Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1855-08-17

task masters. who would still perpetu-
ate the abominatiop, under the plea Of
its being fine discipline, forssooth, Of
the childish brain. We esteem It's ef-
fects on the mind to be. in the highest
degree. deleterious, physically. men.
tally and morally. We believe it has
sent many child to its untimely
grave, aud weakened and perverted
many brain il could not murder
We do not approveofthe practice ofim-
posing discipline. Discipline enough
there is. true discipline, the only true
discipline. in the task Of acquiring Just
and true knowledge. A discipline that
trains the young minds 10 irrstionali-
ty, to vagueness, 10 uselessness. TO ar.
bitrary caprice. to the substitution Of
conventional prescription for essential
truth, is curse TO the mind and the
soul. 1t is a training to falsehood; for
mere conventional truth is falsehood
agreed upon--a lie by compact. No.
thing is more important for training
up clear-sighted observers and clear
headed logicians, then the habit thro'
every part Of education. nay, through
every moment of life, of looking At
and seeing things just as they are.
Never should the mind be trained to
hold things to be what they are not:
to submit itselfto conventional impo-
sitions and authorized absurdlties: 10
satisfy itself with confused and vague
perceptions. Now our common spell
ing process is guilty Of all these otfen-
ses. 1t Is vague. conventional. false.
capricious, contradictory, confusing.
all continued for years, through the
weary hours Of five days in the week.
at the most tender and impressiblc Pc
riod Of life. We submit that it is both
stulifying and demoralizing-and ex.
ecrable nuisance that aught to be aba
ted st+
As 10 the chronological objection,
that phonotypy would destroy all ira
ces OF the derivation at present EN-.
bodied in the spelling, our reply is
brief Phonotopy. doubtless, would
add one step 10 the process OF tracing
the historical mutations through which
given word has passed. It flings
the old forms one remove back. To
the professional etymoligist this is.
doubtless. a great favor. as II affords
additional field for research, and so
additional reputation for profoundly
in recondite knowledge. To the Sec
ond hand etymclogist who examines
the derivation ofa word for an imme-
date and practical purpose, there is
an easy mechanical aid. Webster's
large dictionary analyses the etymolo-
gy Of every word in the language. A
phonotypic dictionary could easily
add 10 the phonotypic word its old
spelling form. and then trace It's vari-
Gus steps Of derivation; for be it re-
membered; phonotypy retains all the
present letters Of the alphsbet. Ety.
mology, so far as it would be conceal
ed by phonotypy, has little influence
upon the large mass Of speakers and
writers in our language: and the man
who needs an occult genealogical fact
can afford to work for Il without ex-
pecting that all Christendom or all
Saxondom should bear his burden
with him. An etymology is n luxury
for the few;phonoiypy II necessity
for the many. The genealogical OBJ
lection is founded on the Old feudal
principle; that the lip Of the upper
ten may enjoy its silver spoon. let
the mouths OF the millions go empty.
But what shall be done with all our
present books. and all our old librar-
les? We answer, Do with them just
what you have done with your old
writer's. Milton and Shakespeare. Re-
print them NIL in the new photography,
and your publishing houses viii have
no objection to the glorious job. For
do not imagine that you are reading
those venerable standards in their own
obsolete photography. They have MI
been renovated from the old to the
new barbarism prescribed by Johnson's q
Dictionary. A few hours practice
enables us to read authors much older
than these, ,-Chauce and Grower. for
instance. in their old spellng-and we
have No need to learn to write in that
orthogmphy. In similar way, were
phonotypy now in universal use, es.
tnblished full century. few hours
would make our present barbarism
sufficiently readable for all practical
purposes. The reformation. gradu-
ally adopted. would attain al its bene-
fits without expense and withoutircon.
venience. II only requires the sacri.
= fee Of the childish. or rather owiish
] prejudice that admires customary de.
formity.
There are few native American born
men who can speak or read their own
language without mistake. We sci.
dom hear n speaker. either at the bar,
in the pulpit, or in the professors
chair. even. who can pronounce the
entire language with unerring accura.
: cy. we every DAY near ialse ortno'
epy from professional and literary
1 speakers. Men who have spent theil
entire lives in scholastic pursuits. ant
are nice in pronunciations. are oblig
ed at fifty or sixty years Of age, Il
thumb lexicon 10 learn how to pro
nounce their mother-tongue! and that
!. too, with sad presentiment. that. 81
. unprincipled is our own photography
he may have to hunt up the sani,
D treacherous vocable in the same die
. tionary next week. And yet the in
trepid and faithful fogy will be up il
arms if you should suggest to him III,
idea of bringing into use an ortbogra
IA ply in which u mistake or an uncer
]. tairty would be an impossibility. Tn
same fact is true in regard to spelling
!, Few literary men are there at an,
A age Of life who are not plagued witt
a doubts in the spelling Of langusg
they have been spelling all their lives
elf any shrewd reader suspects, from the heart
ness of this denunciztion, that the authoris u ba
spoller, and that what 30 claims 10 be conseIer