Dissertations on the English Language (eBook)

EXAMINATION OF CONTROVERTED POINTS, CONTINUED.

In the preceding dissertation I have endeavored to settle a number of controverted points and local differences in pronunciation, on the most satisfactory principles hitherto discovered. I now proceed to some other differences of consequence to the language, and particularly in America.

Gold is differently pronounced by good speakers, and differently marked by the standard writers. Two of them give us goold, as the standard, and three, gold or goold. But we may find better principles than the opinions or practice of individuals, to direct our judgement in this particular. The word indeed has the pronunciation, goold, in some of the collateral branches of the Teutonic, as in the Danish, where it is spelt guld. But in the Saxon, it was written gold, and has been uniformly written so in English. Besides, we have good reason to believe that it was, in early times, pronounced gold, with the first sound of o, for the poets invariably make it rhime with old, behold, and other words of similar sound. Thus in Chaucer:

    "With nayles yelwe, and bright as any gold,

He hadde a bere's skin, cole blake for old."

  Knight's Tale, L. 2143.

IN Pope:

    "Now Europe's laurels on their brows behold,

But stain'd with blood, or ill exchang'd for gold."

  Essay on Man, Book 4.

The rhime is here a presumptive proof that the poets pronounced this word with the first sound of o, and it is a substantial reason why that pronunciation should be preferred. But analogy is a still stronger reason; for bold, told, fold, and I presume every similar word in the language, has the first sound of o. These are good reasons why gold should have that sound; reasons which are permanent, and superior to any private opinions.

Similar reasons, and equally forceable, are opposed to the modern pronunciation of wound. I say modern; for in America woond is a recent innovation. It was perhaps an ancient dialect; for the old Saxon and modern Danish orthography warrant this conjecture.

But in English the spelling has uniformly corresponded with bound, sound, and if we may judge from the rhimes of our poets, the pronunciation has also been analogous. Thus in Skelton's Elegy on Henry, Earl of Northumberland, 1489, we have the following lines:

    "Most noble erle! O foul mysurd[61] ground

Whereon he gat his finall deadly wounde."

  Rel. An. Eng. Poet. vol. 1. page 113.

So in a song which seems to have been written in the reign of Henry VIII.

    "Where griping grefes the hart would wounde

And doleful dumps the mynde oppresse,

There musicke with her silver sound,

With speed is wont to send redresse."

  Ibm. page 165.

Similar rhimes occur in almost every page of modern poetry.

    "Warriors she fires with animated sounds,

Pours balm into the bleeding lover's wounds."

  Pope.

The fashionable pronunciation of wound destroys the rhime and infringes the rule of analogy; two objections to it which can be removed only by universal practice. Does this practice exist? By no means. One good authority[62] at least, directs to the analogous pronunciation; and another compiler directs to both--the regular and the fashionable. But were woond the universal practice in Great Britain, this should not induce us to lay aside our own practice for a foreign one. There is but a small part, even of the well bred people in this country, who have yet adopted the English mode; and the great body of the people uniformly pursue analogy. The authority of practice therefore, is, in this country, opposed to the innovation. Shall we then relinquish what every man must acknowlege to be right, to embrace the corruptions of a foreign court and stage? Will not the Atlantic ocean, the total separation of America from Great Britain, the pride of an independent nation, the rules of the language, the melody of English poetry, restrain our rage for imitating the errors of foreigners?

But it is said that woond is softer than wound, and therefore more agreeable. Suppose the assertion to be true, will it follow that the softest pronunciation should be preferred?

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....