New-York tribune., 1873-07-25
PHILOLOGY.


lFRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRrBUNE.l
EAsroN Penn, July 24.-LaSt evenings ses-
sion vas very interesting The Pedagogical Sec
ton met and papers read by Prof s. NJ shute of
Washington and by Francis H. March, Professor Of the
English Language and Comparative PhOlogy in Lafay-
cite College. Prof. shute's paper was on the More
Extensive study the English Language and Literature
in our College Courses" After showing how very limited
and superficial is the knowledge OF college students in
the sphere OF the English language and literature,
position maintained that two full years. at least
should be given to their extended and thorough study
Prof March then presented hs paper on the "Method
Of Study Of Comparative Philoogy a College Course"
He said that agreed that there ought he some
study OF Comparative Pholory in every college but
most colleges only give few lectures near the end
Of the course Long familiarity with any fact is
sary 10 real understanding OF its laws. 1t would
seem desirable TO have progressive course taken
up in connection with the reading Of foreign authors,
and carried on through the early years Of
The course II should begin with phOnO0gy In the Latin
and Greek The facts OF ancient pronunciation,
and the laws Of change TO the present pronunciation,
shOuld be taught, their expOunded, and the
whole daily illustrated by and applied the words of
the Latin and Greek author who Is read The etymol-
ogy OF the noun and verb should be taken up in the
succeeding terms. The origin OF all infections should
DO taught, so that students may know the
words from which they derived. After Latin and
Greek well understood, French should be taken up
and studied in the same way, that its origin from
Latin may be mastered. AnClo-SaXOu and English
should follow during tue Junior year. and Milton aud
Shakespeare should be studied In their relations to the
earlier forms Of language Students will then be pre-
pared for Of lectures other tongues and the
laws Of speech. such course would be fruitful in
knowledge Of speech, and would lead 10 scientific
knowledge o. doms, and also to thorough mastery Of
literature.
Latin Pronouuclation" was the subject OF the first
Il lp.ur of
the Columbia School Of Mines OF Nev-York. The
greater part OF the paper taken mp in illustrations
Of that had occurred in Latin language
% different periods or its history Just the modern
Greek retains but little Of the original Greek pronunca
tOn IL could not be expected that the Latin shOuld
have come down unchanged through period Of
two thousand years A kindred paper, by Prof
s. s. Haldeman OF the University Of Pennsylvania,
The Pronunciation OF Latin as Presented in Recent
GRAMMAR" then read. Tie essayist said that the
demand for phlOiogic pronunciation of Latin has at
length provided with grammars which reject both
the English aud Continental methods for rational
one. which can be used for ctymologic purposes
These grammars agree most points, and they all
admit Of still closer approximation to the
proper form. English habits have a tendency to OBJ
scurc our appreciation OF the length Of vOwels The
;horough grammar of Roby chiefly used in nlustra-
u1n Some assertions Of Donaldson were questioned.
Tho reader REGARDED the slnsrit postasprates later
forms, which developed from the older simple con-
souants TIe graumars give the Greek as sd or dS,
bat the assertions Of the ancient grammarians well
the Jaws Of Geek cousoEaut change, make il cquva
lent 20 English I'd.
The next paper was by Prof Fisk Brewer Of the Uni
versity OF North Carolina at Chapel Hin. His subject
Uas The Acquisition of q Double Moher-Tongue" He
lad recently returned from Greece, and the examples
Of the acquisition Of a double mothertoDcue those
Of children Of German and English parents living at
Athens. Several singular circumstances connected
IL. f.f
writer thought that neither Of the languages could be
learned well in this way each could when acquired
separately.
Prof. March then read paper on "Iate Discussions
OF Grimm's Law" Mr.. Sweet has edited an old Anglo
saxon manuscript Of the time Of Alfred for the Early
English Text Society. lie bad studied the characters
with great care especially the of N and other char
acters for the ngual sprant He has been led to be-
leye that Grmms law misrepreented the history Of the
mutes. lie thinks hiatt Of the IndiaEuropean parent
speech first changed 20 d, then 10 dh then 10 Oh,
and the other mues went through similar changes. Prof
March showed that this new theory shown TO De
DE untenablo by o succession Of proofs drawn from a
minute examination OF the changes actually known to
have taken place in the Gothic AngOSaxOn, and other
Teuonic speeches, application Of known laws Of
speech, The facts brought forward by Sweet were
shown TO present difficulties. and his theory to
involve many gross improbabites. And Il was shown
that the surd to DO found in the earliest forms of
Anglosaxou and Gothic, and probably preceded the
sonant.
Tue Committee appointed Mt Yesterdays session nomi
mated this afternoon, the following officers TO serve the
P-ssasst-Fr,pe, M,r.h Of L,f,ve,ts College
Tte rfudet-br H. Iruu1aI Of Hartford Conni Froi J. D.
Altr. 81 Tennessee University.
S,r1i1-y-Pro, SsHs-i aar, Trinity College. Hartford Conn.
Esa c5rpH1,,sc Bue siaeton Pong seePsie; H. Brig
Cs-oiaa- j. You're. Bouioin College.
Hartford was selected as the pace OF nouing te neAv
annual meeting and TUESDAY, Juy - was apron @ as
The time for the beginning Of Tie session. Prof. DOoge
then addressed the Association on the subject OF
enterprise could be made profitable ana It certainly
would have wide field Of usefulness. Editors should
manage the different apartments lt was proposed 70
start IN humble way ana enarge tne JoEana J as % tbe
Executive Committee with direction to report at the
The FIRST paper Of the afternoon was read by DR. j. T.
Hammond Trumbun, on some Facts suggesting the
Language" The phenomena OF Aphasa had a special
interest as belonging TO class OF facts when suggest
the probability Of sudden or catastrophe changes OF
lsnrnage wholly independent OF the gradual processes
Of phonetic decay ana diaectca regeneration. Inc
causes Of aphasa are obscure. Ihe writer suggested
not quite seriously pThaps that some perseyerng myth
hunter might md an explanation oI the conuson 9t
tongues az Babel by referring II 10 enaec sPnasa: ~
s. only Of several causes which IN tue course OF o
catastrophe changes radical cnahge " ne itngJ9
Of the Sandwich ISLANDS, mentioned Dy Won Chamsso,
noticed. The paper CONSISTED chleuy OF e1udGls
from letters OF Horato Hale Of Clinton, Canada In rea-
On 10 the HurOns and the six nations OF Indians that
trot River Obtained complete vocabulary Of aremnant
OF the Hurous-tho Wyandot tribe MI Haze was sslls-
tive language from which the Iroquois dialects are
descended. He had also found III ue Ast OF
The founders Of the cOnfcderacy OF the SIX
Nations who lived IN Central New-fOrK, the
name Of Hawatha. Hawatha was real personsGe, ana
appears 10 have lived the latter end OF the neenth
century HaWatha had entertained the idea OF uVthg
all the Indian tribes into great ConIegeraey. fsfta
uent peace would thus be established Bne glory Oi thls
C0niederaey Is still sung ia Indian songs. .
Prof w. W. Goodwin Of Cambridge University reau
paper on d" Two Passages in DemOsthepes" Inc paper
referred ~ the true meaning Of the word halamtes
used by DemO,thenes in connection win Neschlue5.
il was the name Of statue-the Hero haantes, ~