THE ART OF SPEECH.
P. 11.—“Leibnitz,” fon līpˈnĭts. (1646-1716.) Preëminent as a philosopher and mathematician. In his papers on “Language” he advanced theories which place him among linguists in the same position which Hallam considers him to hold among geologists, when he says: “Of all the early geologists, or indeed of all down to a time not very remote, Leibnitz came nearest to the theories which are most received in the English school at this day.”
“Halhed.” It may be of interest to note the various works which these scholars have contributed to the science of philology; Hălˈhed (1751-1830), an English author, prepared a “Grammar of the Bengal Language;” “Jones” (1764-1794), of whom it has been said that in the branch of literature to which he devoted his attention he undoubtedly surpassed all other Europeans, translated from the Persian, Turkish, and Sanskrit, and organized the “Asiatic Society” for investigating the language and customs of Asia; “Colebrooke,” kōlˈbrŏok (1765-1837), wrote a “Grammar” and “Dictionary of the Sanskrit Language;” “M. de Chézy,” deh shāˈzeˌ (1773-1832), was a learned and popular scholar, for whom a chair of Sanskrit was founded in Paris in 1815. W. Humboldt and A. Schlegel were among his pupils. He translated much and wrote a Sanskrit grammar; “Schlegel,” schlāˈgel (1767-1845) is said to be the first German who mastered Sanskrit, on which he wrote much; “Bopp” (1791-1867) founded the science of comparative philology. His greatest work was a “Comparative Grammar of the Sanskrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Old Sclavonian, Gothic and German languages.” This work was translated into English by Prof. Wilson (1786-1860), who, while a surgeon in Bengal, had learned Sanskrit. Returning to England, he was made professor of Sanskrit at Oxford; “Grimm” (1785-1863), the great German philologist furthered the study by the discovery of the law by which words change their forms; “Weber” (1825-⸺), a pupil of Bopp’s, contributed a large number of translations and papers on oriental lore; “Kuhn,” kōōn (1812-⸺), also Bopp’s pupil, is called the founder of comparative Indo-Germanic mythology; for many years he has been connected as editor, with two German periodicals devoted to comparative philology; “Steinthal,” stīnˈtäl (1823-⸺), a Jew, is the author of several volumes on the classification of languages, primitive speech, the development of speech, and similar subjects; “Eichhoff,” āˈkofˌ (1799-⸺), a Frenchman, wrote a “Comparison of the Languages of Europe with those of India;” “Renan,” reh-nonˈ (1823-⸺), the French critic and author, has written a “History of the Semetic Languages,” and a treatise on the “Origin of Languages;” “Chavée,” shäˌvāˈ (1815-1877), a Belgian, has attempted to disprove the unity of the human race, in an “Essay on the Knowledge of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, French and Russian Words;” “Müller,” müˈler (1823-⸺), the present German-English authority on language, has written several volumes, and Prof. “Whitney” (1827-⸺), at present professor of Sanskrit, in Yale College, is the author of works on “Language and the Study of Language,” the “Life and Growth of Language,” etc.
P. 17.—“Farrar.” Canon of Westminster, chaplain in ordinary to the Queen, and the author of several valuable works.
“Sporadic,” spo-rădˈic. Occurring singly or apart from other things of the same kind.
“Agglutinative,” ag-glūˈti-na-tive. Formed by agglutinations, as the union of several words into one compound vocable is called.
“Alloplylian,” ăl-lo-plylˈi-an.
P. 20.—“Estrays,” strays. Adopted from a law term referring to a lost animal.
P. 21.—“Humboldt.” (1767-1835.) A brother of the famous scholar and traveler of this name. He wrote much on language and comparative philology, his most ambitious work being a “Memoir on Comparative Linguistics.”
P. 26.—“Du Ponceau,” du-ponˈsō. (1760-1844.) His contributions to philology consisted of several treatises on language and a “Memoir oh the Indian Languages of North America.”
“Charlevoix,” sharˈlĕh-vwäˌ. (1682-1761.) A Jesuit missionary to America.
P. 29.—“Onomatopoetic,” ŏnˈo-mătˌo-po-ëtˌic. Words found to resemble the thing signified. The term is derived from two Greek words signifying to make a name.
P. 31.—“Heyse,” hēˈzeh. (1797-1855.) An able German scholar who wrote a valuable work on philology.
P. 33.—“Bleek,” (1827-1875.) He spent many years in Africa, where he collected materials for a “Vocabulary of the Mozambique Language,” and a “Grammar of South Africa.” He assisted in writing a “Handbook of African, Australian, and Polynesian Philology.”
“Schleicher,” shlīˈker. (1821-1869.) A German linguist, said to rank next to Bopp in comparative philology.
“Vinet,” ve-naˈ. (1797-1847.) A Swiss theologian and author, particularly well versed in the French language and literature.
P. 42.—“Ultimo,” etc. These expressions from the Latin have all English equivalents. Ultimo, on the last; instanter, at once; proximo, on the next; cultus, culture; onus, burden; magnum opus, a great work; status, state, standing; curriculum, course, particularly a course of study; ultimatum, the end, a final condition; maximum, the greatest; minimum, the least.
“Distingué,” etc. For these French terms we have equally expressive English words. Distingué, distinguished; blasé, surfeited, incapable of pleasure; à merveille, marvelously; beau monde, the fashionable world; coup d’œil, a quick glance; demi monde, loose livers; haut ton, aristocracy, the high toned; coiffée à ravir, charmingly dressed; debutante, a lady making her first appearance.
P. 47.—“Tooke.” (1736-1812.) A philologist and politician whose fame rests on one valuable work on language.
P. 49.—“De Quincy,” de kwĭnˈsĭ. (1785-1859.) His contributions to the art of speech consist of several valuable essays and literary criticisms.
P. 62.—“Kames,” kāmz. (1696-1782.) The most famous of all the various works of this eminent Scotch jurist was a treatise on the “Elements of Criticism.”
P. 63.—“Alford.” (1810-1871.). We are indebted to this English clergyman for a “Plea for the Queen’s English,” a very valuable book.
P. 75.—“Quintilian,” kwĭn-tĭlˈi-an. A Roman critic and rhetorician of the first century, the author of the “most complete and methodical treatise on rhetoric that has come down to us from antiquity.”
P. 81.—“Blair.” (1718-1800.) A Scottish clergyman whose “Lectures on Rhetoric” were famous in his own day, and until recently were used in a text-book in the United States.
P. 148.—“Aphæresis,” a-phérˈe-sis; “Syncope,” synˈcō-pe; “Apocope,” a-pŏcˈo-pe; “Prosthesis,” prŏsˈthe-sĭs; “Paragoge,” părˌa-gōˈge; “Synæresis,” syn-ĕrˈe-sis; “Diæresis,” dĭ-erˈe-sis; “Tmesis,” mēˈsis.
P. 149.—“Pleonasm,” plēˈo-nasm. “Enallage,” e-nălˈla-je; “Hyperbaton,” hy-pĕrˈba-tŏn.
P. 153.—“Theremin,” teˈreh-meenˌ. (1783-1846.) A German theologian and author.
P. 156.—“Paiezade,” pā-ē-dzäˈdĕ.
“Ruggiero,” rood-jāˈro. A young Saracen knight in Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso.” He possessed a winged horse or hĭpˈpo-griff.
“Astolpho,” as-tŏlˈpho. Another character of the same work, a cousin of Orlando’s. He possessed a magic lance and a horn which routed armies with a blast.
“Frerabras,” frĕ-räˈbräs.
P. 163.—“Alliteration,” al-lĭt-er-āˈtion; “Iambic,” so called from the Greek iambus, the name of a foot consisting of a short and long syllable.
“Trochaic,” tro-chaˈic. From trochee (troˈkee), the name of the foot which forms the verse. The word trochee is derived from the Greek word for running.
P. 164.—“Anapæstic,” anˌa-pestˈic. Composed of anapests. Anapest means struck back, being so named because the foot is a reversed dactyl.
“Dactylic,” dac-tylˈic. Of dactyls. A word derived from the Greek for finger, and applied to this peculiar foot because of the similarity of the arrangement to that of the joints of the finger.
P. 187.—“Synecdoche,” syn-ĕcˈdo-che; “Anthropopathy,” ănˌthro-pŏpˈa-thy.
P. 188.—“Trope,” trōpe; “Metonymy,” me-tŏnˈy-my.
P. 192.—“Apostrophe,” a-posˈtro-phe; “Hyperbole,” hy-pĕrˈbo-le.
P. 194.—“Oxymoron,” ŏx-y-mōˈron.
P. 198.—“Ploce,” plōˈce; “Anaphora,” a-năphˈo-ra; “Epistrophe,” e-pĭsˈtro-phe; “Antistrophe,” an-tĭsˈtro-phe; “Anadiplosis,” an-a-di-plōˈsîs.
P. 203.—“Incongruentia,” in-conˈgrū-enˌshe-a.
P. 205.—“Innuendo,” ĭn-nu-ĕnˈdo.