The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-04-03
THURSDAY, APRIL ., 1873.
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We print this morning a very Interest.
fnsarttcie on spelling reform, in the shape
Of report Of lecture by Prof. Edward
North, Of Hamilton College, New York.
We invite q careful reading Of Il by all
persons who feel an interest in the impor-
tant subject with which 1t deals. Rejecting
scholars have often pondered over the
ridiculous incongruitles and inconsistent.
Giles in our spelling and pronunciation
pointed out by Prof. North, and many
voices have been raised in favor Of reform.
There has always, however, been class
Of persons who have contcnded that We
would weaken the derivatiye significance
Of our Language II We changed It's spelling.
These persons think that the great bust.
ness Of lie is to keep alive the Latin and
Greek parentage OF a portion Of our Ian.
guage. They refuse to recognize that hui
man life is too short to waste much Of It In,
the study Of dead languages, particularly
when that studyleads to q foolish pedantry
that cherlshcs tho idea that we must not
lay hands on our spelling, and make II
as simple and natural as We would II we
were going to invent language to-day.
This lecture BY Prof, North is timely.
It calls to mind recent lecture in the
London Times on the same subject, tho
theme Of which was English pronuncia.
ton: It's present tendencies and their
future results" The lecturer pointed out
that the English, being, like nearly all
other European tongues, only a dialect Of
dead tongue once spoken in Middle Asia,
had now been changing for more than
5000 years. Surveying the causes which
broke up the dead mother speech into
Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, English, etc., he
pointed out that the chief Of them was
laziness, influenced by diversities otClimate
and food, which, by causing changes in
the organs Of speech, made some sounds
easier and some harder. He then sketch
ed the working and results Of the same
cause on English from the seventh 70 the
middle OF the eighteenth century, and
went on to show in detail that great vowel
and consonantal changes had been going
on ever since the latter time; change was
unceasing, and literature had proved help.
less to stop it, Having described the
phases OF Colonial English, he said that
English must be expected in time 10 break
up into European, American, Australian,
New Zealand, Indian, and African varie-
ties, which would become distinct Ian
guages. There was only one way to pre-.
vent this-by settling a standard pronun-
citation, and having it taught in every En-.
glish school. .sucha standard could only
besettled by an authority commanding
higher and more general respect than any
now existing, and the lecturer urged the
formation of an English academy, COM
posed Of the leading philologists whether
in Parliament, the bar thepulpit, or on the
stage), writers and edpcationists, body
whose judgments would have all the
weight needed. Such an academy would
also deal With the cOmingl question OF
spelling, and might exercise decisivein.
fluence in favor Of a pure English as
against a Romance or Latin style. Pho.
netic spelling, though rational and iuevita.
BILE, oughtto be preceded by uniformity Of
pronunciation, or English would at once
be broken up into written as we'll as spoken
dialects; butif the two reforms went hand
in hand the only rule for spelling would
be pronunciation, and the only rule for
pronunciation spelling. The result Of
such uniformity would,be that the English
race, holding the three great emigrant-
fields Of the present and future, North
America, Australasia, and South Africa,
which would one day be occupied by
l,0Oo,oOO,OOO inhabitants Of European de.
scent, would in the, end give the world a
universal speech which would be the sur
est pledge Of universal iharmonyand prog.
ress. "a &C.
.-. "a,