CHAPTER IX.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF ORTHOGRAPHY.
[§ 247]. Orthoepy determines the correct pronunciation of words, and deals with a language as it is spoken; orthography determines the correct spelling of words, and deals with a language as it is written. The term is derived from the Greek words orthos (upright), and graphé, or grafæ (writing). Orthography is less essential to language than orthoepy; since all languages are spoken, whilst but a few languages are written. Orthography presupposes orthoepy. Orthography addresses itself to the eye, orthoepy to the ear. Orthoepy deals with the articulate sounds that constitute syllables and words; orthography treats of the signs by which such articulate sounds are expressed in writing. A letter is the sign of an articulate (and, in the case of h, of an inarticulate) sound.
A full and perfect system of orthography consists in two things:—1. The possession of a sufficient and consistent alphabet. 2. The right application of such an alphabet. This position may be illustrated more fully.
[§ 248]. First, in respect to a full and perfect alphabet. Let there be in a certain language, simple single articulate sounds, to the number of forty, whilst the simple single signs, or letters, expressive of them, amount to no more than thirty. In this case the alphabet is insufficient. It is not full enough: since ten of the simple single articulate sounds have no corresponding signs whereby they may be expressed. In our own language, the sounds (amongst others) of th in thin, and of th in thine, are simple and single, whilst there is no sign equally simple and single to spell them with.
An alphabet, however, may be sufficient, and yet imperfect. It may err on the score of inconsistency. Let there be in a
given language two simple single sounds, for instance, the p in pate, and the f in fate. Let these sounds stand in a given relation to each other. Let a given sign, for instance,
פ
(as is actually the case in Hebrew), stand for the p in pate; and let a second sign be required for the f in fate. Concerning the nature of this latter sign, two views may be taken. One framer of the alphabet, perceiving that the two sounds are mere modifications of each other, may argue that no new sign (or letter) is at all necessary, but that the sound of f in fate may be expressed by a mere modification of the sign (or letter)
פ
, and may be written thus
פּ
, or thus
פ
´ or
פ
', &c.; upon the principle that, like sounds should be expressed by like signs. The other framer of the alphabet, contemplating the difference between the two sounds, rather than the likeness, may propose, not a mere modification of the sign
פ
, but a letter altogether new, such as f, or φ, &c., upon the principle that sounds of a given degree of dissimilitude should be expressed by signs of a different degree of dissimilitude.
Hitherto the expression of the sounds in point is a matter of convenience only. No question has been raised as to its consistency or inconsistency. This begins under conditions like the following:—Let there be in the language in point the sounds of the t in tin, and of the th in thin; which (it may be remembered) are precisely in the same relation to each other as the p in pate and the f in fate. Let each of these sounds have a sign (or letter) expressive of it. Upon the nature of these signs, or letters, will depend the nature of the sign or letter required for the f in fate. If the letter expressing the th in thin be a mere modification of the letter expressing the t in tin, then must the letter expressive of the f in fate be a mere modification of the letter expressing the p in pate, and vice versâ. If this be not the case, the alphabet is inconsistent.
In the English alphabet we have (amongst others) the following inconsistency:—The sound of the f in fate, in a certain relation to the sound of the p in pate, is expressed by a totally distinct sign; whereas, the sound of the th in thin (similarly related to the t in tin) is expressed by no new sign, but by a mere modification of t; viz., th.
A third element in the faultiness of an alphabet is the fault of erroneous representation. The best illustration of this we get from the Hebrew alphabet, where the sounds of
ת
and
ט
, mere varieties of each other, are represented by distinct and dissimilar signs, whilst
ת
and
תּ
, sounds specifically distinct, are expressed by a mere modification of the same sign, or letter.
[§ 249]. The right application of an alphabet.—An alphabet may be both sufficient and consistent, accurate in its representation of the alliances between articulate sounds, and in nowise redundant; and yet, withal, it may be so wrongly applied as to be defective. Of defect in the use or application of the letters of an alphabet, the three main causes are the following:—
1. Unsteadiness in the power of letters.—Of this there are two kinds. In the first, there is one sound with two (or more) ways of expressing it. Such is the sound of the letter f in English. In words of Anglo-Saxon origin it is spelt with a single simple sign, as in fill; whilst in Greek words it is denoted by a combination, as in Philip. The reverse of this takes place with the letter g; here a single sign has a double power; in gibbet it is sounded as j, and in gibberish as g in got.
2. The aim at secondary objects.—The natural aim of orthography, of spelling, or of writing (for the three terms mean the same thing), is to express the sounds of a language. Syllables and words it takes as they meet the ear, it translates them by appropriate signs, and so paints them, as it were, to the eye. That this is the natural and primary object is self-evident; but beyond this natural and primary object there is, with the orthographical systems of most languages, a secondary one, viz. the attempt to combine with the representation of the sound of a given word the representation of its history and origin.
The sound of the c, in city, is the sound that we naturally spell with the letter s, and if the expression of this sound was the only object of our orthographists, the word would be spelt accordingly (sity). The following facts, however, traverse
this simple view of the matter. The word is a derived word; it is transplanted into our own language from the Latin, where it is spelt with a c (civitas); and to change this c into s conceals the origin and history of the word. For this reason the c is retained, although, as far as the mere expression of sounds (the primary object in orthography) is concerned, the letter is a superfluity. In cases like the one adduced the orthography is bent to a secondary end, and is traversed by the etymology.
3. Obsoleteness.—It is very evident that modes of spelling which at one time may have been correct, may, by a change of pronunciation, become incorrect; so that orthography becomes obsolete whenever there takes place a change of speech without a correspondent change of spelling.
[§ 250]. Difference between the change of a sound and the original false expression of a sound.—The letter u is a simple single sign. The sound of ow, in town, is a diphthongal, or a double, sound. Now, in Anglo-Saxon, the modern word town is spelt tún. In this case one of two things must have taken place: either the word must have changed its sound, or the Anglo-Saxons must have expressed it falsely and improperly.
[§ 251]. From the foregoing sections we arrive at the theory of a full and perfect alphabet and orthography, of which a few (amongst many others) of the chief conditions are as follow:—
1. That for every simple single sound, incapable of being represented by a combination of letters, there be a simple single sign.
2. That sounds within a determined degree of likeness be represented by signs within a determined degree of likeness; whilst sounds beyond a certain degree of likeness be represented by distinct and different signs, and that uniformly.
3. That no sound have more than one sign to express it.
4. That no sign express more than one sound.
5. That the primary aim of orthography be to express the sounds of words, and not their histories.
6. That changes of speech be followed by corresponding changes of spelling.
With these principles in our mind we may measure the imperfections of our own and of other alphabets.
[§ 252]. Previous to considering the sufficiency or insufficiency of the English alphabet, it is necessary to enumerate the elementary articulate sounds of the language. The enumeration of these is, strictly speaking, a point, not of orthography, but of orthoepy. It is, however, so intimately connected with the former that the present chapter seems its proper place. The vowels belonging to the English language are the twelve following:—
|
|
For the relations of these see Chapter II.
The diphthongal sounds are four.
| 1. | That of | ou | in | house. |
| 2. | — | ew | — | new. |
| 3. | — | oi | — | oil. |
| 4. | — | i | — | bite. |
This last sound being most incorrectly expressed by the single letter i.
The consonantal sounds are, 1. the two semivowels; 2. the four liquids; 3. fourteen out of the sixteen mutes; 4. ch in chest, and j in jest, compound sibilants; 5. ng, as in king; 6. the aspirate h. In all, twenty-four.
Some writers would add to these the additional sound of the é fermé of the French; believing that the vowel in words like their and vein has a different sound from the vowel in words like there and vain. For my own part I cannot detect such a difference either in my own speech or that of my neighbours; although I am far from denying that in certain dialects of our language such may have been the case. The following is an extract from the Danish grammar for Englishmen, by Professor Rask, whose eye, in the matter in question, seems to have misled his ear: "The é fermé, or close é, is very frequent in Danish, but scarcely perceptible in English; unless in such words as, their, vein, veil, which appear to sound a little different from there, vain, vale."
The vowels being twelve, the diphthongs four, and the consonantal sounds twenty-four, we have altogether as many as forty sounds, some being so closely allied to each other as to be mere modifications, and others being combinations rather than simple sounds; all, however, agreeing in requiring to be expressed by letters or by combinations of letters, and to be distinguished from each other.
Now, although every sound specifically distinct should be expressed by a distinct sign, it does not follow that mere modifications or varieties (especially if they be within certain limits) should be so expressed. In the Greek language sounds as like as the o in not and the o in note are expressed by signs as unlike as ο and ω; that is, by the letters omicron and omega respectively; and so it is with ε and η. All that can be said in this case is, that it is the character of the Greek alphabet to represent a difference which the English neglects.
With respect to the diphthongs it is incorrect, uncommon, and inconvenient to represent them by simple single signs, rather than by combinations. In the English language the sounds
of ou, ew, and oi, are properly spelt with two letters. Not so, however, of i in bite.
The compound sibilants may also be expressed not by single signs, but by the combinations tsh and dzh; although, for certain reasons, such a mode of spelling is inconvenient. With these views we may appreciate,
I. The insufficiency of the English alphabet.
A. In respect to the vowels.—Notwithstanding the fact that the sounds of the a in father, fate, and fat, and of the o and the aw in note, not, and bawl, are modifications of a and o respectively, we have still six vowel sounds specifically distinct, for which (y being a consonant rather than a vowel) we have but five signs. The u in duck, specifically distinct from the u in bull, has no specifically distinct sign to represent it.
B. In respect to the consonants.—The th in thin, the th in thine, the sh in shine, the z in azure, and the ng in king, five sounds specifically distinct, and five sounds perfectly simple require corresponding signs, which they have not.
II. Its inconsistency.—The f in fan, and the v in van sounds in a certain degree of relationship to p and b, are expressed by signs as unlike as f is unlike p, and as v is unlike b. The sound of the th in thin, the th in thine, the sh in shine, similarly related to t, d, and s, are expressed by signs as like t, d, and s, respectively, as th and sh.
The compound sibilant sound of j in jest is spelt with the single sign j, whilst the compound sibilant sound in chest is spelt with the combination ch.
III. Erroneousness.—The sound of the ee in feet is considered the long (independent) sound of the e in bed; whereas it is the long (independent) sound of the i in pit.
The i in bite is considered as the long (independent) sound of the i in pit; whereas it is a diphthongal sound.
The u in duck is looked upon as a modification of the u in bull; whereas it is a specifically distinct sound.
The ou in house and the oi in oil are looked upon as the compounds of o and i and of o and u respectively; whereas the latter element of them is not i and u, but y and w.
The th in thin and the th in thine are dealt with as one
and the same sound; whereas they are sounds specifically distinct.
The ch in chest is dealt with as a modification of c (either with the power of k or of s); whereas its elements are t and sh.
IV. Redundancy.—As far as the representation of sounds is concerned the letter c is superfluous. In words like citizen it may be replaced by s; in words like cat by k. In ch, as in chest, it has no proper place. In ch, as in mechanical, it may be replaced by k.
Q is superfluous, cw or kw being its equivalent.
X also is superfluous, ks, gz, or z, being equivalent to it.
The diphthongal forms æ and œ, as in Æneas and Crœsus, except in the way of etymology, are superfluous and redundant.
V. Unsteadiness.—Here we have (amongst many other examples), 1. The consonant c with the double power of s and k; 2. g with its sound in gun and also with its sound in gin; 3. x with its sounds in Alexander, apoplexy, Xenophon.
In the foregoing examples a single sign has a double power; in the words Philip and filip, &c., a single sound has a double sign.
In respect to the degree wherein the English orthography is made subservient to etymology, it is sufficient to repeat the statement that the c, æ, and œ are retained in the alphabet for etymological purposes only.
The defects noticed in the preceding sections are absolute defects, and would exist, as they do at present, were there no language in the world except the English. This is not the case with those that are now about to be noticed; for them, indeed, the word defect is somewhat too strong a term. They may more properly be termed inconveniences.
Compared with the languages of the rest of the world the use of many letters in the English alphabet is singular. The letter i (when long or independent) is, with the exception of England, generally sounded as ee. With Englishmen it has a diphthongal power. The inconvenience of this is the necessity that it imposes upon us, in studying foreign languages, of
unlearning the sound which we give it in our own, and of learning the sound which it bears in the language studied. So it is (amongst many others) with the letter j. In English this has the sound of dzh, in French of zh, and in German of y. From singularity in the use of letters arises inconvenience in the study of foreign tongues.
In using j as dzh there is a second objection. It is not only inconvenient, but it is theoretically incorrect. The letter j was originally a modification of the vowel i. The Germans, who used it as the semivowel y, have perverted it from its original power less than the English have done, who sound it dzh.
With these views we may appreciate, of the English alphabet and orthography,
I). Its convenience or inconvenience in respect to learning foreign tongues.—The sound given to the a in fate is singular. Other nations sound it as a in father.
The sound given to the e, long (or independent), is singular. Other nations sound it either as a in fate, or as é fermé.
The sound given to the i in bite is singular. Other nations sound it as ee in feet.
The sound given to the oo in fool is singular. Other nations sound it as the o in note, or as the ó chiuso.
The sound given to the u in duck is singular. Other nations sound it as the u in bull.
The sound given to the ou in house is singular. Other nations, more correctly, represent it by au or aw.
The sound given to the w in wet is somewhat singular, but is also correct and convenient. With many nations it is not found at all, whilst with those where it occurs it has the sound (there or thereabouts) of v.
The sound given to y is somewhat singular. In Danish it has a vowel power. In German the semivowel sound is spelt with j.
The sound given to z is not the sound which it has in German and Italian; but its power in English is convenient and correct.
The sound given to ch in chest is singular. In other languages it has generally a guttural sound; in French that of
sh. The English usage is more correct than the French, but less correct than the German.
The sound given to j (as said before) is singular.
II.) The historical propriety of certain letters.—The use of i with a diphthongal power is not only singular and inconvenient, but also historically incorrect. The Greek iota, from whence it originates, has the sound of i and ee, as in pit and feet.
The y, sounded as in yet, is historically incorrect. It grew out of the Greek υ, a vowel, and no semivowel. The Danes still use it as such, that is, with the power of the German ü.
The use of j for dzh is historically incorrect.
The use of c for k in words derived from the Greek, as mechanical, ascetic, &c., is historically incorrect. The form c is the representative of γ and σ and not of the Greek kappa.
In remodelling alphabets the question of historical propriety should be recognized. Other reasons for the use of a particular letter in a particular sense being equal, the historical propriety should decide the question. The above examples are illustrative, not exhaustive.
[§ 253]. On certain conventional modes of spelling.—In the Greek language the sounds of o in not and of o in note (although allied) are expressed by the unlike signs or letters ο and ω, respectively. In most other languages the difference between the sounds is considered too slight to require for its expression signs so distinct and dissimilar. In some languages the difference is neglected altogether. In many, however, it is expressed, and that by some modification of the original letter.
Let the sign (ˉ) denote that the vowel over which it stands is long, or independent, whilst the sign (˘) indicates shortness, or dependence. In such a case, instead of writing not and nωt, like the Greeks, we may write nŏt and nōt, the sign serving for a fresh letter. Herein the expression of the nature of the sound is natural, because the natural use of (ˉ) and (˘) is to express length or shortness, dependence or independence. Now, supposing the broad sound of o
to be already represented, it is very evident that, of the other two sounds of o, the one must be long (independent), and the other short (dependent); and as it is only necessary to express one of these conditions, we may, if we choose, use the sign (ˉ) alone; its presence denoting length, and its absence shortness (independence or dependence).
As signs of this kind, one mark is as good as another; and instead of (ˉ) we may, if we choose, substitute such a mark as (´) (and write nót=nōt=nωt=nōte); provided only that the sign (´) expresses no other condition or affection of a sound. This use of the mark (´), viz. as a sign that the vowel over which it is placed is long (independent), is common in many languages. But is this use of (´) natural? For a reason that the reader has anticipated, it is not natural, but conventional. It is used elsewhere not as the sign of quantity, but as the sign of accent; consequently, being placed over a letter, and being interpreted according to its natural meaning, it gives the idea, not that the syllable is long, but that it is emphatic or accented. Its use as a sign of quantity is an orthographical expedient, or a conventional mode of spelling.
The English language abounds in orthographical expedients; the mode of expressing the quantity of the vowels being particularly numerous. To begin with these:
The reduplication of a vowel where there is but one syllable (as in feet, cool), is an orthographical expedient. It merely means that the syllable is long (or independent).
The juxta-position of two different vowels, where there is but one syllable (as in plain, moan), is an orthographical expedient. It generally means the same as the reduplication of a vowel, i.e., that the syllable is long (independent).
The addition of the e mute, as in plane, whale (whatever may have been its origin), is, at present, but an orthographical expedient. It denotes the lengthening of the syllable.
The reduplication of the consonant after a vowel, as in spotted, torrent, is in most cases but an orthographical expedient. It merely denotes that the preceding vowel is short (dependent).
The use of ph for f in Philip, is an orthographical expedient, founded upon etymological reasons.
The use of th for the simple sound of the first consonant in thin and thine, is an orthographical expedient. The combination must be dealt with as a single letter.
X, however, and q are not orthographical expedients. They are orthographical compendiums.
The above instances have been adduced as illustrations only. Further details will be found hereafter. For many of them we can give a reason (for instance, for the reduplication of a consonant to express the shortness of the preceding vowel), and of many of them we can give an historical account (see Chapter X.).
[§ 254]. The mischief of orthographical expedients is this:—When a sign, or letter, is used in a conventional, it precludes us from using it (at least without further explanation) in its natural sense: e.g., the double o in mood constitutes but one syllable. If in a foreign language we had, immediately succeeding each other, first the syllable mo, and next the syllable od, we should have to spell it mo-od, or möod or mo-ỏd, &c. Again, it is only by our knowledge of the language that the th in nuthook, is not pronounced like the th in burthen. In the languages of India the true sound of t + h is common. This, however, we cannot spell naturally because the combination th conveys to us another notion. Hence such combinations as thh, or t‛, &c., in writing Hindoo words.
A second mischief of orthographical conventionalities, is the wrong notions that they engender, the eye misleading the ear. That th is really t + h, no one would have believed had it not been for the spelling.
[§ 255]. The present section is the partial application of the preceding observations. It is a running commentary upon the orthographical part of Dr. Johnson's Grammar. Presuming a knowledge of the detail of the English orthography, it attempts an explanation of some of its leading characters. Many of these it possesses in common with other tongues. Several are peculiar to itself.
"A, sounded as aw, or as a modification of o."—A, as in father, and o, as in note (as may be seen in p. [150]), form the extremities of the vowel system. Notwithstanding this, the two sounds often interchange. The orthographical systems of most languages bear witness to this. In French the au in autel has the sound of o; in Danish aa=o (baade being pronounced bohde); in Swedish å has the same power. In Old English the forms hond, strond, &c., occur, instead of hand, strand, &c. In Anglo-Saxon, brád, stán, &c., correspond to the English forms broad, stone. I am not able to say whether a changes oftenest to o, or o to a. The form hond is older than the form hand. In the word salt, however, the a was pronounced as the a in fat before it was pronounced (as at present) like the o in not. If this were not the case it would never have been spelt with an a. In the words launch and haunch, by some called lanch, hanch, and by others lawnch, hawnch, we find a present tendency to interchange these sounds.
The change from a to o takes place most especially before the liquid l, wall, call, fall. When the liquid l is followed by another consonant, it (viz. l) is generally sunk in pronunciation, falcon, salmon, &c., pronounced faucon, sammon, or saumon. The reason of this lies in the following fact, viz., that syllables wherein there are, at the same time, two final consonants and a long vowel, have a tendency to become shortened by one of two processes, viz., either by ejecting one of the consonants, or by shortening the vowel. That the l in falcon is affected not by the change of a to o, but by the change of a short vowel to a long, or of a slender one to a broad one, is shown in the tendency which the common people have to say hode for hold, as well as by the Scotch form gowd for gold. This fact bears upon the difficult problem in the Greek (and in other languages), viz., whether the lengthening of the vowel in words like ὀδοὺς (compared with ὀδόντος), is the cause or the effect of the rejection of the consonant.
"E is long, as in scene; or short, as in cellar."'—Johnson. It has been stated before that the (so-called) long sound of e is non-existent, and the e in scene, is the (so-called) long sound of the i in pit.
For the power of e in since and once, see the remarks on s.
For the power of e in hedge and oblige, see the remarks on g.
The power of e mute in words like cane, bane, tune, robe, pope, fire, cure, tube, has already been noticed. It serves to denote the length of the preceding vowel. For this purpose it is retained; but it was not for this purpose that it was invented. Originally it expressed a sound, and it is only by a change of language that it has come, as it were by accident, to be an orthographical expedient.
Let a word consist of two syllables. Let the latter end in a vowel. Let there be between the vowel of the first and the vowel of the second syllable, one consonant and no more, e. g., namæ. Let the consonant belong to the root of the word; and let the first syllable of the word be the essential and the radical part of it. Let this same syllable (as the essential and radical part of it) have an accent. The chances are that, under such circumstances, the vowel of the first syllable will be long (independent), just as the chances are that a vowel followed by two consonants will be short. Let a change in language affect the final vowel, so that a word which was originally pronounced nama, should become, first, namë, and afterwards nām, naim, or næm; the vowel being sounded as the a in fate. Let the final e, although lost in pronunciation, be retained in the spelling. The chances are that, the above conditions being given, such an e (final and mute) shall, whenever it occurs, occur at the end of a long syllable. The next process is for a succeeding generation to mistake a coincidence for a sign, and to imagine that an e mute expresses the length of syllable.
I consider this to be the key to the use of the e mute in all words where it is preceded by one consonant only.
From the circumstance that the French and the English are the only nations wherein the e mute is part and parcel of the orthography, it has been hastily imagined that the employment of it is to be attributed to the Norman Conquest. The truth, however, is, that we find it equally in words of Saxon and of Norman origin.
The fact that, in certain words, an e mute is preceded by
two consonants and by a short vowel, does not militate against the view given above.
"I has a sound, long, as in fine, and short, as in fin. That is eminently observable in i, which may be likewise remarked in other letters, that the short sound is not the long sound contracted, but a sound wholly different."—Johnson. This extract has been made in order to add the authority of Johnson to the statement so often repeated already; viz., that the i in bite is not the long sound of the i in bit.
For the sound of u in guest, prorogue, guard, see the remarks on g.
As a vowel, y is wholly superfluous. It is a current remark that more words end in y (fortify, pretty) than in any other letter. This is true only in respect to their spelling. As a matter of speech, the y final has always the sound either of the ee in feet, or of the i in bite. Such is the case with the words fortify and pretty, quoted above. For some reason or other, the vowel e is never, in English, written at the end of words, unless when it is mute; whilst i is never written at all. Instead of cri, we write cry, &c. This is a peculiarity of our orthography, for which I have no satisfactory reason. It may be, that with words ending in e, y is written for the sake of showing that the vowel is not mute, but sounded. Again, the adjectives ending in y as any, and the adverbs in ly, as manly, in the older stages of our language ended, not in y, but in ig (manlig, ænig); so that the present y, in such words, may be less the equivalent of i than the compendium of ig. I venture this indication with no particular confidence.
The b in debtor, subtile, doubt, agrees with the b in lamb, limb, dumb, thumb, womb, in being mute. It differs, however, in another respect. The words debtor, subtle, doubt, are of classical, the words lamb, limb, dumb, &c., are of Saxon, origin. In debtor, &c., the b was, undoubtedly, at one time, pronounced, since it belonged to a different syllable; debitor, subtilis, dubito, being the original forms. I am far from being certain that with the other words, lamb, &c., this was the case. With them the b belonged (if it belonged to the word at all) to the same syllable as the m. I think,
however, that instead of this being the case, the b, in speech, never made a part of the word at all; that it belongs now, and that it always belonged, to the written language only; and that it was inserted in the spelling upon what may be called the principle of imitation. For a further illustration of this, see the remarks on the word could.
"Ch has a sound which is analysed into tsh, as church, chin, crutch. C might be omitted in the language without loss, since one of its sounds might be supplied by s, and the other by k, but that it preserves to the eye the etymology of words, as face from facies, captive from captivus"—Johnson.
Before a, o, u (that is, before a full vowel), c is sounded as k; before e, i, and y (that is, before a small vowel), it has the power of s. This change of sound according to the nature of the vowel following, is so far from being the peculiarity of the English, that it is common in all languages; except that sometimes c, instead of becoming s, becomes ts, tsh, ksh, in other words, some other sibilant; but always a sibilant. A reference to p. [153] will explain this change. At a certain time, k (written c, as is the case in Latin) becomes changed by the vowel following into ksh, and from thence into s, ts, or tsh. That the syllables cit, cyt, cet, were at one time pronounced kit, kyt, ket, we believe: 1. from the circumstance that if it were not so, they would have been spelt with an s; 2. from the comparison of the Greek and Latin languages, where the words cete, circus, cystis, Latin, are κητὴ, κίρκος, κύστις, Greek.
In the words mechanical, choler, &c., derived from the Greek, it must not be imagined that the c represents the Greek kappa or κ. The combination c + h is to be dealt with as a single letter. Thus it was that the Romans, who had in their language neither the sound of χ, nor the sign κ, rendered the Greek chi (χ), just as by th they rendered θ, and by ph, φ.
The faulty representation of the Greek χ has given rise to a faulty representation of the Greek κ, as in ascetic, from ἀσκήτικος.
"C, according to the English orthography, never ends a
word; therefore we write stick, block, which were originally sticke, blocke. In such words c is now mute."—Johnson. Just as there was a prejudice against i or e ending a word there seems to have been one in the case of c. In the word Frederick there are three modes of spelling: 1. Frederic; 2. Frederik; 3. Frederick. Of these three it is the last only that seems, to an Englishman, natural. The form Frederic seems exceptionable, because the last letter is c, whilst Frederik is objected to because k comes in immediate contact with the short vowel.
Now the reason against c ending a word seems this. From what has been remarked above, c seems, in and of itself, to have no power at all. Whether it shall be sounded as k or as s seems undetermined, except by the nature of the vowel following. If the vowel following be small, c=s, if full, c=k. But c followed by nothing is equivocal and ambiguous. Now c final is c followed by nothing; and therefore c equivocal, ambiguous, indefinite, undetermined. This is the reason why c is never final. Let there be such words as sticke and blocke. Let the k be taken away. The words remain stice, bloce. The k being taken away, there is a danger of calling them stise, blose.
A verbal exception being taken, the statement of Dr. Johnson, that in words like stick and block the c is mute, is objectionable. The mute letter is not so much the c as the k.
"G at the end of a word is always hard, as ring, sing."—Johnson. A verbal exception may be taken here. Ng, is not a combination of the sounds of n+g, but the representation of a simple single sound; so that, as in the case of th and sh, the two letters must be dealt with as a single one.
"G before n is mute, as gnash, sign, foreign."—Johnson. The three words quoted above are not in the same predicament. In words like gnash the g has been silently dropped on the score of euphony (see remarks on k); in sign and foreign the g has not been dropped, but changed. It has taken the allied sound of the semivowel y, and so, with the preceding vowel, constitutes a diphthong.
Before a, o, u (full vowels), g has the sound, as in gay, go, gun: before e, i, y, that of gem, giant.
At the end of a word (that is, followed by nothing at all), or followed by a consonant, it has the same sound that it has before a, o, u—agog, grand. This shows that such is its natural sound. In hedge and oblige the e mute serves to show that the g is to be pronounced as j.
Let there be the word rŏg. Let the vowel be lengthened. Let this lengthening be expressed by the addition of e mute, roge. There is now a risk of the word being called roje. This is avoided by inserting u, as in prorogue. Why, however, is it that the u runs no chance of being pronounced, and the word of being sounded prorogwé? The reason for this lies in three facts. 1. The affinities between the sounds of ga and ka. 2. The fact that qu is merely kw. 3. The fact that in qu, followed by another vowel, as in quoit (pronounced koyt), antique, &c., the u is altogether omitted in pronunciation. In other words, the analogy of qu is extended to gu.
For the varied sounds of gh in plough, tough, enough (enow), through, we must remember that the original sound of gh was a hard guttural, as is at present the case in Scotland, and between g, h, f, v, w, there are frequent interchanges.
"H is a note of aspiration."—It is under the notion that th, ph, sh, as in thin, thine, Philip, shine, are aspirated sounds, that h is admitted in the spelling. As has been repeatedly stated, th, ph, sh are to be treated as single signs or letters.
"J, consonant, sounds uniformly like the soft g (i.e., as in gem), and is, therefore, a letter useless, except in etymology, as ejaculation, jester, jocund, juice."—Johnson. It may be added that it never occurs in words of Saxon origin, and that in the single word Allelujah it has the sound of y, as in the German.
K never comes before a, o, u, or before a consonant. It is used before e, i, y, where c would, according to the English analogy, be liable to be sounded as s; as in kept, king, skirt. These words, if written cept, cing, scirt, would run the risk of being sounded sept, sing, sirt. Broadly speaking, k is never
used except where c would be inconvenient. The reason of this lies in the fact of there being no such letter as k in the Latin language. Hence arose in the eyes of the etymologist the propriety of retaining, in all words derived from the Latin (crown, concave, concupiscence, &c.), the letter c, to the exclusion of k. Besides this, the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, being taken from the Roman, excluded k, so that c was written even before the small vowels, a, e, i, y; as cyning, or cining, a king. C then supplants k upon etymological grounds only. In the languages derived from the Latin this dislike to the use of k leads to several orthographical inconveniences. As the tendency of c, before e, i, y, to be sounded as s (or as a sound allied to s), is the same in those languages as in others; and as in those languages, as in others, there frequently occur such sounds as kit, ket, kin, &c., a difficulty arises as to the spelling. If spelt cit, cet, &c., there is the risk of their being sounded sit, set. To remedy this, an h is interposed—chit, chet, &c. This, however, only substitutes one difficulty for another, since ch is, in all probability, already used with a different sound, e.g., that of sh, as in French, or that of k guttural, as in German. The Spanish orthography is thus hampered. Unwilling to spell the word chimera (pronounced kimera) with a k; unable to spell it with either c or ch, it writes the word quimæra. This distaste for k is an orthographical prejudice. Even in the way of etymology it is but partially advantageous, since in the other Gothic languages, where the alphabet is less rigidly Latin, the words that in English are spelt with a c, are there written with k,—kam, German; komme, Danish; skrapa, Swedish;=came, come, scrape.
The use of k final, as in stick, &c., has been noticed in p. [194].
"Skeptic, for so it should be written, not sceptic."—Johnson. Quoted for the sake of adding authority to the statement made in p. [193], viz., that the Greek kappa is to be represented not by c, but by k.
"K is never doubled, but c is used before it to shorten the vowel by a double consonant, as cŏckle, pĭckle."—Johnson.
This is referable to the statement that k is never used where c is admissible.
"K is used before n, knell, knot, but totally loses its sound."—Johnson. This, however, is not the ease in the allied languages; in German and Danish, in words like knecht, knive, the k is sounded. This teaches us that such was once the case in English. Hence we learn that in the words knife, knight (and also in gnaw, gnash), we have an antiquated or obsolete orthography.
For the ejection of the sound of l in calf, salmon, falcon, &c. see under a. For the l in could, see that word.
"N is sometimes mute after m, as damn, condemn, hymn."—Johnson. In all these words the n originally belonged to a succeeding syllable, dam-no, condem-no, hym-nus.
Q, accurately speaking, is neither a letter, nor an abbreviation. It is always followed by u, as queen, quilt, and the two letters qu must be looked upon as a single sign, equivalent to (but scarcely an abbreviation) of kw. Q is not=k alone. The combination qu, is never sounded koo. Neither is kw. If it were so, there would be in the word queen (currently speaking) three sounds of u, viz., two belonging to q (=kw), and one belonging to u itself. W being considered as=2 u: q=k + ½ w. This view of q bears upon the theory of words like prorogue, &c.
The reader is referred to p. 152. There he is told that, when a word ends in a flat consonant, b, v, d, g, the plural termination is not the sound of s, but that of z (stagz, dogz); although s be the letter written. Such also is the case with words ending in the vowels or the liquids (peaz, beanz, hillz, not peace, beance, hillce). This fact influences our orthography. The majority of words ending in s are found to be plural numbers, or else (what is the same thing in respect to form) either genitive cases, or verbs of the third person singular; whilst in the majority of these the s is sounded as z. Hence, the inference from analogy that s single, at the end of words, is sounded as z. Now this fact hampers the orthography of those words wherein s final retains its natural sound, as since, once, mass, mace; for let these be
written sins, ons, mas, the chances are that they will be pronounced sinz, onz, maz. To remedy this, the s may be doubled, as in mass. This, however, can be done in a few cases only. It cannot be done conveniently where the vowel is long, the effect of a double consonant being to denote that the preceding vowel is short. Neither can it be done conveniently after a consonant, such combinations as sinss, &c., being unsightly. This throws the grammarian upon the use of c, which, as stated above, has, in certain situations, the power of s. To write, however, simply sinc, or onc, would induce the risk of the words being sounded sink, onk. To obviate this, e is added, which has the double effect of not requiring to be sounded (being mute), and of showing that the c has the sound of s (being small).
"It is the peculiar quality of s that it may be sounded before all consonants, except x and z, in which s is comprised, x being only ks, and z only a hard [flat] or gross s. This s is therefore termed by grammarians suæ potestatis litera, the reason of which the learned Dr. Clarke erroneously supposed to be, that in some words it might be doubled at pleasure."—Johnson. A reference to the current Greek Grammars will indicate another reason for σ being called suæ potestatis litera. It will there be seen that, whilst π, β, φ—κ, γ, χ—τ, δ, θ—are grouped together, as tenues, mediæ, and aspiratæ, and as inter se cognatæ, σ stands by itself; ζ its media (flat sound) being treated as a double letter, and sh, its so-called aspirate, being non-existent in the Greek language.
The sound of ti before a vowel, as in salvation, is explained in p. [153].
"Th has two sounds; the one soft [flat], as thus, whether; the other hard [sharp], as thing, think. The sound is soft [flat] in all words between two vowels, as father, whether; and between r and a vowel, as burthen."—Johnson. The reason of the latter statement lies in the fact of both the vowels and r being flat (see p. [152]), and so exerting a flattening influence upon the sounds in contact with them.
In the substantives breath and cloth, the th is sharp (i.e., as th in thin); in the verbs breathe and clothe, the th is flat (i.e.,
as th in thine).—A great number of substantives may be made verbs by changing the sound of their final consonant. However, with the words breathe and clothe, a second change has taken place, viz., the vowel has been lengthened. Now of these two changes, viz., the lengthening of the vowel, and the flattening of the consonant, which is the one represented by the e mute, in clothe and breathe, as compared with cloth and breath? I imagine the former. Hence an exception is taken to the following statement of Dr. Johnson:—"When it (th) is softened [flattened] at the end of a word, an e silent must be added, as breath, breathe, cloth, clothe."
The sounds of the s in sure, of the t in picture (when pronounced pictshure), and of the z in azure and glazier, are explained in p. [153].
The present chapter is intended not to exhaust the list, but to illustrate the character of those orthographical expedients which insufficient alphabets, changes in language, and the influences of etymology engender both in the English and in other tongues.