A Minniature ov Inglish Orthoggraphy

A Minniature ov Inglish Orthoggraphy

Project Gutenberg's A Minniature ov Inglish Orthoggraphy, by James Elphinston This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: A Minniature ov Inglish Orthoggraphy
Author: James Elphinston
Release Date: May 25, 2005 [EBook #15901]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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A MINNIATURE OV INGLISH ORTHOGGRAPHY.
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TO' DHEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES, DHE PRINCE AND PRINCES _OV WALES_; DHE DUKE AND DUTCHES _OV YORK_: ONNORED AZ UNDOUTED PATRONS AND PATTERNS OV EVVERY PROPRIETY: DHIS MINNIATURE
Ov Inglish Orthoggraphy,
_UMBLY HOPES UNIVERSAL ACCEPTANCE;_ FROM DHE BENIGN PERMISSION OV BEING SO INSCRIBED, BY DHEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES DEVOTED SERVANT, James Elphinston.
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A MINNIATURE OV
Inglish Orthoggraphy:
DEDDICATED TO' DHE PRINCE AND PRINCES OF WALES, DHE DUKE AND DUTCHES OV YORK:
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BY JAMES ELPHINSTON.
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_LONDON_:
SOLD (Price 1 Shilling and 6 Pence) BY W. RITCHARDSON, ROYAL EXCHAINGE; T. BOOSEY, N. 4, BRAUD-STREET, DHARE; F. AND C. RIVVINGTON, N. 62; ST. PAULS CHURCHYARD; J. DEIGHTON, N. 325, HOLBORN; W. CLARK, N. 38, BOND-STREET.
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1795.
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CONTENTS.
1. Introduccion 2. _Orthoggraphy ascertained in dhe vowels, and dheir serviles_ 3. _Vocal substitucion, licenced and licencious_ 4. Ov open and shut vowels 5. Ov dhe aspirates and dheir insertives 6. Ov redundant serviles 7. Ov impracticabel articulacion 8. Ov false aspiracion 9. _Dhe guttural aspirate lost, or transmuted by moddern organs_ 10. _Old R aspirate_ 11. Oddher antiquated idellers 12. _Final fantoms, or dubblers ov final forms_ 13. _Oddher falsifiers, medial or final; licquids or sibbilants; particcularly TI for a sibbilacion_ 14. Dhe orthoggraphy ov propper names 15. Dhe fundamental principel ov orthoggraphy 16. The orthographic riddle * * * * *
A MINNIATURE OV _INGLISH ORTHOGGRAPHY._
1. INTRODUCTION.
Hwen evvery oddher language, and at last our own, haz been reduced to' science; rendered accountabel to' natives, and accessibel to' straingers; hwence iz it, dhat our practice, growing daily more a contrast dhan an exemplificacion ov our theory, tempts ignorance to' speak, az blind habbit spels; raddher dhan to' dream ov spelling, az propriety exhibbits her unremitted harmony, hweddher in word or writing? For propriety, hwarevver herd, can be seen onely in her picture: nor can dhis be duly drawn, but from dhe oridginal; or dhe likenes long prezerved, in dhe coppies ov vulgarrity.
Scarce creddibel doz it seem, to' dhe anallogists ov oddher diccions, dhat hiddherto', in Inglish exhibiscion, evvery vowel and evvery consonant ar almoast az often falsifiers az immages ov dhe truith. Hetteroggraphy indeed, or false litterary picture, can arize onely from won, or a combinacion, ov foar cauzes: redundance, defiscience; mischoice, or misarraingement.
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2. ORTHOGGRAPHY ASCERTAINED IN DHE VOWELS, AND DHEIR SERVILES.
It iz not now new, dhat evvery Inglish vowel haz, not onely a longuer and shorter, but even a different sound, az open or shut by a consonant; dho A braud, open and shut, differ but in quantity. Nor iz it yet a secret, dhat certain mutes, or silent letters, (espescially vocal quiescents,) ar named _serviles_; rendering essencial az vizzibel service, boath to' vowels and consonants. Hware such gards ar wanted, dhey doutles wil attend; and, hwen dhey proov superfluous, az reddily widhdraw. Dhus dhe open vowel ov dhe simpel shuts, and dhe serviles vannish, in dhe penultimate ov dhe compound: shake, _Shakspear_; chear, _cherfool_; vine, vinyard, and dhe like. So formatives: stare and stair, _starling_; steer, _sterling_; shere, _sherrif_; child, _children_; kind, _kindred_; know, _knollege_; and dhe rest.
Evvery open ear must allow dhe aspiracion (_h_) to' articculate iniscially dhe braud vocal licquid (_w_); nor longuer imadgine dhat wh, apparent, can becom hw real; or dhat what, whale, wheels, can rascionally paint dhe power ov hwat, hwale, hweels. Dhe braud licquid (_w_) haz no place in hoal, total; or in hore, prostitute; distinct alike, to' dhe eye, from hole and hoar. But wh, iniscial, may wel prommise _hw_; if le and re, boath final, may picture el and _er_: az we admire, not onely on dhe little theatre, but in dhe centre ov dhe battle! Dho a tutch ov Rezons wand wil restore dhe buty ov truith; at wonce to' dhe littel theater, and to' dhe center ov dhe _battel_; az such buty beamed in dhe former century.
Dhe French table, chambre, ancien, danger, ar dhe unexcepcionabel parents ov dhe Inglilh tabel, chaimber, aincient, _dainger_; hoo ar too apt scollars, not to' lern from parental exampel, to' show dhemselvs hwat dhey ar; widhout wondering, dhat won tung iz not anoddher, or dhat each must hav her own essence and semblance; and dhat in