Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1885-02-21

y
were inclined to spell after the fash
ion of the books, but the Normans
dropped special Anglo -SaxoH dis
ordinations and left many Of their
own letters standing which were not
pronounced by the peoplE; also,
many letters were inserted 10 lll-di-
rected attempts to represent incon-
gruous vocal elements. A change
followed in the whole gamut, so to
speak, of the vowel sounds Some
close vowels became dipthongs, and
open and mixed yoWels became
closer. Single characters thus came
to represent ,iiptaang end he long
and short soy Essle a pairs
in other langHaqes, to be de-
noted in English ent char
acters, drawu fran lE sources.
Some letters were made dc double,
triple, or quadruple ducy. Some
vowel sounds had no special signs,
and this was also the case with some
consonant-sounds. The people at
length ceased to feel any necessity
for keeping sounds and signs togeth-
er. Changes went on without any
record in the writing Of English.
Etymologists slipped in or dropped
out words at pleasure, to indicate
some real or fancied derivation. Old
monsters, fertilized by popular fancy,
prupagated themselves in the con
genial environment. The conse-
quence OF all this has been that the
English language has attained the
worst alphabetical spelling in the
world.
Now, what is to be done about it !?
Evidently, English words can not be
spelled by sound, and, therefore,
oral spelling has failed to accom-
plish the desired end. There re-
mains but one alternative, and that
is to require pupils to familiarize
themselves with the forms Of words
by persistent exercises in writing.
The drift of all that has been said
favors making the eye rather than
the ear the arbiter in spelling.
Pri.ters and proof-readers will sus-
tain the assertion, that to become
good spoilers the sense of sight
must be constantly invoked, and
the forms or looks Of words
closely scrutinized. They set up
a word, examine its appear lnce, and
instantly detect a mistake. They
never spell it aloud, or maine the let
teIs, to discover an error.
In talking we have no occasion to
spell. 1t is only in writing that
spelling is necessary. Why then
should teachers persist in that near
" useless practice Of oral spelling,
rather than train their pupils in the
more natural and useful accomplish
ment of spelling with pencil, or pen
and ink, those words which he needs
in expressing his thoughts on paper?
Most spelling books are filled with
columns of words which convey no
idea to child, words which he has
never heard before, and many of
which he will lever see elsewhere.
Pupils are required to memerize
such words, and the spelling lesson
becomes dull, stupid, deadaning
process. The writer well remembers
how glad he was when he turned
that leaf of the "old blue-back"
which permitted him to read of the
old man who pelted the young sauce
box in the apple tree. This was the
first CLEAN of light that pierced the
gloom through which he had plodded
many long and weary months. Long
ago he resolved never to punish a
child by driving him through path
so cherries and sterile. He has
kept the resolution. For the two
decades in which he has been engag-
ed in teaching, he has never permit
ted the use of a ''blue- back" in any
school under his control. He can
well-nigh exclaim ''If all the spell
ing books were gathered into one
heap and bonfire made of them,
more light would be shed upon the
world than by any other use to
which they could be applied :,
X. Y. z.