SPELLINGS AND SPELLING RULES: BEING AN ATTEMPT TO SYSTEMATIZE THE CHIEF DIFFICULTIES OF TO WHICH IS ADDED, Dictation Exercises and Rules for the Syllabication of Words. DESIGNED FOR GENERAL USE, AND FOR SCHOOLS. FORMING PART I. OF THE HANDY ENGLISH WORD BOOK. BODL AUTHOR OF BY THE REV. JAMES STORMONTH, THE ETYMOLOGICAL AND PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,' WILLIAM P. NIM MO, LONDON: 14 KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND; PREFACE. THIS Small work forms Part First of a larger work, entitled 'The Handy English Word Book.' It is published in this separate form, as it is believed that such a publication is much needed, not only for private study, but for use in schools. The power of expressing in writing the correct spelling of English words, with ease and facility, is by no means a general accomplishment. Nor is this to be wondered at, seeing that our English language, in its orthography, is a conglomeration of anomalies, inconsistencies, and absurdities. Yet such, paradoxical as it may appear, really constitute the grandeur, glory, and power of the language. The English tongue is eminently historical in its origin, in its progressive development, and in its literal elements. Nearly every one of its words has a history. Its literary and most polished form has no stereotyping about it to induce its inevitable decay and death, as had the literary languages of ancient Greece and Rome, which are now dead. We borrow vocables from every other nation under the sun. In all the freshness, and folly, and fickleness of youth, our language not only adopts the new-comers with a hearty readiness, but is constantly flinging aside many once trusted friends. Every age witnesses the introduction of many new words, and modifications in the meanings of others in use, and the gradual disuse of many old ones. Those vocables that were looked upon in a former age as barbarous, vulgar, or mere slang,-very odious to 'ears polite,'-have now become standard English words, in daily use by the most refined. By such a process of growth and sloughing, the vigour of our English tongue will ever be maintained from age to age, not only among the 'upper ten,' but among the great masses of the people, by means of our widelyextended and ever-increasing cheap literature, treating on almost every conceivable topic. The vigour of this conglomerate language is commensurate with that of the conglomerate people who make use of it—a people cosmopolitan in all their tendencies beyond any other race in the world. Not only are they spreading themselves over the whole earth as dwellers and colonists, but they carry their beloved tongue along with them, and will neither use nor adopt any other. This tongue, so spread, is gradually sapping and supplanting all others, not only because it is the language of a powerful, vigorous, and colonising race, but because the language is admirably adapted for a medium of communication among the nations, from the simplicity of its grammatical structure, and the wonderful fitness of its vocables to express the varied wants of mankind. Surely such a language, in its written and spoken elements, is worthy of accurate study. Surely more attention than has hitherto been bestowed upon them ought to be paid to the accurate spellings of our English vocables. However inconsistent these may be, there cannot be a doubt but that, in the course of time, they will gradually disappear, as so many have already done, among which we have still a few survivals in such spellings as 'accompt,' 'accomptant,' for 'account,' 'accountant.' No power on earth will ever be able, by a single sweep, to transmute English vocables into equivalent phonetic forms. But that which neither power nor authority can effect, the sure progress of time will accomplish, probably at that period of the future when the English language will form the only instrument of communication among nations. An examination of the Table of Contents will at once show the learner the abundant elements presented to him for the careful study of English spelling. No attempt has been made to exhaust the subject. This in itself may not be desirable. Once the learner has mastered these pages, there is little danger of his committing orthographical errors. It is well, however, to have a good dictionary at hand for consultation in all cases of doubt. The rules for the spelling of English-derived words, that is, those words which are formed by means of postfixes and prefixes from primitives, are plainly and fully given, and in such a form that they can easily be committed to memory, as they certainly should be. An exceedingly full list of words, the same in sound but different in spelling and meaning, is given, besides other lists of a like kind, and in such a form as to enable learners, by their study, easily to distinguish the differences arising in such words, and to employ them aright. The classified lists of nearly all the words in the language in ordinary use, in which proper and improper diphthongs and triphthongs occur, will be found highly useful and interesting. The lists of words in which silent consonants, as well as peculiar consonantal forms, occur, cannot fail to be studied with advantage. Of such words as end in or, ar, ory, ary, ible, and sion, nearly complete lists have been inserted, in order that the learner, by familiarising himself with them, may be able readily to distinguish between them and such as end in er, ery, able, and tion, especially seeing that the corresponding terminations are pronounced alike, or nearly alike. A list of Foreign Words, re-spelt and defined, has been inserted, because, though they have been adopted into the English language, they present to us ever-recurring difficulties, not merely in their spelling, but in their pronunciation. There can be no good reason why these words should not be at once Anglicised, at least in their pronunciation, and thus assimilated into the language. Happily the tendency in our language is to Anglicise such words, both in spelling and pronunciation, though the process is a somewhat slow one. Our near neighbours, the French, at once Frenchify every foreign word that they adopt. Every adopted foreign word is at once recast by them, often in spelling, certainly always in pronunciation. In this they display their good sense, and there is no reason why we should not be equally sensible. The pronunciation, therefore, of these foreign words is adapted, as much as at present can be, to English usage. The abbreviations and initial letters representing words will be found of considerable value. The proper use of capital letters has been treated in a simple but concise way. The list of words of unsettled spelling, extending from page 32 to 54, will, without doubt, surprise many from their number. Their insertion will prove of much practical importance. Dictation exercises have been added to illustrate some of the rules for spelling, and the right use of many words; but such are merely given ́as specimens. It is assumed that teachers are well qualified to construct sentences and paragraphs out of the materials presented to them, for the use of their pupils. To a considerable extent, the Dictation Exercises consist of paragraphs selected from the ordinary newspapers of the day, for the very good reason that every variety of paragraph can be obtained from that source. Such selections contain, moreover, the greatest number of those vocables occurring in daily life, with the correct spelling of which it is of the utmost importance that learners should become thoroughly familiarised. Nothing can prove more effective as a supplemental dictation exercise book than the paragraphs of a daily newspaper. Selections from mere book-literature cannot possibly have the same value for such a purpose. The 'Introduction' to the ‘Dictionary of English Inflected Words,' which treats on syllabication, has been appended as being likely to be useful. This small work is laid before the public as an attempt to unravel, in a simple way, many of the real difficulties of English spelling. The author trusts the reception of this first instalment of a much larger work, may be such as to encourage him in the continuance of his labours. J. S. EDINBURGH, May 1876. |