A critical pronouncing dictionary and expositor of the English language : to which are prefixed principles of English pronunciation, the whole interspersed with observations, etymological, critical, and grammatical PDF
Preview A critical pronouncing dictionary and expositor of the English language : to which are prefixed principles of English pronunciation, the whole interspersed with observations, etymological, critical, and grammatical
VMMKIMMMMaVMnBailjN UNIVERSITY OFCALIFORNIA.SANDIEGO 3 1822 00855 6987 hm-w . r ^ LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO THI8 %u\\ or ^Oliritijc lirStii liiui^jital ^?v^^^-/"^>^ oiltheOccasionofJiis(\an|il(liugaCoiirspol'luhuatioii IN THAT INSTITUTION. /'^^ JU)', /!^ hoiiM'((nvcnior. inlilFfff'i 20 ] Co 3 1822 00855 6987 -, VV3 Central University Library University of California, San Diego Note: This item Is subjectto recall aftertwo weeks. Date Due la Qji^yr- CRITICAL J^ PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY AKD EXPOSITOR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; TOWHICHAKE PUBFIXED IPrhrdpIcs 0f dpn^TrsIj ^rommdation: THEWHOLEIXTERSPBRSEDWITH OBSERVATIONS, ETYMOLOGICAL, CRITICAL, AND GRA^IMATICAL. By JOHN WALKER, AUTHOKOP "ELEIIEKTSOPELpCOTION," "KHTMINGEICIIONAEr,"ETO. WITH A SUPPLEMENT, CONSISTING OF UPWARDS OF FIVE THOUSAND NEW AVOBDS AND SCIENTIFIC TEEMS RECENTLY INCORPORATED WITH THE LANGUAGE. By EDWARD SMITH, FELLOWOFTHEEDDCATIOMALINSTITUTEOFSCOTLAND. LONDON: T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW^ EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORE:, JUDCCCLXVI. PREFACE. 1"*EWsubjects have of lateyearsmoreemployed the pensof everyclassof critics, than theim- provementof the Englisli Language. The greatestabilities in the nation have been exerted in cultivatingandreformingit; norhaveathousand minorcritics been wantingto add their mite of amendment totheir nativetongue. Johnson, whose largemind and justtastemadehim ca- pableofenrichingand adorningtheLanguage with original composition, hascondescendedtothe drudgery of disentangling, explaining, and arrangingit, and left alasting monumentof his abi- lity, labour, and patience; and Dr. Lowth,the politest scholarof theage,hasveiledhissuperi- orityin hisshort Introduction to English Grammar. Theponderousfoliohas gravelyvindicat- ed therights of analogy; and thelightephemera! sheetofnews has corrected errors in Gram- mar, aswellas in Politics, by slyly markingthem in Italics. Norhastheimprovementstoppedhere. WhileJohnson and Lowthhavebeeninsensiblyope- ratingon the orthography and construction ofourLanguage, its pronunciation has not been ne- glected. Theimportance of aconsistentandregularpronunciation wastooobviousto be over- looked; and thewantof thisconsistency and regularity has induced several ingenious men to endeavourat reformation; who, byexhibiting the regularities of pronunciation, and pointing outitsanalogies, have reclaimed some words thatwere notirrecoverablyfixed ina wrongsound andprevented others from beingperverted by ignoranceorcaprice. Amongthosewriters who deservethefirst praiseon thissubject,isMr.Elphinston; who,inhis PrinciplesoftheEnglishLanguage, hasreduced thechaos toa system; and, byadeepinvestiga- tionoftheanalogiesofour tongue, has laid the foundation of a justandregular pronunciation. Afterhim.Dr.Kenrick contributed aportion ofimprovementby his RhetoricalDictionary• in which the words are divided into syllables as they are pronounced, and figures placed over thevowels,toindicate theirdifferent sounds. But thisgentlemanhasrenderedhisDictionaryex tremely—imperfect,by entirelyomittingagreatnumberofwordsofdoubtful and diflUcultpronun- ciation thosevery words for which a Dictionary of thiskind would be mostconsulted. Tohim succeeded Mr. Sheridan, who notonly divided the wordsintosyllables, and placed fi- guresoverthevowelsas Dr. Kenrick had done, but, by spellingthesesyllablesas theyare pro- nounced,seemed tocompletetheidea ofaPronouncing Dictionary, and to leavebutlittleexpec- tation of futureimprovement. It must, indeed, be confessed, that Mr. Sheridan's Dictionary isgreatlysuperior to every otherthat preceded it; and his method of convey—ing the sound of words, by spellingthem as theyare pronounced, ishighlyrational and useful. Buthere since- rityobliges metostop. Thenumerous instances I havegivenofimpropriety, inconsistency, and wantofacquaintancewiththeanalogiesoftheLanguage,sufficientlyshow howimperfect* Ithink his Dictionary is upon the whole, andwhatampleroomwasleftforattemptinganotherthatmio'ht betteranswerthe purpose ofa Guide to Pronunciation. Thelast writer on this subject is Mr. Nares, who, inhis ElementsofOrthiJepy, has showna clearness of method and an extent of observation which deserve the highest encomiums. His Prefacealoneproves himan elegantwriter, aswell asa philosophical observerofLanguage• and ahisneAwlpahanbdetuisceaflulImndeetxh,odreoffertrrienagtinnegarthfeivseubtjheocuts;anbdutwohredsseteomst,heonrulmeasnfyorocpcraosinoonusn,citonghatvheemmisi-s takenthebestusage, and tohave paid too littleattention to thefirstprinciplesofpronunciation. Thus I haveventured togive my opinion of my rivals and competitors, and I hope without envyor self-conceit. Perhapsit would havebeen policy in metohave been silent on this head forfearofputting the Publicin mind that othershave written on the subjectas well as myself' bouurtsetlhivsesisatatnhaerirroewxppeonlsiec.y, wAhicwhr,ituerndwehrothiesccoolnosucriooufstehnededrenseesrsvetsotohteheartst,einsticoanlcouflattehdetPoubrlaiisce (andunless he is thus consciousheoughtnot to write)mustnotonly wish to be compared with those whohavegone before him, butwill promotethe comparison, byinforminghisreaderswhat othershavedone, and on what he foundshispretensions to a preference; and if this be done vdth fairnessand withoutacrimony, itcanbe no moreinconsistent with modesty, than it iswith honestyand plain dealing. notThonelywoerxhkibIithsavteheofplr'ienrceiaploenstohfepsruobnjuencctihaatsi,onIohnopae,moardedeedxtseonmseivtehipnlgantothtahnepotuhbelrisckhasvteocdkon:eit divides thewordsintosyllables, and marks thesoundsofthe vowels like Dr. Kennck, spellsChe wordsastheyare pronounced likeMr.Sheridan, and directs theinspector to the rulebythe word likeMr Nares; but, where wordsaresubject to difierent pronunciations, it shows the reasons fromanalogyforeach, producesauthorities forone side and the other, and points outthepronun- ciationwhich is preferable. In short, Ihave endeavouredto unite thescienceofMr. Elphinston, themethod of Mr. Nares, and thegeneral utilityof Mr. Sheridan; and, toadd to theseadvan* tages, have given critical observationson such wordsasare subject toa diversity of pronuncia- tion, and haveinvited the inspectorto decideaccording toanalogy and the bestusage. But toall works of this kind there lies a formidableobjection; which is, thatthe pronuncLa- V^v*t,^SSp.hftm"e'r"'a',P'S?a't.u^t?y-,^&Ze^.'a^n^d?'tPhe^'in^s^e^p'ara*b^l*e-p*r^e-p'os^i'^t'io^n8"..Cfj5.30; andthewords A>,um€. CoUect,Ci.ouv<«d;o«uui,M..Di>ovnnaa-- '1 PKEFAOE. tion of a Laneuat^e is necessarily indefinite and fugitive, and that all endeavours to deline- ate or settle it are viiin. Dr. Johnson, in his Grammar, prefixed to his Dictionary, says: " Mostof thewriters of English Grammarhavegiven long tablesof words pronounced other- wise than they are written; and seem not sufficiently to haveconsidered, that, ofEnglish, as of allliving tongues, thereir,adouble pronunciation; one, cursory andcolloquial; theother, regu- larand solemn. Thecursorypronunciation isalwaysvagueand uncertain, beingmadedifi'erent, in different mouths, by negligence, unskilfulness, or affectation. The solemn pronunciation, though by no meansimmutableand permanent, is yet alwaysles3remote from the orthography, and lessliable tocapricious innovation. Theyhave, however, generally formed their tablesac- cordingtothecursory speech of thosewith whon-i theyhappened to converse, and, concluding thatthewholenation combinestovitiatelanguage in onemanner, haveoften established thejar- gon ofthelowestofthepeopleas the modelofspeech. For pronunciation thebestgeneralrule is, toconsiderthoseas themostelegantspeakerswlio deviate leastfrom the writtenwords." Withoutany derogation from the character of Dr. Johnson, itmay beasserted, thatin these observationswedonot perceive thatjustness and accuracyofthinkingfor which he is soremark- able. It would bedoing great injustice tohim, to suppose thathemeanttoexcludeallpossibi- lityof conveyingtheactual pronunciation of many wordsthatdepartmanifestly from their or- thography, or of thosethatare written alike, and pronounced differently: and inversely. He hasmarked thesedifferenceswith greatpropriety himself,in many placesofhis Dictionary; and itis toberegretted that hedid notextend theseremarks farther. It isimpossible, therefore, he could suppose, that,becausethealmostimperceptibleglancesofcolloquialpronunciationwerenot tobecaughtand described by the pi-n, thatthevery perceptible differencebetween theinitial ac- cented syllablesofmoneyand wionifor, or the final unaccented syllable oifiniteandinfinite, could notbesufficiently marked upon paper. Cannotweshow thatcellar, avault, andseller, onewho sells, haveexactly the samesound; or thatthe monosyllableyiitt, and thefirst syllableoffulmin- ate, are sounded differently, becausethereare some words in which solemnity will authorizea different shade ofpronunciation from familiarity? Besides, that colloquial pronunciationwhich is perfect, issomuch the languageofsolemn speaking, that,perhaps, thereis nomoredifference than between thesame picturepainted tobeviewed near and at a distance. The symmetry in both isexactlythe same; andthedistinction liesonlyin thecolouring. TlieEnglishLanguage, inthisrespect, seemstohavea greatsuperiority overthe French, which pronouncesmanyletters in the poeticand solemn style, that are whollysilent in theprosaic and famliar. Butif a so- lemn and familiar pronunciation really existsin ourlanguage, isitnotthebusinessof agram- rasrian to markboth? Andifhecannotpointouttheprecisesound ofunaccentedsyllableB,(for theseonlyare liabletoobscurity,)he niay, atleast, givethosesounds which approachthenearest, and by this means become a little more usefulthan thosewhosoliberallyleave every thing to theearand tasteofthespeaker. Thetruth is. Dr.Johnson seemsto havehad aconfused ideaofthedistinctnessandindistinct- ness with which, on solemn orfamiliaroccasions, wesometimespronouncethe unaccentedvow- els; and with respectto these, itmustbeowned, thathisremarksarenotentirely without foun- dation. The EnglishLanguage, with respecttoits pronunciation, isevidently divisibleinto ac- cented and unaccented sounds. The accented syllables, bybeingpronounced withgreater force than the unaccented, havetheir vowelsas clearly and distinctlysounded as anygiven note in music; while theunaccented vowels, forwantof thestress, areapt toslide intoan obscurity of sound, which, though sufficientlydistinguishabletotheear, cannotbesodefinitelymarked outto the eyebyother soundsasthosevowels thatarc under the accent. Thus some of thevowels, when neither undertheaccent, norclosed by aconsonant, havealongerorashorter, an opener oraclosersound,accordingtothe solemnity orfamiliarity, thedeliberation errapidityofourde- livery. This will beperceived in the sound oftheeinemotion,* oftiiooinobedience, and ofthe u in monument. In the hastypronunciation of commo.'i speaking, the e in emotion is often shortened, asifspeltim-mo-tio?i; theoinobedienceshortened andobscured, as ifwrittenub-be-di- ence;and theu in m.onumctit changed intoe, asifwrittenmon-ne-m^nti while thedeliberateand elegantsound of these vowelsis the longopen sound theyhave, when theaccentison them, in equal, over, and unit: buta, when unaccented, .seems to iiave no such diversity; ithasgenerally a short obscuresound, whetherendingasyllable, orclosed byaconsonant. Thus thea inab'e has itsdefiniteanddistinctsound; but the same letterin tolerablef goesintoan obscure indefi- nite sound approaching theshortu; nor can any solemnity ordeliberationgive it thelongopen sound it hasin the first word. Thus, bydistinguishingvowels intotheiraccentedand unaccent- ed sounds, weareenabled tosee clearly what Dr. Johnson sawbutobscurely; and by this dis- tinction entirely toanswerthe objection. Equallyindefiniteand uncertain is hisgeneral rule, tliai those are tobeconsidered asthemost elegantspeakers who deviateleast from thewritten words. Itis certain, where custom isequal, thisought to take place; and if thewhole body of respectable English speakers wereequallydi- vided in theirpronunciation of the word busy, one half pronouncing it bew-xc,\ and the other halfbix-Ke,that the formerought tobeaccounted the mostelegantspeakers; buttill this be tli£ • SwthewonisCollect,Commend,Dtspatch,VornffUck,Kffiice,Occarion. tI'lSucyj:!*,No.88,Hit. t Principles,No.17b.
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