that _c_ had in all cases the force of _k_. This the Doctor ascribes to
his partiality for the pronunciation of his countrymen, the Germans,
which, he says, has often led him into errors. For altho _k_ before
_a_, _o_, _u_ used frequently to be written for _c_, as _Karcer_ for
_Carcer_, yet it never took the place of _c_ before _e_ and _i_; we
never find _Karker_ for _Carcer_.
But that _c_ had the sound of our _ch_, is probable from another fact:
In old inscriptions it is found that _c_ was often used for _t_ before
_i_; _condicio_ for _conditio_, _palacium_ for _palatium_. Now _ch_
in English have a compound sound, which begins with that of _t_, and
hence _ti_ and _ci_ in English have taken the sound of _ch_ or _sh_.
It is evident therefore that _c_ before _i_ had a great affinity to
_ti_; an affinity which is still preserved in the Italian language.
These circumstances give us reason to believe that _ci_ and _ti_ in
_condicio_ and _palatium_, were both pronounced _chi_, _condichio_,
_palachium_. This sound of _ci_ agrees perfectly well with the Saxon
sound in _cild_, pronounced _child_; _cele_, now pronounced _chill_, as
I have remarked above; text, page 72.
[G], page 82.
I shall not enter into a particular discussion of the question, whether
_h_ is a mark of _sound_ or not. By its convertibility with _k_ and
_c_ in the ancient languages, we have reason to conclude that it once
had a guttural sound, and the pronunciation of some northern nations
of Europe confirms the opinion. But it appears in modern English to
have no sound by itself; it however affects, in some degree, the sound
of the vowel to which it is prefixed, by previously opening the mouth
wider than is necessary to articulate the vowel. Thus in _hand_ we hear
no sound but of _and_; yet in pronouncing _hand_ we open the throat
wider, and emit the breath with violence before we begin the sound,
which makes an obvious difference in pronouncing the words _and_ and
_hand_; and perhaps this distinction is perceiveable as far as the
words can be heard. The same may be said of _th_ in _think_.
The instance of a man who lost a dinner by telling his servant to _eat_
it, when he meant to tell him to _heat_ it, affords a useful lesson to
those who are disposed to treat the letter _h_ with too much neglect.
[H], page 85.
That _i_ short is the same sound as _ee_ we have the authority of one
of the first and best English grammarians. "Hunc sonum, (ee) quoties
correptus est, Angli per _i_ breve, exprimunt; quum vero producitur,
scribunt ut plurimum per _ee_, non raro tamen per _ie_; vel etiam per
_ea_; ut, _sit_, _fit_, _feel_, _fill_, _fiend_, _near_," &c.----
Wallis, Gram. Sect. 2.
Ash confirms the opinion. "_Ee_ has one sound, as in _see_, _thee_, and
coincides with the narrow _i_."--Gram. Diss. pref. to his Dic.
Kenrick's arrangement of the _long_ and _short_ vowels is exactly
similar to mine.
Sheridan entertains a different opinion respecting the short _i_ and
_e_. He considers them as distinct vowels, incapable of prolongation.
Rhet. Gram. pref. to his Dict. page 16. In this he differs from most
other writers upon the subject, who have attended to the philosophical
distinctions of sounds. This appears to be an inaccuracy in his
distribution of the vowels; altho it cannot affect the practice of
speaking.
The sound of the Roman _i_, it is agreed on all hands, was that of the
English _ee_. It retains that sound still in the Italian, French and
Spanish, which are immediately derived from the Latin. It had its long
and short sounds in Latin; as in _vidi_, _homini_; the first pronounced
_veedee_, and the last _homini_, as we now pronounce _i_ in _fill_. The
French preserve the long sound, and lay it down as a general rule, that
_i_ is pronounced like the English _ee_: Yet in discourse they actually
shorten the sound, and in _sentimens_, _ressentiment_, &c. pronounce
_i_ as we do in _civil_. In the French _motif_, _i_ is long like _ee_;
in this and all similar terminations, we shorten the sound, _motiv_.
Mr. Sheridan, in this particular, is evidently singular and probably
wrong.
That _e_ in _let_ is but the short abrupt sound of _a_ in _late_, is
not so clear; but to me is evident. There is little or no difference
in the position of the organs with which we pronounce both vowels.
The Roman, Italian, Spanish and French _e_ is considered as the
representative of the English _a_ in _late_, _made_; and yet in common
discourse, it is shortened into the sound of _e_ in _let_, _men_:
Witness, _legere_, _avec_, _emmené_, _bueno_, _entendido_: We observe
the same in English; for _said_, _any_, _many_, which are pronounced
_sed_, _enny_, _menny_, exhibit the same vowel or short _a_; the _e_
being the abrupt sound of _ai_ in _said_. I must therefore differ from
Mr. Sheridan, and still believe that _e_ in _let_, and _i_ in _fit_,
are capable of prolongation. Children, when, instead of a comparison,
they would express the superlative by an emphasis, say _leetle_ instead
of _little_; which is a mere prolongation of _i_ short.
Mr. Sheridan, in my opinion, is guilty of an error of greater
consequence, in marking the two qualities of sound in _bard_ and _bad_
with the same figure. He distinguishes the different qualities of sound
in _pool_ and _full_, and in _not_ and _naught_; and why he should omit
the distinction of sound in _bard_ and _bad_, _ask_ and _man_, is to me
inconceiveable. The last distinction is as obvious as the others which
he has marked; and the defect of his scheme must lead a foreigner into
mistakes. His scheme is singular; Kenrick, Perry and Burn all make a
distinction in the time of pronouncing _a_ in _ask_ and _at_; and even
Scott, who copies Sheridan's pronunciation almost implicitly, still
makes the same distinction.
[I], page 87.
"Non multum differt hic sonus (w) ab Anglorum _oo_; Gallorum _ou_,
Germanorum _u_ pingui, rapidissime pronunciatis; adeoque a quibusdam
pro vocali fuit habita, _cum tamen revera consona sit_, quanquam ipsi
vocali admodum sit affinis."----Wallis.
"It is indeed on the celerity of utterance, that all the difference,
in many cases, between consonants and vowels depends; as in _w_ and
_y_, in English; which, being discharged quickly, perform the office
of consonants, in giving form only to the succeeding vowel; but when
protracted or drawled out, acquire a tone and become the vocal _oo_ and
_ee_."----Kenrick, Rhet. Gram. p. 4.
Perry has adopted this opinion and contends warmly that _w_ is a
consonant. If _w_ is a vowel, says he, then _wool_, _wolf_, will be
pronounced _oo-ool_, _oo-olf_, or _ool_, _olf_. I am sensible that in
the beginning of words, _w_ has not precisely the power of _oo_; but it
is not clear from this fact that it has the properties of a consonant.
Place a vowel before _w_, as, _ow_, and there is no compression of the
lips or other parts of the mouth, to obstruct the sound, as there is
produced by _b_ or _m_, in _eb_ and _em_.
In opposition to the authorities mentioned, Sheridan ranks _w_ among
the vowels, and supposes it to form dipthongs with the other vowels,
as in _well_, _will_, &c. It appears to me to be a letter rather of an
ambiguous nature, of which we have others in the language.
[J], page 88.
It has been remarked that by old authors _y_ was often used for _g_;
_yeve_ for _give_; _foryete_ for _forget_.---- Chaucer, Knight's Tale,
1884.
I have observed that some foreigners pronounce _year_, in the same
manner nearly as they do _ear_; and _yeast_ is commonly pronounced
_east_. This pronunciation would easily lead a man into the supposition
that _y_ is merely _ee_ short. But the pronunciation is vicious.
I observe also that Mr. Sheridan says, "_ye_ has the sound of _e_ long
in _ye_; of _a_ long in _yea_; of _e_ long in _year_, _yean_; and of
_e_ short in _yearn_, _yell_, &c." This confirms my opinion, and is a
proof that he does not pronounce _y_ at all.
If _y_ has the sound of _e_ in _year_, then _e_ has _no_ sound, or
there are in the word, _two_ sounds of _e_, which no person will
undertake to assert. The dispute however is easily settled. I have
learnt by attending to the conversation of well bred Englishmen,
that they do not pronounce _y_ at all in _year_ and many other
words. They say _ear_, _e_, for _year_, _ye_; and the sound of _e_,
they erroneously suppose to be that of _y_. In America, _y_ has in
these words, the consonant sound it has in _young_; and the English
pronunciation must in this instance be faulty.
[K], page 103.
"Now the harmony of prose arises from the same principle with that
which constitutes the harmony of verse; viz. numbers; or such a
disposition of the words as throws them into just metrical feet,
but very different from those which constitute any species of
verse."--Essay on the Power of Numbers, &c. page 4. Introd.
"A good stile is both _expressive_ and _harmonious_. The former depends
on the happy choice of the words to convey our ideas; the other on the
happy choice of numbers in the disposition of the words. The language
of some is expressive, but unharmonious; that is, the writer's words
strongly convey his sentiments, but the order in which they are
placed creates a sound unpleasant to the ear. The stile of others is
harmonious but not expressive; where the periods are well turned and
the numbers well adapted, but the sense obscure. The former satisfies
the mind, but offends the ear; the latter gratifies the ear, but
disgusts the mind. A good stile entertains and pleases both," &c----
Ibm. 2d. Part, page 17.
The author proceeds to illustrate his doctrines by showing in what the
harmony of prose consists. He remarks that the words should in some
degree be an echo to the sense, in prose as well as verse.
He proceeds--"Every sentence may be conceived as divisible into
distinct and separate clauses; every clause, where there is an apparent
cessation of the voice, should always end with a generous foot; and
all the preceding numbers be so intermixt, that the short ones be duly
qualified by the succeeding long ones; reserving the best and most
harmonious number for the cadence."
To show how much depends on the proper arrangement of words, he quotes
the following instance--"A divine, speaking of the Trinity, hath this
expression--It is a mystery which we firmly believe the truth of, and
humbly adore the depth of." Here the language is expressive, but not
harmonious; not merely because the clauses end with the particle _of_,
but because they abound with feeble numbers, _Pyrrhics_ and _Trochees_.
Let us change the disposition of the feet--"It is a mystery, the truth
of which we firmly believe, and the depths of which we humbly adore."
The difference in the melody is very perceiveable. The force and music
of the last disposition is increased by the Iambics and Anapæsts.
The most forceable feet, and those best adapted to sublime and serious
subjects, are those which contain the most long syllables, or end in
a long syllable; as the Iambic, the Spondee, the Anapæst. The weak
feet are those which have the most short syllables or end in a short
syllable; as the Pyrrhic, the Trochee, the Tribrach.
The want of proper measures, or a mixture of weak and strong syllables,
is very remarkable in a passage of the Declaration of Independence.
"We must therefore acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our
separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, _enemies in
war_, _[)i]n p[=e]ace_, _fri[=e]nds_." The three last syllables form,
if any thing, a Bacchic; the first syllable, short, and the two others,
long. But in a just pronunciation, the foot is necessarily broken by
a pause after _peace_. This interruption, and the two long syllables,
render the close of the sentence extremely heavy. The period is concise
and expressive, as it stands; but the arrangement might be much more
harmonious--"O[)u]r [=e]n[)e]m[)i]es [)i]n w[=a]r; [)i]n p[=e]ace,
o[)u]r fri[=e]nds." Here the measure and melody are perfect; the period
closing with three Iambics, preceded by a Pyrrhic.
[L], page 111.
In a Scotch Ballad, called _Edom o Gordon_, we find the word _dreips_
for _drops_.
"--And clear, clear was hir zellow hair
Whereon the reid bluid _dreips_."
But it was often spelt _drap_, agreeable to the pronunciation. See
Edward. Rel. An. Poet. 53.
The dialect in America is peculiar to the descendants of the Scotch
Irish.
[M], page 111.
Mought is the past time or participle of an old Saxon verb _mowe_ or
_mowen_, _to be able_. It answered to the _posse_ of the Romans, and
the _pouvoir_ of the French. This verb occurs frequently in Chaucer.
"But that science is so fer us beforne,
We _mowen_ not, altho we had it sworne,
It overtake, it slit away so fast,
It _wol_ us maken beggers at the last."
Cant. Tales, l. 16, 148, Bell's edit.
"To _mowen_ such a knight done live or die."----Troil. and Cres. 2.
1594. That is, _to be able_ to make such a knight live or die.
"And _mought_ I hope to winne thy love,
Ne more his tonge could saye."
Sir Cauline, an old Ballad, l. 163.
"The thought they herd a woman wepe,
But her they _mought_ not se."
Adam Bell, &c. part 3. l. 2. in Rel. of An. Poet.
"So _mought_ thou now in these refined lays
Delight the dainty ears of higher powers.
And so _mought_ they in their deep scanning skill,
Allow and grace our Collen's flowing quill."
Spenser, Hobbynall.
There seem to have been among our Saxon ancestors two verbs of nearly
or exactly the same signification, _may_ and _might_; and _mowe_ and
_mought_. There is some reason to think they were not synonimous; that
_may_ was used to express _possibility_, as _I may go next week_; and
_mowe_ to express _power_, as _they mowen go_, they are able to go. But
it is not certain that such a distinction ever existed. The Germans use
_moegen_, in the infinitive; _mag_, in the indic. pres. _mæge_, in the
subj. pres. in the imperfect of the ind. _mochte_; and in the imp. of
the subj. _mæchte_. The English use _may_ and _might_ solely in their
writing; but _mought_ is still pronounced in some parts of America.
_Holpe_ or _holp_ was not obsolete when the Bible was last translated,
in the reign of king James; for it occurs in several places in that
translation. It occurs frequently in old authors.
"Unkindly they slew him, that _holp_ them oft at nede."
Skelton El. on Earl of Northum. l. 47.
In Virginia it is pronounced _hope_. "Shall I hope you, Sir."
But we must look among the New England common people for ancient
English phrases; for they have been 160 years sequestered in some
measure from the world, and their language has not suffered material
changes from their first settlement to the present time. Hence most of
the phrases, used by Shakespear, Congreve, and other writers who have
described English manners and recorded the language of all classes of
people, are still heard in the common discourse of the New England
yeomanry.
The verb _be_, in the indicative, present tense, which Lowth observes
is almost obsolete in England, is still used after the ancient manner,
I _be_, we _be_, you _be_, they _be_. The old plural _housen_ is still
used for houses. The old verb _wol_ for will, and pronounced _wool_,
is not yet fallen into disuse. This was the verb principally used in
Chaucer's time, and it now lives in the purest branch of the Teutonic,
the German.
For many years, I had supposed the word _dern_ in the sense of _great_
or _severe_, was local in New England. Perhaps it may not now be used
any where else; but it was once a common English word. Chaucer uses it
in the sense of _secret_, _earnest_, &c.
"This clerk was cleped Hende Nicholas
Of _derne_ love he could and of solas."
Mil. Tale, l. 3200.
"Ye mosten be ful _derne_ as in this case."
Ibm. 3297.
The word is in common use in New England and pronounced _darn_. It has
not however the sense it had formerly; it is now used as an adverb to
qualify an adjective, as _darn sweet_; denoting a great degree of the
quality.
The New England people preserve the ancient use of _there_ and _here_
after a word or sentence, designating the _place where_; as _this
here_, _that there_. It is called vulgar in English; and indeed the
addition of _here_ or _there_ is generally tautological. It is however
an ancient practice; and the French retain it in the pure elegant
language of their country; _ce pays là_, _celui là_, _cet homme ici_;
where we observe this difference only between the French and English
idioms, that in French, the adverb follows the noun, _that country
there_, _this man here_; whereas in English, the adverb precedes the
noun, _that there country_, _this here man_. This form of speech seems
to have been coeval with the primitive Saxon, otherwise it would not
have prevailed so generally among the common people.
It has been before remarked that the word _ax_ for _ask_ was used in
England, and even in the royal assent to acts of parliament, down to
the reign of Henry VI.
"And to her husband bad hire for to sey
If that he _axed_ after Nicholas."----
Chau. Mil. Tale, 3412.
"This _axeth_ haste and of an hastif thing
Men may not preche and maken tarying."
Ibm. 3545.
This word to _ax_ is still frequent in New England.
I no not know whether our American sportsmen use the word, _ferret_, in
the sense of driving animals from their lurking places. But the word
is used in some parts of New England, and applied figuratively to many
transactions in life. So in Congreve:
"Where is this apocryphal elder? I'll _ferret_ him."----Old Bach, act
4, fc. 21.
Sometimes, but rarely, we hear the old imperative of the Saxon
_thafian_, now pronounced _thof_. But it is generally pronounced as
it is written, _tho_. It is remarked by Horne, that _thof_ is still
frequent among the common people of England.
_Gin_ or _gyn_ for _given_ is still used in America; as Bishop Wilkins
remarks, it is in the North of England.
_Without_, in the sense of _unless_, is as frequent as any word in
the language, and even among the learned. It is commonly accounted
inelegant, and writers have lately substituted _unless_: But I do not
see the propriety of discarding _without_, for its meaning is exactly
the same as that of _unless_. It is demonstrated that they are both
the imperatives of old verbs. _Without_, is _be out_, _be away_; and
_unless_ is _dismiss_, or _be apart_. Instead of the imperative Chaucer
generally uses the participle, _withouten_, _being out_.
The best writers use _without_ in the sense of _unless_.
"--And if he can't be cured _without_ I suck the poison from his
wounds, I'm afraid he won't recover his senses, till I lose mine."----
Cong. Love for Love, act 4. sc. 3.
"'Twere better for him, you had not been his confessor in that affair,
_without_ you could have kept his counsel closer."----Cong. Way of the
World, act, 3. sc. 7.
The best speakers use the word in this manner, in common discourse, and
I must think, with propriety.
_Peek_ is also used corruptedly for _peep_. By a similar change of
the last consonant, _chirk_ is used for _chirp_, _to make a cheerful
noise_. This word is wholly lost, except in New England. It is there
used for _comfortably_, _bravely_, _cheerful_; as when one enquires
about a sick person, it is said, he is _chirk_. _Chirp_ is still used
to express the singing of birds, but the _chirk_ of New England is not
understood, and therefore derided. Four hundred years ago it was a
polite term.
"and kisseth hire swete, and _chirketh_ as a sparwe
With his lippes."----
Chaucer, Somp. Tale, 7386.
In the following it is used for a disagreeable noise.
"All full of _chirking_ was that sory place."
Knight's Tale, 2006.
"And al so ful eke of _chirkings_
And of many other wirkings."
House of Fame, 858.
_Shet_ for _shut_ is now become vulgar; yet this is the true original
orthography and pronunciation. It is from the Saxon _scitten_, and I
believe was always spelt _shette_ or _shet_, till after Chaucer's
time, for he was a correct writer in his age, and always spelt it in
that manner.
"Voideth your man and let him be thereout,
And _shet_ the dore."----
Chau. Yem. Tale, 16, 605.
"And his maister _shette_ the dore anon."
Ibm. 16, 610.
And in a variety of other places. This word is almost universally
pronounced _shet_ among all classes of people, not only in New England,
but in Great Britain and the southern states of America. How the
spelling came to be changed, is not known; but it was certainly a
corruption.
_An_ for _if_ is seen in most old authors. It remains among the common
people, both in England and America. "_An_ please your honor;" that
is, "_if_ your honor please." In New England, the phrases in which it
occurs most frequently are, "Let him go, _an_ he will;" "Go, _an_ you
will;" and others of a similar kind.
_Because_ and _becase_ were used promiscuously by our ancestors.
_Becase_ is found in some ancient writings, tho not so frequently as
_because_. In New England, we frequently hear _becase_ to this day. It
is pronounced _becaze_. It is a compound of _be_ and _cause_ or _case_;
both of these words with the verb _be_ make good English; but _becase_
is vulgar.
The vulgar pronunciation of _such_ is _sich_. This is but a small
deviation from the ancient elegant pronunciation, which was _swich_
or _swiche_, as the word is spelt in Chaucer. Such is the force of
national practice: And altho the country people in New England,
sometimes drawl their words in speaking, and, like their brethren,
often make false concord, yet their idiom is purely Saxon or English;
and in a vast number of instances, they have adhered to the true
phrases, where people, who despise their plain manners, have run into
error. Thus they say, "a man is going _by_," and not _going past_,
which is nonsense: They say, "I _purpose_ to go," and not _propose_ to
go, which is not good English. They say, "a ship _lies_ in harbor," not
_lays_, which is a modern corruption. They say, "I _have_ done," and
never "I _am_ done," which is nonsense. They say, "it was _on_ Monday
evening," not "_of_ a Monday evening," which is an error. They never
use the absurd phrases "_expect it was_;" and "the ship will sail in
_all_ next week." They never say "he is home," but always, "at home."
They use the old phrase, "it is half _after_ six o'clock," which is
more correct than _half past six_. They say, if a person is not in
health, he is _sick_. The modern English laugh at them, because the
English say a man is _ill_; and confine sick to express the idea of
a nausea in the stomach. The English are wrong, and the New England
people use the word in its true sense, which extends to all bodily
disorders, as it is used by the pure English writers. _Ill_ is a
contraction of _evil_; and denotes a moral disorder. Its application
to bodily complaints is a modern practice, and its meaning figurative.
So that whatever improprieties may have crept into their practice
of speaking, they actually preserve more of the genuin idiom of the
English tongue, than many of the modern fine speakers who set up for
standards.
[N], page 120.
The letters _ch_ in Roman answered nearly to the Greek _ki_ or _chi_;
for _c_ had the sound of _k_, at least before _a_, _o_, _u_. _Ch_ or
_kh_ was therefore the proper combination for the Greek letter; which
had the sound of _k_ followed by an aspirate. This combination was
copied into our language; and perhaps the aspirate was once pronounced,
like the Irish guttural in _Cochran_. But when the aspirate was lost,
_k_ became the proper representative of the sound. It is wished, that
in all the derivatives from the ancient languages, where this character
occurs, _k_ might be substituted for _ch_; that persons unacquainted
with etymology, might not mistake and give _ch_ its English sound.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[128] It is said that the Celtic has a great affinity with the oriental
languages. "Magnam certe cum linguis orientalibus affinitatem retinet,
ut notant Dr. J. Davies passim in Dictionario suo Cambro Britannico, et
Samuel Bochartus in sua Geographica sacra."----Wallis, Gram.
[129] The invention of letters is ascribed to Taaut or Theuth, the son
of _Misraim_, soon after the flood.
[130] I strongly suspect that the primitive language of the north of
Europe was the root of the Sclavonic, still retained in Russia, Poland,
Hungary, &c. and that the Gothic was introduced at a later period.