Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1855-01-18

witt. their elocution; 1t was not only clear
and flu ut. but melodious; there was no
mumbling. no frowning as by those who
should vainly attempt to pronounce
through aud immediately after tough.
and again. perhaps plough but every
word seemed 10 be at once thoroughly
comprehe uded. aud given with distinct
utterance. What particularly pleased
US. was the facility with which they pro-
nounced words of four. FIVE. and six syl-
tables. and read chapter from history,
hardly word of which they comprehend.
ed; bu. gradusie from Harvard. could
hardly have rendered it more perfect than
did these little primary school scholars. :"
The Boston Commonwealth when
speaking Of this school, sail Of Phonoto-
Py:
III adopted as reform. il books and
newspapers were generally printed in the
phonetic alphabet, we contend that
schools for the purpose of teaching read
ing and spelling would be entirely useless
Children would then learn TO rrad and
spell correctly at home, just as spohtane-
ously as they learn to talk.
But as an engine for overcoming diff
ficulties, and very formidable difficulties
they are. of reading and spelling in our
present 'orihography,. The Phonetic sys-
, lem is as much superior 10 that now in
practice in our schools, as railroad to
common turnpike.
I'VE sometimes feel sad lack Of pa
thence with our school authorities for
not seeing this at once. from the bare
statement of the means employed. To
US il seems like needless cruelty TO bring
up bevy of infants to demonstrates this
by competition, before an assembly al
gas light when the dear little things ought
10 be in bed
Thus i, is setn that where Phonetics
have been introduced they have been uni
versally admired; and. although there
were some who tried to oppose it at frs.
1t was finally acknowledged by all to be
the most perfect mode.
Shortly after this. the subject oe pho
netics was laid before the General AS
sembly Of Massachusetts. where some
children were presented for examination
who had attended school but six months
and they reported that they read both
/ Phonotopy and the common print fluent
'y; that they show "an ability far beyond
! the usual powers OF children Of that sge.
a nd beyond what the Committee had ever
known in any children OF any age"
They conclude their report as follows
There was evi lence tending To show,
81. That it will enable the learner 70
read. Paoneticaily. in one-tenth Of the
time ordinarily employed
3 That il will enable the pupil to
read the common type in one fourth Of
the time necessary according to the usual
mode Of Instruction.
3. That the truth and accuracy Of
the system will induce millions TO teach
themselves 10 read who are now ignorant
"A. That its acquisition leads the pu
pi, to the correct pronunciation Of every
word.
D. That its certainty teaches dis
tinct enuuciatinn. which will not be lost
when the pupil CONS to read the Roman
text.
o. That its adoption. merely as
means ot learning our common print,
will tend TO Danish provincillisms.
u. That. by directing the attention
to the different methods of representing
sound. the pupils mill in the end. be
come better orlhosraphists than by the
present method.
IS. That it will have tendency 10
make nlanv derva,iens. which have now
been almos, lost. familiar to the eve.
80. Tast it will b. Of vast benefit in
cabling an individual rapidly 10 preserve
his own thoughts and those cf Others.
10. That 10 any one familiar with
the system. it will furnish a means Of
representing the pronunciation of foreign
languages with precision.
Ill. That it will present TO the mis-
sionary q superior alphabet for the repre-
senta lion Of hitherto unwritten languages
Ia That our own language may By
means of il be subjected to few simple
rules of accent; a thing which has h:th-
erto been almost una ltaina ble."
My third proposition is now fully cs.
tabished. but that the reader may know
what educationists think OF Phone,ics,
give the following extract from the Hon.
Horace Mann written on the Cd day OF
July, 1851:
The English Lansuagr.is SO anomalous
and self contradictory, that some Of the
greatest and best minds have sought for a
method Of lessening the difficulties oil &C.
curing it, We call il improperly the
English Langaage; as though there was
but one. On opening Dictionary ever
body will see tina: there are two ENGLISH
Languages; one for spr...aiine, the other
for writing am printing; and l believe
the r.us'ery OF these to be more difficult
for children than that of two languages.
wholly distinct and separate from each
other, or having no word in common.
The child is taught to give particular
sound TO letter. and when he sees the
same letter again he is ia ught to give il
another sound; and still another and. an,