spect the ear only, yet, if we consider the contiguity of the organs of speech to the ear, and the natural laws of the association of ideas, we shall easily be convinced that it depends for the most part on ease of utterance. The sound produced in the mouth is in close contact with the ear, which is thus constituted its rightful judge. That which passes through the lips easily, strikes pleasantly on the ear; that which oc casions pain and difficulty in the utterance, makes, on the contrary, a painful impression on that organ.

The facility of utterance depends on a just intermixture of vocalic and liquid sounds on the one hand, and of mute consonants on the other. This undoubtedly is the funda mental principle of euphony. The two faults opposed to this are a superabundance of vowels or liquids, producing too great softness, and a superabundance of consonants, producing too great harshness.

Although the general principles of euphony are obvious, yet, in judging of particular cases, much is left to taste, caprice, and fashion. Habit tends to make an unpleasant sound agreeable, and fashion often predominates to reject sounds in themselves pleasant. Thus different nations have formed for themselves different laws of euphony.

The changes produced in words by euphony are called fig. ures, i. e., figures or forms of words different from the ordinary. These euphonic changes are entirely distinct from those which arise in the formation and inflection of words.

These figures of euphony have not received in our common grammars the attention they deserve. They have been compressed into a narrow space, and regarded as arbitrary processes. Their connection with the physiology of sound, and their importance in the formation of language, have not been duly estimated. They are now beginning to form the most interesting chapter in comparative philology, and to have their bounds and limits accurately marked out.

These figures are either necessary, occasioned by the general laws of euphony, or accidental, occasioned by the sense of euphony in a particular people. Both kinds, again, are either external, i. e., such as are perceived from a comparison with a kindred dialect or with an original language; or

internal, i. e., such as appear in the structure itself of a par

ticular language.

§77. Let there be two syllables, of which the one ends in and the other begins with r, as we have in the syllables num and rus, of the Latin word numerus.

Let an ejection of the intervening letter bring these two syllables into immediate contact, num-rus. The m and the rform an unstable combination. To remedy this there is a tendency (not an absolute necessity) to insert an intervening

sound.

In English, the form which the Latin word numerus takes is number; in Spanish, nombre. The b makes no part of the original word, but has been inserted for the sake of Euphony, or, to speak more properly, by a Euphonic process. The word Euphony is derived from ev, well, and owvý, a voice. In the word number, nombre, the letter inserted was b; and for b being the particular letter employed, there is a reason derived from the system of Articulate sounds.

The affinity of m for the series b, and of n for the series t, give occasion for further Euphonic changes: mt, md, mp, mð, are unstable. The syllables emt, emd, are liable to one of two modifications: either p or b will be inserted, and so make them empt, as in tempt, embd, as in Embden; or else the m will become n, forming the syllables ent, end, enp, enð.

EUPHONIC FIGURES. A

§78. I. APHÆRESIS, Greek ȧnó, from, and aipéw, to take, is the taking of a letter or a syllable from the beginning of a word; as, 'gainst, 'neath, for against, beneath.

II. PROSTHESIS, Greek πρóç, to, and ríoŋu, to place, is the addition of a letter or syllable to the beginning of a word; as, adown, yclad, for down, clad.

III. APOCOPE, Greek áñó, from, and KóжTw, to cut, is the taking of a letter or letters from the end of a word; as, th' evening, four o'clock, for the and of.

IV. SYNCOPE, Greek oúv, with, and Kónтw, to cut, is the taking away of one or more letters from the middle of a word; as, e'en, se'ennight, for even, sevennight.

V. EPENTHESIS, Greek énévoɛouç, is the insertion of a letter

or syllable in the middle of a word; as, honour, could, for honor, coud.

VI. PARAGOGE, Greek πapaуwyń, a drawing out, is the annexing of a letter or syllable to the end of a word; as, awaken, withouten, for awake, without.

..

VII. DIERESIS, Greek diaípeois, division, is the dissolving of a diphthong; it is the mark over two vowels, which might otherwise be taken for one syllable; as, zoölogy, aërial. VIII. SYNÆRESIS, Greek ovvaípeois, contraction, is the con. tracting of two syllables into one; as, ae and ie, in Israel and alienate.

IX. TMESIS, from Greek Tépvw, to cut, is the dividing of a compound word; as, to us ward, which side soever, for toward us, whichsoever side.

THE PERMUTATION AND TRANSITION OF LETTERS,

$79. In the words Give and Gave we have a change of Tense expressed by a change of Vowel. In the words Price and Prize a change of meaning is expressed by a change of Consonant. In Clothe and Clad there is a change both of a Vowel and a Consonant. In the words to use and a use, there is a similar change, although it is not expressed by the spelling. To the ear, the Verb to use ends in z, although not to the eye.

$ 80.

OF VOWELS.

PERMUTATION

as, man, men.

=

as, stand, stood.

as, dare, durst.

as, was, were.

as, speak, spoken.

eaě to ea= è; as, breath, breathe.

ee

ន ន ន ន ន

'~ '2 IN 'N

to ě;

as, deep, depth.

to o;

as, bear, bore.

as, spin, span.

ea

i

i

to u; ci to o;

i= ei to i;

as, spin, spun.

as, smite, smote.

as, smite, smitten.

as, give, gave.

In have and had we have the ejection of a sound; in work and wrought, the transposition of one. Important changes are undergone by the sounds k, g, and the allied ones, nk, ng, y, as will be seen in the Chapter on Verbs.

§ 82.

i= ei

ou

ink

ing

to ou; as, grind, ground.

to iei; as, mouse, mice; cow, kine
to augh; as, drink, draught.

to ough; as, bring, brought.

y (formerly g) to ought; as, buy, bought. ig=ei

eek

to ough; as, fight, fought.
to ough; as,
as, seek, sought.

In all the words above, the change of sound has been brought about by the grammatical inflection of the word wherein it occurs. This is the case with the words life and live, and with all the rest. With the German word leben, compared with the corresponding word live in English, the change is similar. It is brought about, however, not by a grammatical

inflection, but by a difference of Time and by a difference of Place. This indicates the distinction between the Permutation of Letters and the Transition of Letters. In dealing with Permutations, we compare different parts of Speech; in dealing with Transitions, we compare different languages, or different stages of a single language.

EXAMPLES OF THE TRANSPOSITION OF THE LET

TER R.

§83. 1. Bird; compare Anglo-Saxon brid.

2. Board; compare Anglo-Saxon bred, German brett. 3. Brothel; compare bordel.

4. Burn; compare brand and brimstone.

5. Cart; compare Anglo-Saxon crat, crat.

6. Corn; compare Latin granum.

7. For; compare Latin pro, Greek πрó.

πρό.

8. Fright; compare Anglo-Saxon fyhrto, German furcht. 9. Frost; compare Anglo-Saxon forst, Dutch vorst. 10. Grass; comparé Anglo-Saxon gærs, gers, gears. 11. Horse; compare Old German hros, German ross, Dutch ros.

12. Hundred; compare German hundert, Dutch hunderd. 13. Run; compare Anglo-Saxon yrnan.

14. Third; compare Anglo-Saxon thridde, German dritte. 15. Wrought and wright; compare work.

Compare Latin pistris for pristis, "a sea-monster;" Greek Kρadia for kapdía, "the heart;" Hebrew gazar and garaz,

"to cut."

CHAPTER V.

THE NATURAL SIGNIFICANCY OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS.

$84. THE proposition which we shall endeavor here to support is the following: that language is not entirely arbitrary or conventional, but, on the contrary, articulate sounds have a natural adaptedness to express specific ideas.