads the reader, without study, into the same train of
thinking. In short, he writes for the child as well as the philosopher,
and always writes well, because he never takes pains to write.
Violently attached to no political party, he labors to reconcile
contending factions in government. Convinced, by the experience of
a long life, that all men are liable to err, and acknowleging "that
he has often found himself mistaken, and had occasion to change his
opinions," he consents to measures which his judgement tells him are
_theoretically wrong_, when the voices of a majority declare them to be
_practically right_.
He never attempts to usurp the divine prerogative of controlling
opinions; never charges another with ignorance, knavery and folly, nor
endeavors to stab his reputation, for not subscribing a particular
creed; much less does he ever assume a dictatorial authority, and
sentence to final damnation, those who have the same chance of being
right as himself, and whose conduct, whatever may be their opinions, is
regulated by the rules of moral and social virtue.
For these reasons, as well as for the age, the eminent rank and public
merits of this illustrious defender of American freedom, I revere a
character equally known and respected in this and foreign countries.
HARTFORD, _May, 1789_.
PREFACE.
Young gentlemen who have gone through a course of academical studies,
and received the usual honors of a University, are apt to contract
a singular stiffness in their conversation. They read Lowth's
Introduction, or some other grammatical treatise, believe what they
read, without examining the grounds of the writer's opinion, and
attempt to shape their language by his rules. Thus they enter the world
with such phrases as, _a mean_, _averse from_, _if he have_, _he has
gotten_, and others which they deem _correct_; they pride themselves,
for some time, in their superior learning and peculiarities; till
further information, or the ridicule of the public, brings them to use
the language of other people.
Such has been my progress, and that of many of my cotemporaries. After
being some years in that excellent school, the world, I recommenced my
studies, endeavored, not merely to learn, but to understand, the _a_,
_b_, _c_, of the English language, and in 1783 compiled and published
the First Part of my Grammatical Institute. The favorable reception of
this, prompted me to extend my original plan, which led to a further
investigation of the principles of language. After all my reading and
observation for the course of ten years, I have been able to unlearn
a considerable part of what I learnt in early life; and at thirty
years of age, can, with confidence, affirm, that our modern grammars
have done much more hurt than good. The authors have labored to prove,
what is obviously absurd, viz. that our language is not made right;
and in pursuance of this idea, have tried to make it over again, and
persuade the English to speak by Latin rules, or by arbitrary rules
of their own. Hence they have rejected many phrases of pure English,
and substituted those which are neither English nor sense. Writers and
Grammarians have attempted for centuries to introduce a subjunctive
mode into English, yet without effect; the language requires none,
distinct from the indicative; and therefore a subjunctive form stands
in books only as a singularity, and people in practice pay no regard to
it. The people are right, and a critical investigation of the subject,
warrants me in saying, that common practice, even among the unlearned,
is generally defensible on the principles of analogy, and the structure
of the language, and that very few of the alterations recommended by
Lowth and his followers, can be vindicated on any better principle than
some Latin rule, or his own private opinion.
Some compilers have also attempted to introduce a _potential mode_,
where they arrange those phrases that have the _auxiliary_ verbs,
as they are called, _can_, _may_, &c. But all the helping verbs are
principal verbs, and the verb following them is generally in the
infinitive. _I can go_, _he may write_, _we shall see_, &c. are only a
customary ellipsis of _I can to go_, _he may to write_, _we shall to
see_; and are no more a potential mode than _I dare go_, _we saw him
rise_.
In the indeclinable parts of speech, all authors were mistaken, till
Mr. Horne Tooke explained them: Our conjunctions are mostly verbs in
the imperative mode: Our adverbs and prepositions are mostly verbs,
nouns and adjectives, either separate or combined; and the proper
definition of adverb and preposition, is, "a word, or union of words,
without the ordinary rules of government." _Because_ is a compound of
the verb _be_, in the imperative, and the noun _cause_; _otherwise_ is
merely a corruption of _other ways_; _wherefore_ is a corruption of
the Roman _qua-re_, with the addition of _for_; _wisely_ is nothing
more than the two adjectives _wise like_. So that in many cases, the
want of a space between two words, or of the usual rules of government,
is the only circumstance that distinguishes them from ordinary nouns
and verbs; that is, the only thing that makes them _adverbs_ or
_prepositions_; such as, _because_, _always_, _beyond_, _before_,
_behind_, _forward_, _backward_. In short, had the English never been
acquainted with Greek and Latin, they would never have thought of one
half the distinctions and rules which make up our English grammars.
The object of grammar, in a living language, is usually misunderstood.
Men often suppose they must learn their native language by grammar;
whereas they learn the language first, and grammar afterwards. The
principal business of a compiler of a grammar is, to separate _local_
or _partial_ practice from the _general custom_ of speaking; and reject
what is _local_, whether it exists among the great or the small, the
learned or ignorant, and recommend that which is universal, or general,
or which conforms to the analogies of structure in a language. Whether
the words _means_, _pains_, _news_, ought to have been used originally
in the singular form; or _sheep_, _deer_, _hose_, in the plural; or
in other words, whether the language is well made, or might in some
instances be mended, are questions of little consequence now; it is
our business to find what the English language _is_, and not, how it
_might have been made_. The most difficult task now to be performed by
the advocates of _pure English_, is to restrain the influence of men,
learned in Greek and Latin, but ignorant of their own tongue; who have
laboured to reject much good English, because they have not understood
the original construction of the language. Should the following
Dissertations produce this effect, in the smallest degree, they may
render essential service to our native tongue.
These Dissertations derive their origin from accidental circumstances,
the history of which is briefly this. The necessity of securing the
copy right of the Grammatical Institute in the different states,
seconded by a desire of being acquainted with my own country, induced
me to suspend my professional pursuits, and visit the Southern States.
While I was waiting for the regular Sessions of the Legislatures,
in those states which had not passed laws for protecting literary
property, I amused myself in writing remarks on the English Language,
without knowing to what purpose they would be applied. They were begun
in Baltimore in the summer of 1785; and at the persuasion of a friend,
and the consent of the Rev. Dr. Allison, whose politeness deserves my
grateful acknowlegements, they were read publicly to a small audience
in the Presbyterian Church. They were afterward read in about twenty of
the large towns between Williamsburg in Virginia, and Portsmouth in New
Hampshire. These public readings were attended with various success;
the audiences were generally small, but always respectable; and the
readings were probably more useful to myself than to my hearers. I
every where availed myself of the libraries and conversation of learned
men, to correct my ideas, and collect new materials for a treatise,
which is now presented to the public.
There are few men who do not at times find themselves at a loss,
respecting the true pronunciation of certain words. Having no
principles or rules, by which they can solve questions of this kind,
they imitate some gentleman, whose abilities and character entitle
his opinions to respect, but whose pronunciation may be altogether
accidental or capricious.
With respect to many words, I have been in the same uncertainty;
and used formerly to change my pronunciation, in conformity to the
practice of the last man of superior learning whom I heard speak. My
enquiries have been directed to investigate some principles, which
will remove all difficulties in pronunciation; the result of which is
a full satisfaction in my own mind as to almost every particular word.
Whether the principles will prove equally satisfactory to others, it is
impossible now to determine. Most of the varieties in pronunciation are
mentioned in the second and third Dissertations; those which are not,
the reader will be enabled to adjust on the principles there unfolded.
It will be observed, that many of the remarks in this publication are
not new. This will be no objection to the main design; as some remarks
which are found in other philological treatises, are necessary to the
general plan of this. A great part however of my opinions are new, and
many of them directly opposed to the rules laid down by former writers.
In the singularity of spelling certain words, I am authorized by
Sidney, Clarendon, Middleton, Blackstone, Ash, or other eminent
writers, whose authority, being supported by good principles and
convenience, is deemed superior to that of Johnson, whose pedantry has
corrupted the purity of our language, and whose principles would in
time destroy all agreement between the spelling and pronunciation of
words. I once believed that a reformation of our orthography would be
unnecessary and impracticable. This opinion was hasty; being the result
of a slight examination of the subject. I now believe with Dr. Franklin
that such a reformation is practicable and highly _necessary_.
It has been my aim to support my opinions by numerous and respectable
authorities. In some cases, an author is quoted, but not the chapter or
page. This was owing to neglect in first transcribing passages, which
was often done, without any design to use the quotations as authorities
in the present work; and the passages could not afterwards be found
without great trouble, and sometimes the author could not be a second
time procured. In a very few instances, a quotation has been taken at
second hand on the credit of a faithful writer; but never when I could
obtain the original work. Many other ancient authors would have been
consulted, had it been practicable; but the most valuable of these are
very scarce, and many of them I have not heard of in America. It is
to be lamented that old authors are neglected, and modern libraries
composed of abridgements, compilations, short essays, &c. which are
calculated only for communicating some general information and making
superficial scholars, to the prejudice of profound learning and true
science.[1]
The American student is often obliged, and too often disposed, to drink
at the streams, instead of mounting to the sources of information.
For the remarks on English Verse in the fifth Dissertation, I am much
indebted to the celebrated author of M'Fingal, a gentleman who has
"drank deep of the Pierian Spring," and who is equally distinguished
for wit, erudition, correct taste, and professional knowlege.
In explaining the principles of the language, I have aimed at
perspicuity, with a view to render the work useful to all classes of
readers. The Notes at the end are designed to illustrate some points
by authorities or arguments that could not be properly arranged in
the text; and to throw some light on ancient history. To the curious
enquirer, these may be as entertaining as the Dissertations themselves.
In two or three instances, I have found occasion to change my opinion,
since the publication of the Institute; but a future edition of that
work will be conformed to the criticisms in these Dissertations.
To those who ask where a writer was born and educated, before they
can ascertain the value of his writings, I can only observe, it is
expected this publication will fare like all others. Men every where
suppose that their own state or country has some excellence that does
not belong to their neighbors; and it is well, if they do not arrogate
a superiority in _every_ respect. They think their own colleges the
best; their professional men the most learned, and their citizens the
most liberal and polite. I have been witness to numberless remarks and
insinuations of this kind in almost every state in the union; and after
personal observation, can affirm that they generally proceed from gross
ignorance, or unpardonable prejudice. But it is very natural for men to
think and say all these things of _home_, when they have little or no
knowlege of any thing _abroad_.
Convinced that a writer is apt to overlook his own mistakes, when they
are very obvious to a reader, I have submitted these Dissertations to
the criticism of good judges of the subject, with full liberty of
altering, amending and expunging any part of the work; by which means
several passages have been omitted and others corrected. Still there
may be faults in the book; and as truth is the object of my enquiries,
whenever the friendly critic shall point out any errors, either in fact
or opinion, it will be my pride and pleasure to acknowlege and correct
them. Many years experience has taught me that the public, when well
informed, usually form a very just opinion of a man and his writings,
and I am perfectly disposed to acquiesce in their decision.
P. S. Several Essays, on more important subjects, intended for an
Appendix to this work, are necessarily reserved for a future volume.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]----"a fungous growth of Novels and pamphlets, the meaner
productions of the French and English presses, in which it is to be
feared (the reader) rarely finds any rational pleasure, and more rarely
still, any solid improvement."--Harris. Hermes, 434.
CONTENTS.
DISSERTATION I.
Page.
INTRODUCTION, 17
Advantages of national uniformity in language, 19
The English language the parent of the American, 21
Absurdity of copying the changes of language in
Great Britain, 24
The only good principles on which any permanent
uniformity can be established, 27
English writers who are the best models of stile, 31
Writers who have corrupted stile, 32
History of the English Language, 40
Of the ancient Celtic, 41
Of the Armoric, 48
Of the old Irish, 49
Of the Teutonic or Gothic, 53
Of the Norman French, 56
Of the language in Chaucer's time, 59
Remarks, 61
Of the Saxon origin of the English tongue, 61
Of the poverty and copiousness of languages, 63-64
Of the difference in the French and English manner
of speaking, 67
Of the irregular orthography of the English language, 70
DISSERTATION II.
Elements of the language unfolded, 81
Rules of pronunciation, 91
Of accent, 95
Differences of pronunciation and controverted points
examined, 103
How the manner of speaking may be affected by the
laws of property, &c. 106
DISSERTATION III.
Examination of controverted points, continued, 131
Of modern corruptions in the English pronunciation, 146
DISSERTATION IV.
Remarks on the formation of language, 181
A sketch of Mr. Horne Tooke's new and ingenious
explanation of the particles, 186
Examination of particular phrases, 201
Noun, 201
Verb, 222
Mode, 231
Number and person, 232
Auxiliaries, 234
Criticisms on the use of what is called the future
tense, 236
---------- On the use of what is called the Subjunctive
Mode, 240
Of the participial noun, 279
Particles, 284
State of the language in America, 287
DISSERTATION V.
Of the construction of English verse, 291
Pauses, 299
Expression, 305
Of reading verse, 310
NOTES, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL.
Etymological reasons for supposing the European
languages to be descended from one common
stock, 313-350
Other arguments, 350-353
The affinity between the ancient Irish language
and the Punic, 353
Reasons for supposing the Irish to be derived from
the Phenician or Hebrew, 354
Specimen and state of the English Language in the
reign of Richard II, 357
Strictures on the stile of Sir William Temple, 364
---------- of Dr. Robertson, 365
---------- of Mr. Gibbon, 367
APPENDIX.
An Essay on the necessity, advantages and practicability
of reforming the mode of spelling, 391
Dr. Franklin's arguments on the subject, 408
_DIRECTIONS._
The sounds of the vowels, marked or referred to in the second and
third Dissertations, are according to the Key in the First Part of the
Institute. Thus:
a e i o u y
First sound, late, feet, night, note, tune, sky,
Second, hat, let, tin, tun, glory,
Third, law, fraud,
Fourth, ask, father,
Fifth, not, what,
Sixth, prove, room,
The capitals, included in brackets [] in the text, are references to
the Notes at the end.
[Illustration]
DISSERTATIONS
ON THE
_ENGLISH LANGUAGE, &c._
DISSERTATION I.
I. _Introduction._--II. _History of the English Language._--III.
_Remarks._
[Illustration]
INTRODUCTION.
[Illustration]
A regular study of language has, in all civilized countries, formed a
part of a liberal education. The Greeks, Romans, Italians and French
successively improved their native tongues, taught them in Academies at
home, and rendered them entertaining and useful to the foreign student.
The English tongue, tho later in its progress towards perfection, has
attained to a considerable degree of purity, strength and elegance, and
been employed, by an active and scientific nation, to record almost all
the events and discoveries of ancient and modern times.
This language is the inheritance which the Americans have received from
their British parents. To cultivate and adorn it, is a task reserved
for men who shall understand the connection between language and logic,
and form an adequate idea of the influence which a uniformity of speech
may have on national attachments.
It will be readily admitted that the pleasures of reading and
conversing, the advantage of accuracy in business, the necessity of
clearness and precision in communicating ideas, require us to be able
to speak and write our own tongue with ease and correctness. But there
are more important reasons, why the language of this country should be
reduced to such fixed principles, as may give its pronunciation and
construction all the certainty and uniformity which any living tongue
is capable of receiving.
The United States were settled by emigrants from different parts of
Europe. But their descendants mostly speak the same tongue; and the
intercourse among the learned of the different States, which the
revolution has begun, and an American Court will perpetuate, must
gradually destroy the differences of dialect which our ancestors
brought from their native countries. This approximation of dialects
will be certain; but without the operation of other causes than
an intercourse at Court, it will be slow and partial. The body of
the people, governed by habit, will still retain their respective
peculiarities of speaking; and for want of schools and proper books,
fall into many inaccuracies, which, incorporating with the language
of the state where they live, may imperceptibly corrupt the national
language. Nothing but the establishment of schools and some uniformity
in the use of books, can annihilate differences in speaking and
preserve the purity of the American tongue. A sameness of pronunciation
is of considerable consequence in a political view; for provincial
accents are disagreeable to strangers and sometimes have an unhappy
effect upon the social affections. All men have local attachments,
which lead them to believe their own practice to be the least
exceptionable. Pride and prejudice incline men to treat the practice of
their neighbors with some degree of contempt. Thus small differences
in pronunciation at first excite ridicule--a habit of laughing at the
singularities of strangers is followed by disrespect--and without
respect friendship is a name, and social intercourse a mere ceremony.
These remarks hold equally true, with respect to individuals, to small
societies and to large communities. Small causes, such as a nick-name,
or a vulgar tone in speaking, have actually created a dissocial
spirit between the inhabitants of the different states, which is
often discoverable in private business and public deliberations. Our
political harmony is therefore concerned in a uniformity of language.
As an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a system of
our own, in language as well as government. Great Britain, whose
children we are, and whose language we speak, should no longer be _our_
standard; for the taste of her writers is already corrupted, and her
language on the decline. But if it were not so, she is at too great a
distance to be our model, and to instruct us in the principles of our
own tongue.
It must be considered further, that the English is the common root or
stock from which our national language will be derived. All others will
gradually waste away--and within a century and a half, North America
will be peopled with a hundred millions of men, _all speaking the same
language_. Place this idea in comparison with the present and possible
future bounds of the language in Europe--consider the Eastern Continent
as inhabited by nations, whose knowlege and intercourse are embarrassed
by differences of language; then anticipate the period when the people
of one quarter of the world, will be able to associate and converse
together like children of the same family.[2] Compare this prospect,
which is not visionary, with the state of the English language in
Europe, almost confined to an Island and to a few millions of people;
then let reason and reputation decide, how far America should be
dependent on a transatlantic nation, for her standard and improvements
in language.
Let me add, that whatever predilection the Americans may have for their
native European tongues, and particularly the British descendants for
the English, yet several circumstances render a future separation of
the American tongue from the English, necessary and unavoidable. The
vicinity of the European nations, with the uninterrupted communication
in peace, and the changes of dominion in war, are gradually
assimilating their respective languages. The English with others is
suffering continual alterations. America, placed at a distance from
those nations, will feel, in a much less degree, the influence of the
assimilating causes; at the same time, numerous local causes, such as
a new country, new associations of people, new combinations of ideas
in arts and science, and some intercourse with tribes wholly unknown
in Europe, will introduce new words into the American tongue. These
causes will produce, in a course of time, a language in North America,
as different from the future language of England, as the modern Dutch,
Danish and Swedish are from the German, or from one another: Like
remote branches of a tree springing from the same stock; or rays of
light, shot from the same center, and diverging from each other, in
proportion to their distance from the point of separation.
Whether the inhabitants of America can be brought to a perfect
uniformity in the pronunciation of words, it is not easy to predict;
but it is certain that no attempt of the kind has been made, and an
experiment, begun and pursued on the right principles, is the only way
to decide the question. Schools in Great Britain have gone far towards
demolishing local dialects--commerce has also had its influence--and
in America these causes, operating more generally, must have a
proportional effect.
In many parts of America, people at present attempt to copy the
English phrases and pronunciation--an attempt that is favored by their
habits, their prepossessions and the intercourse between the two
countries. This attempt has, within the period of a few years, produced
a multitude of changes in these particulars, especially among the
leading classes of people. These changes make a difference between the
language of the higher and common ranks; and indeed between the _same_
ranks in _different_ states; as the rage for copying the English, does
not prevail equally in every part of North America.
But besides the reasons already assigned to prove this imitation
absurd, there is a difficulty attending it, which will defeat the end
proposed by its advocates; which is, that the English themselves have
no standard of pronunciation, nor can they ever have one on the plan
they propose. The Authors, who have attempted to give us a standard,
make the practice of the court and stage in London the sole criterion
of propriety in speaking. An attempt to establish a standard on this
foundation is both _unjust_ and _idle_. It is unjust, because it
is abridging the nation of its rights: The _general practice_ of a
nation is the rule of propriety, and this practice should at least
be consulted in so important a matter, as that of making laws for
speaking. While all men are upon a footing and no singularities are
accounted vulgar or ridiculous, every man enjoys perfect liberty. But
when a particular set of men, in exalted stations, undertake to say,
"we are the standards of propriety and elegance, and if all men do not
conform to our practice, they shall be accounted vulgar and ignorant,"
they take a very great liberty with the rules of the language and the
rights of civility.
But an attempt to fix a standard on the practice of any particular
class of people is highly absurd: As a friend of mine once observed, it
is like fixing a light house on a floating island. It is an attempt to
_fix_ that which is in itself _variable_; at least it must be variable
so long as it is supposed that a local practice has no standard but
a _local practice_; that is, no standard but _itself_. While this
doctrine is believed, it will be impossible for a nation to follow as
fast as the standard changes--for if the gentlemen at court constitute
a standard, they are above it themselves, and their practice must shift
with their passions and their whims.
But this is not all. If the practice of a few men in the capital is
to be the standard, a knowlege of this must be communicated to the
whole nation. Who shall do this? An able compiler perhaps attempts
to give this practice in a dictionary; but it is probable that the
pronunciation, even at court, or on the stage, is not uniform. The
compiler therefore must follow his particular friends and patrons; in
which case he is sure to be opposed and the authority of his standard
called in question; or he must give two pronunciations as the standard,
which leaves the student in the same uncertainty as it found him. Both
these events have actually taken place in England, with respect to the
most approved standards; and of course no one is universally followed.
Besides, if language must vary, like fashions, at the caprice of a
court, we must have our standard dictionaries republished, with the
fashionable pronunciation, at least once in five years; otherwise a
gentleman in the country will become intolerably vulgar, by not being
in a situation to adopt the fashion of the day. The _new_ editions of
them will supersede the _old_, and we shall have our pronunciation to
relearn, with the polite alterations, which are generally corruptions.
Such are the consequences of attempting to make a _local_ practice
the _standard_ of language in a _nation_. The attempt must keep the
language in perpetual fluctuation, and the learner in uncertainty.
If a standard therefore cannot be fixed on local and variable custom,
on what shall it be fixed? If the most eminent speakers are not to
direct our practice, where shall we look for a guide? The answer is
extremely easy; the _rules of the language itself_, and the _general
practice of the nation_, constitute propriety in speaking. If we examin
the structure of any language, we shall find a certain principle of
analogy running through the whole. We shall find in English that
similar combinations of letters have usually the same pronunciation;
and that words, having the same terminating syllable, generally have
the accent at the same distance from that termination. These principles
of analogy were not the result of design--they must have been the
effect of accident, or that tendency which all men feel towards
uniformity.[3] But the principles, when established, are productive of
great convenience, and become an authority superior to the arbitrary
decisions of any man or class of men. There is one exception only to
this remark: When a deviation from analogy has become the universal
practice of a nation, it then takes place of all rules and becomes the
standard of propriety.
The two points therefore, which I conceive to be the basis of a
standard in speaking, are these; _universal undisputed practice_, and
the _principle of analogy_. _Universal practice_ is generally, perhaps
always, a rule of propriety; and in disputed points, where people
differ in opinion and practice, _analogy_ should always decide the
controversy.
These are authorities to which all men will submit--they are superior
to the opinions and caprices of the great, and to the negligence and
ignorance of the multitude. The authority of individuals is always
liable to be called in question--but the unanimous consent of a nation,
and a fixed principle interwoven with the very construction of a
language, coeval and coextensive with it, are like the common laws of a
land, or the immutable rules of morality, the propriety of which every
man, however refractory, is forced to acknowlege, and to which most
men will readily submit. Fashion is usually the child of caprice and
the being of a day; principles of propriety are founded in the very
nature of things, and remain unmoved and unchanged, amidst all the
fluctuations of human affairs and the revolutions of time.
It must be confessed that languages are changing, from age to age,
in proportion to improvements in science. Words, as Horace observes,
are like leaves of trees; the old ones are dropping off and new ones
growing. These changes are the necessary consequence of changes in
customs, the introduction of new arts, and new ideas in the sciences.
Still the body of a language and its general rules remain for ages the
same, and the new words usually conform to these rules; otherwise
they stand as exceptions, which are not to overthrow the principle of
analogy already established.
But when a language has arrived at a certain stage of improvement,
it must be stationary or become retrograde; for improvements in
science either cease, or become slow and too inconsiderable to affect
materially the tone of a language. This stage of improvement is the
period when a nation abounds with writers of the first class, both for
abilities and taste. This period in England commenced with the age of
Queen Elizabeth and ended with the reign of George II. It would have
been fortunate for the language, had the stile of writing and the
pronunciation of words been fixed, as they stood in the reign of Queen
Anne and her successor. Few improvements have been made since that
time; but innumerable corruptions in pronunciation have been introduced
by Garrick, and in stile, by Johnson, Gibbon and their imitators.[4]
The great Sidney wrote in a pure stile; yet the best models of purity
and elegance, are the works of Sir William Temple, Dr. Middleton,
Lord Bolingbroke, Mr. Addison and Dean Swift. But a little inferior to
these, are the writings of Mr. Pope, Sir Richard Steele, Dr. Arbuthnot,
with some of their cotemporaries. Sir William Blackstone has given
the law stile all the elegance and precision of which it is capable.
Dr. Price and Dr. Priestley write with purity, and Sir William Jones
seems to have copied the ease, simplicity and elegance of Middleton and
Addison.
But how few of the modern writers have pursued the same manner of
writing? Johnson's stile is a mixture of Latin and English; an
intolerable composition of Latinity, affected smoothness, scholastic
accuracy and roundness of periods. The benefits derived from his
morality and his erudition, will hardly counterbalance the mischief
done by his manner of writing. The names of a Robertson, a Hume, a
Home and a Blair, almost silence criticism; but I must repeat what
a very learned Scotch gentleman once acknowleged to me, "that the
Scotch writers are not models of the pure English stile." Their stile
is generally stiff, sometimes very awkward, and not always correct.[5]
Robertson labors his stile and sometimes introduces a word merely for
the sake of rounding a period. Hume has borrowed French idioms without
number; in other respects he has given an excellent model of historical
stile. Lord Kaims' manner is stiff; and Dr Blair, whose stile is less
exceptionable in these particulars, has however introduced, into his
writings, several foreign idioms and ungrammatical phrases. The Scotch
writers now stand almost the first for erudition; but perhaps no man
can write a foreign language with genuin purity.
Gibbon's harmony of prose is calculated to delight our ears; but it is
difficult to comprehend his meaning and the chain of his ideas, as
fast as we naturally read; and almost impossible to recollect them,
at any subsequent period. Perspicuity, the first requisite in stile,
is sometimes sacrificed to melody; the mind of a reader is constantly
dazzled by a glare of ornament, or charmed from the subject by the
music of the language. As he is one of the _first_, it is hoped he
may be the _last_, to attempt the gratification of our _ears_, at the
expense of our _understanding_.
Such however is the taste of the age; simplicity of stile is neglected
for ornament, and sense is sacrificed to sound.[6]
Altho stile, or the choice of words and manner of arranging them,
may be necessarily liable to change, yet it does not follow that
pronunciation and orthography cannot be rendered in a great measure
permanent. An orthography, in which there would be a perfect
correspondence between the spelling and pronunciation, would go very
far towards effecting this desireable object. The Greek language
suffered little or no change in these particulars, for about a thousand
years; and the Roman was in a great degree fixed for several centuries.
Rapid changes of language proceed from violent causes; but these causes
cannot be supposed to exist in North America. It is contrary to all
rational calculation, that the United States will ever be conquered by
any one nation, speaking a different language from that of the country.
Removed from the danger of corruption by conquest, our language can
change only with the slow operation of the causes before-mentioned and
the progress of arts and sciences, unless the folly of imitating our
parent country should continue to govern us, and lead us into endless
innovation. This folly however will lose its influence gradually, as
our particular habits of respect for that country shall wear away,
and our _amor patriæ_ acquire strength and inspire us with a suitable
respect for our own national character.
We have therefore the fairest opportunity of establishing a national
language, and of giving it uniformity and perspicuity, in North
America, that ever presented itself to mankind. Now is the time to
begin the plan. The minds of the Americans are roused by the events
of a revolution; the necessity of organizing the political body and
of forming constitutions of government that shall secure freedom and
property, has called all the faculties of the mind into exertion; and
the danger of losing the benefits of independence, has disposed every
man to embrace any scheme that shall tend, in its future operation,
to reconcile the people of America to each other, and weaken the
prejudices which oppose a cordial union.
My design, in these dissertations, is critically to investigate
the rules of pronunciation in our language; to examin the past and
present practice of the English, both in the pronunciation of words
and construction of sentences; to exhibit the principal differences
between the practice in England and America, and the differences in
the several parts of America, with a view to reconcile them on the
principles of _universal practice_ and _analogy_. I have no system of
my own to offer; my sole design is to explain what I suppose to be
authorities, superior to all private opinions, and to examin local
dialects by those authorities.
Most writers upon this subject have split upon one rock: They lay down
certain rules, arbitrary perhaps or drawn from the principles of other
languages, and then condemn all English phrases which do not coincide
with those rules. They seem not to consider that grammar is formed on
language, and not language on grammar. Instead of examining to find
what the English language _is_, they endeavor to show what it _ought to
be_ according to their rules. It is for this reason that some of the
criticisms of the most celebrated philologers are so far from being
just, that they tend to overthrow the rules, and corrupt the true
idiom, of the English tongue. Several examples of this will appear in
the course of these Dissertations.
To learn the English language in its purity, it is necessary to examin
and compare the best authors from Chaucer to the present time. In
executing the following work, the most approved compilations have
been consulted, and the opinions of the learned authors considered as
respectable, not as decisive, authorities. The language itself has
been examined with great industry, with a view to discover and defend
its principles on the best grounds, _analogies in structure_, and
_immemorial usage_. I have had recourse to the works of authors who
wrote prior to Chaucer, and have even borrowed some light upon this
subject, from the early ages of Gothic ignorance. Believing, with the
author of "Diversions of Purley," that the peculiar structure of our
language is Saxon, and that its principles can be discovered only in
its Teutonic original, it has been my business, as far as the materials
in my possession would permit, to compare the English with the other
branches of the same stock, particularly the German and the Danish.
These researches have thrown light upon the meaning and construction of
particular phrases, and enabled me to vindicate some expressions in the
language which are often used, but generally condemned by grammarians.
My knowlege of the practice of speaking in different parts of America,
is derived from personal observation. My knowlege of the past and
present state of the language in England, is taken from the writers who
have treated expressly of the subject.[7] The authorities necessary to
prove particular points will be quoted, as occasion shall require.
The talk of examining words cannot be agreeable to a writer, nor can
his criticisms be very entertaining to the reader. Yet this talk I have
imposed upon myself; for I believe it the only method to correct common
mistakes. A general rule may be sufficient for a classical scholar, who
makes it his business to apply the rule to all cases: But most readers
must have their particular errors laid before their eyes, or they will
not discover them.
To offer to correct the mistakes of others, is also a _hazardous_
task, and commonly exposes a man to abuse and ill will. To avoid this
I can only say, that my motives for the undertaking were not local nor
personal; my enquiries are for truth, and my criticisms, it is hoped,
will be marked with candor.
But before I proceed to explain the principles of pronunciation, it
is necessary to give a sketch of the history of our language from
the earliest times, and endeavor to discover from what sources it is
derived.
HISTORY _of the_ ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
The first correct accounts we have of Britain were given by Julius
Cesar, who invaded and conquered the southern parts of the island,
about fifty four years before the Christian era.[8] Tacitus, in his
_Life of Julius Agricola_, has described the natives of the island,
and given it as his opinion, that they came from Gaul (now France.)
The inhabitants of Caledonia, now Scotland, in the color of their
hair and size of their limbs, resembled the Germans. Some appearances
in the people of the more southern parts of the island, and their
position with respect to Spain, indicated _their_ descent from the
ancient Iberi. But those who inhabited the shores, opposite to France,
resembled the Gauls, in their religious ceremonies, their courage, and
particularly in their language: "Sermo haud multum diversus."[10]
It is an uncontroverted point, that the primitive language of Britain
was the same as that of Gaul.[11] This language was denominated the
Celtic, from the _Celtæ_, or _Keltæ_, a famous tribe of people that
inhabited Gaul. Many writers suppose the Celtic to have been the
primitive elementary language, from which most, or all the present
languages of Europe, and some of the languages of Asia and Africa,
are derived. Some authors go so far as to assert that the Greek and
Roman may be traced to the same source. To prove this opinion well
founded, they endeavor to discover an affinity between these languages,
by analizing words in each, and tracing them to the same elements or
monosyllabic roots. In this they have succeeded so far as to discover
a great number of words, which, with small dialectical variations, are
common to the Greek and Latin and to most of the living languages of
Europe. Perhaps these radicals, common to all languages of which we
have any knowlege, were sufficient to form a simple language, adequate
to the purposes of speech among rude nations.[A]
But as the first inhabitants of the earth had, for many ages, no method
of fixing sounds, or very imperfect methods, their language must
have been liable to considerable mutations, even when they lived and
conversed together. But after they had separated from each other, by
extending their settlements into distant regions, and an intercourse
between the colonies had ceased, their languages must have in a great
measure lost their affinity to each other. The radical words, common to
all, must have assumed dialectical distinctions, and new objects and
inventions, peculiar to the different tribes, must have originated new
terms among each, to which the others were strangers. Different nations
would advance, by very different degrees of rapidity, to a state of
civilization, and as words multiply with ideas, one language would
become more copious than another, as well as more regular and polished.
In the course of many centuries, these causes would obscure the common
radicals, and make such accessions of new words to each dialect, as
to form them all into distinct languages. An uncivilized people have
occasion for few words; perhaps five or six hundred would answer all
their purposes. And if we should thoroughly examin any of the present
languages of the world, we should probably find that the roots of the
most copious do not amount to more than that number. The Greek, it is
said, may be traced to about three or four hundred radical words. These
roots or elementary words are usually monosyllables, and mostly names
of sensible objects. By applying these names figuratively, savages make
them answer the purpose of expressing other ideas, and by combining
them in an almost infinite variety of ways, civilized nations form
copious and elegant languages.
Thus it happens that in the existing languages of Europe, there are
many words evidently the same; the orthography and pronunciation do
not exactly coincide in all the countries where they are used; yet
the resemblance is obvious in _these_ particulars; and with respect to
their _meaning_, there is such an affinity, as to demonstrate that the
nations, in whose languages they are found, all sprung from the same
parents.
The primitive language of Europe probably retained its original form
and purity in the West, much later than on the borders of Asia;[12]
for the Gauls and Britons had made less advances in knowlege, than
the eastern nations, and had probably suffered fewer shocks from war
and conquest. The Greeks first formed an elegant language out of the
barbarous dialects spoken on the borders of the Egean Sea. The Romans
afterwards did the same in Italy, and gradually changed the languages
of the countries which they conquered, by introducing their own. It
was the policy of the Roman state to make _subjects_, rather than
_slaves_, of their conquered nations; and the introduction of their own
tongue among them was considered as a necessary step towards removing
prejudices, facilitating an intercourse with their provinces, and
reconciling distant nations to the Roman government.