The English Language

1. That the Ruthwell inscription gives us a sample of the so-called Northumbrian Anglo-Saxon, and that as it is spoken in Scotland, _i.e._, in Galloway. For the bearings of this...

s. 65. The last chapter has limited the Anglo-Saxon area to the northern part of the Saxon area in general. Further details, however, upon this point, may stand over until the _...

s. 630. Prosody deals with metre; and with accent, quantity and the articulate sounds, as subordinate to metre. For these the reader is referred to Part III. Chapters 1. 6. 7.

s. 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...

s. 678. The consideration of the dialects of the English language is best taken in hand after the historical investigation of the elements of the English population. For this, s...

s. 578. The auxiliary verbs, in English, play a most important part in the syntax of the language. They may be classified upon a variety of principles. The following, however, a...

s. 256. The preceding chapter has exhibited the theory of a full and perfect alphabet; it has shown how far the English alphabet falls short of such a standard; and, above all,...

s. 15. By referring to ss. 3-12, it may be seen that out of the numerous tribes and nations of Germany, _three_ in particular have been considered as the chief, if not the exclu...

s. 103. The population and, to a certain extent, the language of England, have been formed of three elements, which in the most general way may be expressed as follows:--

1. The British or Cambrian branch, represented by the present Welsh, and containing, besides, the Cornish of Cornwall (lately extinct) and the Armorican of the French province o...

s. 174. The relation of the present English to the Anglo-Saxon is that of a _modern_ language to an _ancient_ one: the words _modern_ and _ancient_ being used in a defined and t...

s. 410. In the following words, amongst many others, we have palpable and indubitable specimens of composition. _Day-star_, _vine-yard_, _sun-beam_, _apple-tree_, _ship-load_, _...

s. 606. A CONJUNCTION is a part of speech which connects _propositions_,--_the day is bright_, is one proposition. _The sun shines_, is another. _The day is bright_ because _the...

1. Those that are of late introduction, and cannot be called original and constituent parts of the language. Such are (amongst others) the words _flannel_, _crowd_ (a fiddle), f...

The current statement that the syllable _-ed_, rather than the letter _-d_, is the sign of the praeterite tense, is true only in regard to the written language. In _stabbed_, _m...

s. 467. The word _syntax_ is derived from the Greek _syn_ (_with_ or _together_), and _taxis_ (_arrangement_). It relates to the arrangement, or putting together of words. Two o...

s. 446. The inflection of pronouns has its natural peculiarities in language; it has also its natural difficulties in philology. These occur not in one language in particular, b...

s. 1. The first point to be remembered in the history of the English Language, is that it was not the original language of any of the British Islands altogether or of any portio...

s. 280. In the Greek language the word _pataer_ signifies a father, speaking of _one_, whilst _patere_ signifies _two fathers_, speaking of a pair, and thirdly, _pateres_ signif...

s. 289. The extent to which there are, in the English language, cases, depends on the meaning which we attach to the word case. In the sentence _a house of a father_, the idea e...

The Latin in all its dialects, the old Italian languages allied to it, and the modern tongues derived from the Roman, constitute the Latin or Ausonian branch of the Classical st...

s. 183. The term _Lowland_ is used to distinguish the Scotch of the South-east from the Scotch of the Highlands. The former is English in its immediate affinities, and Germanic...

s. 310. The proper preliminary to the study of the comparative and quasi-comparative forms in English is the history of the inflection or inflections by which they are expressed...

s. 271. The nature of gender is best exhibited by reference to those languages wherein the distinction of gender is most conspicuous. Such a language, amongst others, is the Latin.

The first point in the history of these tenses that the reader is required to be aware of, is stated in the Chapter upon the Numbers, viz., that, in Anglo-Saxon, several praeter...

s. 383. The current statement respecting verbs like _sing_ and _fall_, &c., is that they are irregular. How far this is the case may be seen from a review of the twelve classes...

s. 389. In s. 361 the distinction between irregularity and defectiveness was slightly foreshadowed. In pp. 243, 267, it was exhibited in its principles. In the present chapter t...

s. 240. The present chapter is one, not upon the details of the pronunciation of the English language, but upon the principles of orthoepy. For the details of pronunciation the...

For these sounds we have the following sequences: _a_ in _fate_, _['e] ferm['e]_, _ee_ in _feet_, _ue_ in _uebel_ (German), _oo_ in _book_, _o chiuso_, _o_ in _note_. And this i...

It is modal when the noun which follows the verb is not the name of any object affected by the verb, but the name of some object explaining the manner in which the action of the...

s. 235. In the word _tyrant_ there is an emphasis, or stress, upon the first syllable. In the word _presume_ there is an emphasis, or stress, on the second syllable. This emphas...

1. N' yth alionim valionuth sicorath jismacon sith 2. Chy-mlachai jythmu mitslia mittebariim ischi 3. Liphorcaneth yth beni ith jad adi ubinuthai 4. Birua rob syllohom alonim ub...

s. 348. Compared with the Latin, the Greek, the Moeso-Gothic, and almost all the ancient languages, there is, in English, in respect to the persons of the verbs, but a very slig...

s. 52. The area occupied by the Saxons of Germany has been investigated; and it now remains to ask, how far the language of the occupants was absolutely identical throughout, or...

s. 523. Etymologically, _which_ is no true neuter of _who_, but a compound word. It is used, however, with less latitude than _that_. The beginning of the Lord's Prayer exhibits...

1. The personal pronouns form an extremely natural class, if the pronouns of the two first persons (and _se_ when found in the language) be taken by themselves. This is not the...

s. 191. The languages mentioned in the present chapter claim their place on one ground only,--_they have been the subject of controversy_. The notice of them will be brief. The...

s. 425. Derivation, like _etymology_, is a word used in a wide and in a limited sense. In the wide sense of the term every word, except it be in the simple form of a root, is a...

s. 303. In the relative and interrogative pronouns, _who_, _what_, _whom_, _whose_, we have, expressed by a change of form, a neuter gender, _what_; a dative case, _whom_; and a...

s. 337. Compared with the words _lamb_, _man_, and _hill_, the words _lambkin_, _mannikin_, and _hillock_ convey the idea of comparative smallness or diminution. Now, as the wor...

s. 215. Certain combinations of articulate sounds are incapable of being pronounced. The following rule is one that, in the forthcoming pages, will frequently be referred to. _T...

A. _It is I, your master, who command you._ Query? would _it is I, your master, who commands you_, be correct? This is an example of a disputed point of concord in respect to th...

The syllables _ka_ and _ga_ are similar syllables. The vowel is in each the same, and the consonant is but slightly different. Now the words _ka_ and _ga_ are more allied to eac...

s. 509. As _his_, and _her_, are genitive cases (and not adjectives), there is no need of explaining such combinations as _his mother_, _her father_, inasmuch as no concord of g...

s. 359. The nature of tenses in general is best exhibited by reference to the Greek; since in that language they are more numerous, and more strongly marked than elsewhere.

s. 331. The remarks at the close of the last chapter but one indicated the fact that superlative forms were found beyond the superlative degree. The present chapter shows that t...

s. 145. In each of the three preceding chapters a separate stock of languages has been considered; and it has been shown, in some degree, how far languages of the same stock dif...

s. 224. 1. Let there be two syllables, of which the one ends in _m_, and the other begins with _r_, as we have in the syllables _num-_ and _-rus_ of the Latin word _numerus_.

The usual declension of the personal pronouns is exceptionable. _I_ and _me_, _thou_ and _ye_, stand in no etymological relations to each other. The true view of the words is, t...

s. 328. In one sense the cardinal numbers form no part of a work on etymology. They are single words, apparently simple, and, as such, appertaining to a dictionary rather than t...

s. 599. All prepositions govern an oblique case. If a word cease to do this, it ceases to be a preposition. In the first of the two following sentences the word _up_ is a prepos...

s. 342. In order to understand clearly the use of the so-called infinitive mood in English, it is necessary to bear in mind two facts, one a matter of logic, the other a matter...

In Anglo-Saxon it always ended in _-en_, as _sungen_, _funden_, _bunden_. In English this _-en_ is often wanting, as _found_, _bound_; the word _bounden_ being antiquated. Words...

s. 395. The verb substantive is generally dealt with as an irregular verb. This is inaccurate. The true notion is that the idea of _being_ or _existing_ is expressed by four dif...

This rule is absolute. It only _seems_ to precede the verb in such expressions as _I do not advance_, _I cannot advance_, _I have not advanced_, &c. However, the words _do_, _ca...

s. 232. The dependent vowels, as the _a_ in _fat_, _i_ in _fit_, _u_ in _but_, _o_ in _not_, have this character; _viz._ they are all uttered with rapidity, and pass quickly in...

In certain words, of more than one syllable, it is difficult to say to which syllable an intervening consonant belongs. For instance, does the _v_ in _river_, and the _v_ in _fe...

3. _Composition._--It is only, however, when _himself_ and _themselves_, are in the accusative case, that the construction is appositional. When they are used as nominatives, it...

_Well, better, ill, worse._--Here we have a class of adverbs expressive of degree, or intensity. Adverbs of this kind are capable of taking an inflection, _viz._, that of the co...

s. 306. Preparatory to the consideration of the degrees of comparison, it is necessary to make some remarks upon a certain class of words, which, with considerable differences o...

s. 520. The possessive pronouns fall into two classes. The first class contains the forms connected, partially in their etymology and wholly in their syntax, with _my_ and _thy_...

s. 502. _Personal pronouns._--The use of the second person plural instead of the second singular has been noticed in p. 246. This use of one number for another is current throug...

s. 336. In the generality of grammars the definite article _the_, and the indefinite article _an_, are the very first parts of speech that are considered. This is exceptionable....

s. 492. _Pleonasm._--Pleonasm can take place with adjectives only in the expression of the degrees of comparison. Over and above the etymological signs of the comparative and su...

s. 270. The word etymology, derived from the Greek, in the current language of scholars and grammarians, has a double meaning. At times it is used in a wide, and at times in a r...

s. 401. The present participle, called also the active participle and the participle in _-ing_, is formed from the original word by adding _-ing_; as, _move_, _moving_. In the o...

s. 436. It is also a common practice of language to depart from the original expression of each particular idea, and to interchange the signs by which they are expressed.

All difficulties about the cases of the interrogative pronoun may be determined by framing an answer, and observing the case of the word with which the interrogative coincides....

Neither have they any government. They _seem_, indeed, to have it, when they are in the comparative or superlative degree; but it is merely apparent. In _this is better than tha...

s. 569. The infinitive mood is a noun. The current rule that _when two verbs come together the latter is placed in the infinitive mood_ means that one verb can govern another on...

It has been stated in p. 257, that the indeterminate pronoun _one_ has no etymological connection with the numeral _one_; but that it is derived from the French _on_=_homme_=_ho...

s. 576. _The concord of persons._--A difficulty that occurs frequently in the Latin language is rare in English. In expressions like _ego et ille_ followed by a verb, there aris...

Each of these appears again in the Greek. The first, as [Greek: tat] (_tat_), in [Greek: leptotatos] (_leptotatos_); the second, as [Greek: ist] (_ist_), in [Greek: oiktistos] (...

_Transitive verbs._--In transitive verbs the action is never a simple action. It always affects some object or other,--_I move my limbs_; _I strike my enemy_. The presence of a...

At the first view, this last sentence seems unnecessary. It might seem superfluous to state, that, if there were no such primitive form as _se_ (or its equivalent), there could...

s. 355. The inflection of the present tense, not only in Anglo-Saxon, but in several other languages as well, has been given in the preceding chapter. As compared with the prese...

s. 540. In all sentences containing the statement of a reciprocal or mutual action there are in reality two assertions, _viz._, the assertion that A. _strikes_ (or _loves_) B.,...

s. 498. The syntax of substantives is, in English, simple, from the paucity of its inflections, a condition which is unfavourable towards the evolution of constructional complex...

s. 442. _Prepositions._--Prepositions, as such, are wholly unsusceptible of inflection. Other parts of speech, in a state of inflection, may be used with a prepositional sense....

_Ellipsis of substantives._--The historical view of phrases, like _Rundell and Bridge's_, _St. Pauls'_, &c., shows that this ellipsis is common to the English and the other Goth...

2. These forms are identical with those of the participles, masculine or feminine, as the case may be. Indeed the praeterite is a participle; and the fact of its being so accoun...

s. 347. Of number, person, mood, tense, and conjugation, special notice is taken in their respective chapters. Of the divisions of verbs into active and passive, transitive and...

s. 392. _Meseems._--Equivalent to _it seems to me_; _mihi videtur_, [Greek: phainetai moi]. The verb _seems_ is intransitive; consequently the pronoun _me_ has the power of a da...

s. 567. The present participle, or the participle in _-ing_, must be considered in respect to its relations with the substantive in _-ing_. _Dying-day_ is, probably, no more a p...

s. 629. Broadly speaking, all adverbial constructions are absolute. The term, however, is conveniently limited to a particular combination of the noun, verb, and participle. Whe...

s. 464. The remote origin of the weak praeterite in _-d_ or _-t_, has been considered by Grimm, in the Deutsche Grammatik. He maintains that it is the _d_ in _d-d_, the reduplic...

Nevertheless such expressions--_one two_ (=_one collection of two_), _two threes_ (=_two collections of three_), are legitimate. These are so because the sense of the word is ch...

s. 357. Between the second plural imperative, and the second plural indicative, _speak ye_ and _ye speak_, there is no difference of form. Between the second singular imperative...

630-632. Metre 499 633. Classical metres measured by quantities 500 634. English metre measured by accents 500 {xli} 635. Alliteration 500 636. Rhyme 501 637. Definition of Rhym...

678. Bearing of the investigation 531 679. Structural and _ethnological_ views 531 680-682. Causes that effect change 532 683, 684. Preliminary notices 533 685. Philological pre...

15-20. The Jute immigration doubtful 10-12 22. Difficulties in identifying the Saxons 13 23. Difficulties in identifying the Angles 13 25-29. Populations with the greatest _[`a]...

Here the word _hight_=_was called_, and seems to present an instance of the participle being used in a passive sense without the so-called verb substantive. Yet it does no such...

65. _General_ affinities of the English language 28 67. The term _Gothic_ 28 69. _Scandinavian_ branch 28 70. _Teutonic_ branch 31 {xxi} 71. Moeso-Gothic 31 73. Origin of the Mo...

2. It has grown out of the Anglo-Saxon from _wealhas_=_foreigners_, the name by which the Welsh are spoken of by the Germans of England, just as the Italians are called Welsh by...

s. 547. The rule of most practical importance about the articles is the rule that determines when the article shall be repeated as often as there is a fresh substantive, and whe...

149. Celtic elements 97 150. Latin of the First Period 98 151. Anglo-Saxon 98 152. Danish or Norse 98 153. Roman of the Second Period 100 {xxiii} 154. Anglo-Norman 101 155. Indi...

578. Classification 459 579. Time and tense 461 Present 461 Aorist 461 Future 461 Imperfect 462 Perfect 462 {xxxix} Pluperfect 462 Future present 462 Future praeterite 462 Empha...

s. 573. Notwithstanding its name, the present tense in English, does not express a strictly _present_ action. It rather expresses an habitual one. _He speaks well_=_he is a good...

106. The _Angles_ 62 109. Extract from Tacitus 63 " Ptolemy 63 110. Extracts connecting them with the inhabitants of the Cimbric Chersonesus 64 111. The district called Angle 65...

467. The term _syntax_ 392 468. What is _not_ syntax 392 469. What _is_ syntax 394 470. Pure syntax 395 471, 472. Mixed syntax 395 473. Figures of speech 395 474. Personificatio...

446. Peculiarities of inflection of pronouns 380 447. Powers of the genitive case 381 448. Ideas of possession and partition 382 449. Adjectival expressions 382 450. Evolution o...

606. Syntax of conjunctions 482 607. Convertibility of conjunctions 482 608. Connexion of prepositions 483 609, 610. Relatives and conjunctions 484 611. Government of mood 485 6...

247. Province of orthography 178 248. Imperfections of alphabets 178 249. Applications of alphabets 180 250. Changes of sound, and original false spelling 181 251. Theory of a p...

202. System of vowels 145 _['e]_ ferm['e], ['o] _chiuso_, _ue_ German 145 203. System of mutes 145 Lenes and aspirates 146 204. Affinities of the liquids 147 205. Diphthongs 147...

256. Bearings of the question 200 257. Phoenician Period 200 258, 259. Greek Period 201-203 260-262. Latin Period 203-205 263. The Moeso-Gothic alphabet 205 264. The Anglo-Saxon...

1. English not originally British 1 2. Germanic in origin 2 3-10. Accredited details of the different immigrations from Germany into Britain 2-4 10-12. Accredited relations of t...

522-524. _That_, _which_, _what_ 422 525. _The man_ as _rides to market_ 423 526, 527. Plural use of _whose_ 423 528, 529. Concord of relative and antecedent 423 530. Ellipsis o...

174. Ancient and modern languages 112 175. English and Anglo-Saxon compared 113 176. Semi-Saxon stage 117 177-179. Old English stage 119, 122 180. Middle English 122 181. Presen...

215. Unpronounceable combinations 152 216. Unstable combinations 153 217. Effect of _y_ 153 218, 219. Evolution of new sounds 153, 154 220. Value of a sufficient system of sound...

558, 559. _Objective_ and _modal_ government 444 560. Appositional construction 445 561. Verb and genitive case 448 562. Verb and accusative case 448 563. The partitive construc...

140. The Classical languages 86 141. Extension of the Roman language 86 142. The divisions 87 Specimen of the Romanese 88 Specimen of the Wallachian 88 143. French dialects 89 O...

383. So-called irregularities 328 384. Principles of criticism 329 Coincidence of form 329 Coincidence of distribution 329 Coincidence of order 329 385. Strong verbs once weak 3...

310. Forms in _-tara_ and _-[^i]yas_ 263 311. Change from _-s_ to _-r_ 263 312. Moeso-Gothic comparative 264 313. Comparison of adverbs 264 314. _Elder_ 265 315. _Rather_ 265 31...

224. Euphonic change exhibited 157 225. The _rationale_ of it 157 226. The combinations _-mt_, _-nt_ 158 227. The combination _-pth_ 158 228. Accommodation of vowels 158 229. Pe...

271. Latin genders 217 272. Words like _he-goat_ 217 273. Words like _genitrix_ 217 274. Words like _domina_ 218 275. Sex 219 276. True Genders in English 219 277. Neuters in _-...

410-414. Definition of composition 355-357 415-417. Parity of accent 358 418. Obscure compounds 361 419. Exceptions 362 420. _Peacock_, _peahen_, &c. 364 421. Third element in c...

377. The weak inflection 317 378. First division 318 379. Second division 318 {xxxi} 380. Third division 319 381. Preterites in _-ed_ and _-t_ 319 382. Preterites like _made_, _...

196. Preliminary remarks 141 197. Vowels and consonants 143 198. Divisions of articulate sounds 143 199. Explanation of terms 143 _Sharp_ and _flat_ 143 _Continuous_ and _explos...

240. Meaning of the word _orthoepy_ 172 241. Classification of errors in pronunciation 172 242-244. Causes of erroneous enunciation 172-175 {xxvi} 245. Appreciation of standards...

425. Derivation 367 426. Classification of derived words 368 427. Words like _['a]bsent_ and _abs['e]nt_, &c. 369 {xxxiii} 428. Words like _churl_, _tail_, &c. 370 429. Forms li...

235. Accent 167 236. How far accent always on the root 168 237. Verbal accent and logical accent 168 238. Effect of accent on orthography 169 239. Accent and quantity _not_ the...

599. All prepositions govern cases 479 600, 601. None, in English, govern genitives 479 602. Dative case after prepositions 481 603. From _to die_ 481 604. For _to go_ 481 605....

389. Difference between defectiveness and irregularity 335 Vital and obsolete processes 336 Processes of necessity 337 Ordinary processes 338 Positive processes 338 Processes of...