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hundred years between them; namely, First the revolution from Saxon to French orthography; and Secondly, that from the French to the Latin complexion. Still, the desire for a true, natural, phonetic, system of spelling is not extinguished, and it has from time to time pushed itself into notice.

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APPENDIX TO CHAPTER II.

On Spelling-reform.

186. Alphabetic writing is essentially phonetic. It was the result of a sifting process which was conducted with little conscious design, by which all the other suggestions of picturewriting were gradually eliminated, and each figure was brought to represent one of the simple sounds obtained by the analysis of articulate speech. The historical development of Letters tells us what their essence and function is-viz. The expression of the Sound of words. Spelling is the counterpart of pronunciation. But there is a law at work to dissever this natural affinity. Pronunciation is ever insensibly on the move, while spelling grows more and more stationary. The agitation for spelling-reform which appears in cultivated nations from time to time, aims at restoring the harmony between these two.

Among the Romans-a people eminently endowed with the philological sense- there were some attempts of this kind, one of which is of historical notoriety. The emperor Claudius was a phonetic reformer, and he wrote a book on the subject while in the obscurity of his early life. Three letters as a first instalment of reform he forced into use when he was emperor, but they were neglected after his time and forgotten. Yet two of the three have been quietly resumed by a late posterity. These represented I and U consonants as distinct from the cognate vowels. In the seventeenth century the European press gave these powers to the forms J and V.

Claudius was not however the first to direct attention to the inadequacy of the Roman alphabet. Verrius Flaccus had made a memorable proposal with regard to the letter M. At the end of Latin words it was indistinctly heard, and therefore he proposed to cut the letter in two, and write only half of it in such positions-thus, N.

187. During the last three centuries many proposals for spelling-reform have been made in this country and in America. Among the reformers we find distinguished names1.

1 Sir John Cheke, 1540 (Strype's Life). John Hart, 1569: 'An Orthographie conteyning the due order and reason howe to write or painte thimage

But for practical results, the first was Noah Webster. In his Dictionary, 1828, he spelt traveler, worshiped, favor, honor, center, and these were widely adopted in American literature, especially the ejection of the French u from the termination -our. But he was an etymological as well as a phonetic reformer. And when he proceeded to write bridegoom, fether, for bridegroom, feather, his public declined to follow him, and he retraced his steps.

Julius Hare and Connop Thirlwall in their joint translation of Niehbuhr's History made some reforms, partly phonetic, partly etymological; such as forein, sovran, stretcht. Thirlwall returned to the customary spelling in his History of Greece 1835; but he covered his retreat with an overloaded invective at English prejudice, which has since been quoted oftener than his wisest sentences.

A strictly phonetic spelling-reform requires that we should have a separate character for every separate sound, and that no character should ever stand for any but its own particular sound. One such system has acquired the consistency which a working experience alone can give. Mr. Pitman's phonetic alphabet has been tested by thirty years of practical work, in printing books large and small, as well as in the continuous appearance of the Phonetic Journal, which is now in its thirty-sixth year. In this system the Roman alphabet is adopted as far as it goes, and new forms are added for the digraphs which, like th, sh, represent simple sounds. The place of publication is Bath, but the movement first took a practical shape in Birmingham, where in 1843 Mr. Thomas Wright Hill originated a Phonetic Fund to meet the necessary sacrifices of such an experiment. Mr. Hill was the father of Matthew Davenport Hill, Q.C., and of Sir Rowland Hill, and of three other distinguished sons. After the meeting of 1843, Mr. Ellis helped Mr. Pitman in the formation of the new characters, and from that year to the present the system has been in operation. The alphabet of manne's voice, moste like to the life or nature.' Bishop Wilkins, 1668. Benjamin Franklin, 1768. William Pelham, Boston, U.S. 1808, printed 'Rasselas' phonetically. Abner Kneeland, Philadelphia, 1825. Rev. W. Beardsley, St. Louis, 1841. Andrew Comstock, Philadelphia, 1846. John S. Pulsifer, Orswigsburg, Pennsylvania, 1848. Alexander Melville Bell, London, 1865.

APPENDIX TO CHAPTER II.

On Spelling-reform.

186. Alphabetic writing is essentially phonetic. It was the result of a sifting process which was conducted with little conscious design, by which all the other suggestions of picturewriting were gradually eliminated, and each figure was brought to represent one of the simple sounds obtained by the analysis of articulate speech. The historical development of Letters tells us what their essence and function is-viz. The expression of the Sound of words. Spelling is the counterpart of pronunciation. But there is a law at work to dissever this natural affinity. Pronunciation is ever insensibly on the move, while spelling grows more and more stationary. The agitation for spelling-reform which appears in cultivated nations from time to time, aims at restoring the harmony between these two.

Among the Romans-a people eminently endowed with the philological sense-there were some attempts of this kind, one of which is of historical notoriety. The emperor Claudius was a phonetic reformer, and he wrote a book on the subject while in the obscurity of his early life. Three letters as a first instalment of reform he forced into use when he was emperor, but they were neglected after his time and forgotten. Yet two of the three have been quietly resumed by a late posterity. These represented I and U consonants as distinct from the cognate vowels. In the seventeenth century the European press gave these powers to the forms J and V. Claudius was not however the first to direct attention to the inadequacy of the Roman alphabet. Verrius Flaccus had made a memorable proposal with regard to the letter M. At the end of Latin words it was indistinctly heard, and therefore he proposed to cut the letter in two, and write only half of it in such positions-thus, N.

187. During the last three centuries many proposals for spelling-reform have been made in this country and in America. Among the reformers we find distinguished names1.

1 Sir John Cheke, 1540 (Strype's Life). John Hart, 1569: An Orthographie conteyning the due order and reason howe to write or painte thimage

In

But for practical results, the first was Noah Webster. his Dictionary, 1828, he spelt traveler, worshiped, favor, honor, center, and these were widely adopted in American literature, especially the ejection of the French u from the termination -our. But he was an etymological as well as a phonetic reformer. And when he proceeded to write bridegoom, fether, for bridegroom, feather, his public declined to follow him, and he retraced his steps.

Julius Hare and Connop Thirlwall in their joint translation of Niehbuhr's History made some reforms, partly phonetic, partly etymological; such as forein, sovran, stretcht. Thirlwall returned to the customary spelling in his History of Greece 1835; but he covered his retreat with an overloaded invective at English prejudice, which has since been quoted oftener than his wisest sentences.

A strictly phonetic spelling-reform requires that we should have a separate character for every separate sound, and that no character should ever stand for any but its own particular sound. One such system has acquired the consistency which a working experience alone can give. Mr. Pitman's phonetic alphabet has been tested by thirty years of practical work, in printing books large and small, as well as in the continuous appearance of the Phonetic Journal, which is now in its thirty-sixth year. In this system the Roman alphabet is adopted as far as it goes, and new forms are added for the digraphs which, like th, sh, represent simple sounds. The place of publication is Bath, but the movement first took a practical shape in Birmingham, where in 1843 Mr. Thomas Wright Hill originated a Phonetic Fund to meet the necessary sacrifices of such an experiment. Mr. Hill was the father of Matthew Davenport Hill, Q.C., and of Sir Rowland Hill, and of three other distinguished sons. After the meeting of 1843, Mr. Ellis helped Mr. Pitman in the formation of the new characters, and from that year to the present the system has been in operation. The alphabet of manne's voice, moste like to the life or nature.' Bishop Wilkins, 1668. Benjamin Franklin, 1768. William Pelham, Boston, U.S. 1808, printed 'Rasselas' phonetically. Abner Kneeland, Philadelphia, 1825. Rev. W. Beardsley, St. Louis, 1841. Andrew Comstock, Philadelphia, 1846. John S. Pulsifer, Orswigsburg, Pennsylvania, 1848. Alexander Melville Bell, London, 1865.

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