It is acknowleged on all hands, that a correspondence between sound and sense is a beauty in language, and there are many words in our language, the sounds of which were borrowed from the sensible objects, the ideas of which they are designed to express. Such are the dashing of waters, the crackling of burning faggots, the hissing of serpents, the lisping of infants, and the stuttering of a stammerer. These are considered as beauties in a language. But there are other words, the sounds of which are not adopted in imitating audible noises, which are either soft or harsh, and by the help of association are particularly calculated to express ideas, which are either agreeable or disagreeable to the mind. Of this kind are soft and harsh, sweet and sour, and a multitude of others. On the supposition therefore, that woond is the softer pronunciation, this is a good reason why it should not be adopted; for the idea it conveys is extremely disagreeable, and much better represented by a harsh word.[63]
Skeptic for sceptic is mere pedantry; a modern change that has no advantage for its object. The Greek derivation will be pleaded as an authority; but this will not warrant the innovation, without extending it to scene, scepter, and many others. Will the advocates write and pronounce the latter skene, skepter? If not, they should be satisfied with analogy and former practice. It is remarkable however, that notwithstanding the authority of almost all the modern dictionaries is in favor of skeptic, no writer of reputation, whose works I have seen, has followed the spelling. The old orthography, sceptic, still maintains its ground.
Sauce with the fourth sound of a is accounted vulgar; yet this is the ancient, the correct, and the most general pronunciation. The aw of the North Britons is much affected of late; sawce, hawnt, vawnt; yet the true sound is that of aunt, jaunt, and a change can produce no possible advantage.
The words advertisement and chastisement are differently accented by the standard authors, and by people on both sides of the Atlantic. Let us find the analogy. The original words, advertise and chastise, are verbs, accented uniformly on the last syllable. Let us search thro the language for verbs of this description, and I presume we shall not find another instance, where, in nouns formed from such verbs, by the addition of ment, the seat of the accent is changed. We find amusement, refinement, refreshment, reconcilement, and many, perhaps all others, preserve the accent of their primitives; and in this analogy we find the reason why chastisement and advertisement should be accented on the last syllable but one. This analogy is a substantial and permanent rule, that will forever be superior to local customs.[64]
Similar remarks may be made respecting acceptable, admirable, disputable, comparable, which our polite speakers accent on the first syllable. The first is indeed accented on the second syllable, by most authors, except Sheridan, who still retains the accent on the first.
It was an old rule of grammarians, that the genius of our language requires the accent to be carried as far as possible towards the beginning of the word. This is seldom or never true; on the contrary, the rule is directly opposed to the melody, both of poetry and prose. Under the influence, however, of this rule, a long catalogue of words lost their true pronunciation, and among the rest, a great number of adjectives derived from verbs by an addition of the termination able. Some of these are restored to their analogy; others retain the accent on the first syllable.
Notwithstanding the authority of Sheridan, I presume few people will contend for the privilege of accenting acceptable on the first syllable. How the organs of any man can be brought to articulate so many consonants in the weak syllables, or how the ear can relish such an unnatural pronunciation, is almost inconceiveable. In spite of the pedantry of scholars, the ease and melody of speaking, have almost wholly banished the absurd practice, by restoring the accent to the second syllable.
But with respect to admirable, comparable and disputable, the authors who are deemed authorities are divided; some are in favor of the accent on the first syllable, and others adhere to analogy.
Setting aside custom, every reason for accenting these words on the first syllable, will apply with equal force to adviseable, inclineable, requireable, and a hundred others. They are all formed from verbs accented on the last syllable, by annexing the same termination to the verb, and they are all of the same part of speech. Let us examin them by the rules for accentuation, laid down in the preceding dissertation.
The primitive verbs of this class of words are usually compounded of a particle and principal part of speech; as ad-mi-ro, com-paro, re-quæro, &c. The last syllable, derived from a verb, is the most important, and in the primitives, is invariably accented. This is agreeable to the first rule. In nine tenths of the derivatives, the same syllable retains the accent; as, perceiveable, available, deploreable. In these therefore both rules are observed. The third rule, or that which arises from the terminating syllable, is also preserved in most of this class of words. It is therefore much to be regretted, that a false rule should have introduced an irregularity into the language, by excepting a few words from an analogy, which unites in itself every principle of propriety.