Section VII.-Of the Ecphoneme ; Section IX.-Of the Other Marks; Section I.-Figures of Orthography Section II.-Figures of Etymology; Section III.-Figures of Syntax; Section IV.-Figures of Rhetoric; Examples for Parsing, Praxis VIII;. THE INSTITUTES OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR. ENGLISH GRAMMAR is the art of speaking, reading, and writing the English language correctly. It is divided into four parts; namely, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody. Orthography treats of letters, syllables, separate words, and spelling. Etymology treats of the different parts of speech, with their classes and modifications. Syntax treats of the relation, agreement, government, and arrangement, of words in sentences. Prosody treats of punctuation, utterance, figures, and versification. PART I. ORTHOGRAPHY. Orthography treats of letters, syllables, separate words, and spelling. CHAPTER I.-OF LETTERS. A Letter is an alphabetic mark, or character, commonly representing some elementary sound of a word. An elementary sound of a word, is a simple or primary sound of the human voice, used in speaking. The sound of a letter is commonly called its power: when any letter of a word is not sounded, it is said to bo silent or mute. The letters in the English alphabet, are twenty-six; the simple or primary sounds in the language, are about thirty-six or thirty-seven. A knowledge of the letters consists in an acquaintance with these four sorts of things; their names, their classes, their powers, and their forms. The letters are written, or printed, or painted, or engraved, or embossed, in an infinite variety of shapes and sizes; and yet are always the same, because their essential properties do not change, and their names, classes, and powers, are mostly permanent. The following are some of the different sorts of types, or styles of letters, with which every reader should be early acquainted: 1. The Roman: A a, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, G g, II h, Ii, Jj, Kk, L1, M m, Nn, Oo, P p, Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z. 2. The Italic: Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ff, G g, Hh Ii, Jj, Kk, L1, Mm, Nn, Oo, PP, Q, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, V v, Ww, Xx, Yy, Z z. 3. The Script: A a, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee Ff, Gg, Hh, I i, J j Mm, P 0, K k, L l, p, X Tt, U u, V v, W0 w, 4. The Old English: A a, Bb, C č, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, I j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, Rr, S s, t, U u, bv, W w, X x, V v, Z z. w OBSERVATIONS. y, OBS. 1.-LANGUAGE, in the primitive sense of the term, embraced only vocal expression, or human speech uttered by the mouth; but, after letters were invented to represent articulate sounds, language became twofold, spoken and written; so that the term language, now signifies, any series of sounds or letters formed into words and employed for the expression of thought. ORS. 2.-Letters claim to be a part of language, not merely because they represent articulate sounds, or spoken words, but because they form words of themselves, and have the power to become intelligible signs of thought, even independently of sound. Literature being the counterpart of speech, and more plenteous in words, the person who cannot read and write, is about as deficient in language, as the well instructed deaf mute: perhaps more 80; for copiousness, even of speech, results from letters. ÓBS. 3.-For the formation of words, letters have some important advan、 tages over articulate or syllabic sounds, though the latter communicate thought more expeditiously. The written symbols subdivide even the least parts of spoken language, which are syllables, reducing them to a few combinable elements; and are themselves thereby reduced to a manageable number,-even to fewer than the elements which they represent. But the great advantage of recorded language is its permanence, with its unlimited power of circulation and transmission. OBS. 4.-As a letter taken singly is commonly the sign of some elementary sound, and of nothing more, so the primary combinations of letters are often exhibited as mere notations of syllabic sounds, and not as having the significance of words. Silent letters occur only in the particular positions which custom or etymology has given them in certain words; and, though mute, they are still named and classed according to the powers usually pertaining to the same characters. OBS. 5.-It is suggested above, that a knowledge of the letters implies an acquaintance with their names, their classes, their powers, and their forms. Under these four heads, therefore, I shall briefly present the facts which seem to be most worthy of the learner's attention at first, and shall reservo for the appendix a more particular account of these important elements. I. NAMES OF THE LETTERS. The names of the letters, as now commonly spoken. and written in English, are A, Bee, Cee, Dee, E, E, Gee, Aitch, I, Jay, Kay, Ell, Em, En, O, Pee, Kue, Ar, Ess, Tee, U, Vee, Double-u, Ex, Wy, Zee. OBSERVATIONS. OBS. 1.-The names of the letters, as expressed in the modern languages, are mostly framed with reference to their powers, or sounds. Yet is there in English no letter of which the name is always identical with its power; for A, E, I, O, and U, are the only letters which can name themselves, and all these have other sounds than those which their names express. The consonants are so manifestly insufficient to form any name of themselves alone, and so palpable is the difference between the nature and the name of each, that, did we not know how education has been trifled with, it would be hard to believe the assertion of Murray, that, "They are frequently confounded by writers on grammar!" OBS. 2.-Those letters which name themselves, take for their names those sounds which they usually represent at the end of an accented syllable; thus the names, A, E, I, O, U, are uttered with the sounds given to the same letters in the first syllables of the other names, Abel, Enoch, Isaac, Obed, Urim; or in the first syllables of the common words, paper, penal, pilot, potent, pupil. The other letters, most of which can never be perfectly sounded alone, have names in which their powers are combined with other sounds more vocal; as, Bee, Cee, Dee,-Ell, Em, En,-Jay, Kay, Kue. But, in this respect, the terms Aitch and Double-u are irregular; because they have no obvious reference to the powers of the letters thus named. OBS. 3.-The names of the letters, like those of the days of the week, are words of a very peculiar kind; being nouns that are at once both proper and common. For, in respect to rank, character, and design, each letter is a thing strictly individual and identical-that is, it is ever one and the same; yet, in an other respect, it is a comprehensive sort, embracing individuals both various and numberless. The name of a letter, therefore, should always be written with a capital, as a proper noun, at least in the singular number; and should form the plural regularly, as an ordinary appellative. Thus: (if we adopt, as we ought, the names now most generally used in English schools:) A, Aes; Bee, Bees; Cee, Cees; Dee, Dees; E, Ees; Eff, Effs; Gee, Gees; Aitch, Aitches; I, Ies; Jay, Jays; Kay, Kays; Ell, Ells; Em, Ems; En, Ens; 0, Oes; Pee, Pees; Kue, Kues; Ar, Ars; Ess, Esses; Tee, Tees; U, Ues; Vee, Vees'; Double-u, Double-ues; Ex, Exes; Wy, Wies; Zee, Zees. OBS. 4.-Letters, like all other things, must be learned and spoken of by |