Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue Part 3

OF THE RULES TO SYMBOLIZE.

Cap. 7.

1. To symboliz right, the sound of the voual is first to be observed, quhither it be a simple voual or a compound, and quhilk of them is to be chosen, for quhilk no rule can be geven but the judgeme_n_t of the ear.

2. Next the consonantes are to be marked; and first, quhither they break the voual befoer or behind; then quhither they be one or moe; and lastlie, w_i_th quhat organes of the mouth they be broaken.

3. For be the organes of the mouth, quherwith the syllab is broaken, the consonantes are discerned be quhilk the syllab must be symbolized, quhilk we have said, cap 1, sect. 5.

4. The consonantes may differ in hammar (as we called it, cap. 4, sect 3) and stiddie, as b and d. Or they may agre in ham_m_er and differ in stiddie, as b and v. Or they may agre in both and differ in the tuich, as f and v, m and p, t and g.

5. The tuich befoer the voual is be lifting the ham_m_er af the stiddie; as da, la, pa; and behind, be stryking the hammer on the stiddie; as ad, al, ap. And quhen the hammer and the stiddie are ane, the difference is in the hardnes and softnes of the tuich; as may be seen in ca and ga, ta and da. But w and y maekes sae soft a mynt that it is hard to perceave, and therfoer did the latines symboliz them with the symbol of the vouales. They are never used but befoer the voual; as we, ye, wil, you; behynd the voual thei mak noe consonant sound, nor sould be written, and therfore now and vow, with sik otheres, are not [to] be written w_i_th w, as is said befoer.

6. Of this q_uhi_lk now is said may be gathered that general, q_uhi_lk I called the keie of orthographie, cap. 1 sect. 5, that is the congruence of the symbol and sound symbolized; that is, that bathe must belang to the same organes and be tuiched after the same form.

7. And, be the contrarie, here it is clere that soundes p.r.o.nu_n_ced with this organ can not be written with symboles of that; as, for exemple, a labiel symbol can not serve a dental nor a guttural sound; nor a guttural symbol a dental nor a labiel sound.

8. To clere this point, and alsoe to reform an errour bred in the south, and now usurped be our ignorant printeres, I wil tel quhat befel my self quhen I was in the south with a special gud frende of myne. Ther rease, upon sum accident, quhither quho, quhen, quhat, _et_c., sould be symbolized with q or w, a hoat disputation betuene him and me. After manie conflictes (for we ofte encountered), we met be chance, in the citie of Baeth, w_i_th a Doctour of divinitie of both our acquentance.

He invited us to denner. At table my antagonist, to bring the question on foot ama_n_gs his awn condisciples, began that I was bec.u.m an heretik, and the doctour spering how, ansuered that I denyed quho to be spelled with a w, but with qu. Be quhat reason? quod the D_octour_.

Here, I beginni_n_g to lay my gru_n_des of l.a.b.i.al, dental, and guttural soundes and symboles, he snapped me on this hand and he on that, that the d_octour_ had mikle a doe to win me room for a syllogisme. Then (said I) a l.a.b.i.al letter can not symboliz a guttural syllab. But w is a l.a.b.i.al letter, quho a guttural sound. And therfoer w can not symboliz quho, nor noe syllab of that nature. Here the d_octour_ staying them again (for al barked at ones), the proposition, said he, I understand; the a.s.sumption is Scottish, and the conclusion false. Quherat al laughed, as if I had bene dryven from al replye, and I fretted to see a frivolouse jest goe for a solid ansuer. My proposition is grounded on the 7 sectio of this same cap., q_uhi_lk noe man, I trow, can denye that ever suked the paepes of reason. And soe the question must rest on the a.s.sumption quhither w be a l.a.b.i.al letter and quho a guttural syllab. As for w, let the exemples of wil, wel, wyne, juge quhilk are sounded befoer the voual with a mint of the lippes, as is said the same cap., sect. 5. As for quho, besydes that it differres from quo onelie be aspiration, and that w, being noe perfect consonant, can not be aspirated, I appele to al judiciouse eares, to q_uhi_lk Cicero attributed mikle, quhither the aspiration in quho be not ex imo gutture, and therfoer not l.a.b.i.al.

OF RULES FROM THE LATIN.

Cap. 7. (_sic._)

1. Heer, seeing we borrow mikle from the latin, it is reason that we either follow them in symbolizing their's, or deduce from them the groundes of our orthographie.

2. Imprimis, then, quhatever we derive from them written with c we sould alsoe wryte with c, howbeit it sound as an s to the ignorant; as conceave, receave, perceave, from concipio, recipio, percipio; concern, discern, from concerno, discerno; accesse, successe, recesse, from accedo, succedo, recedo, w_i_th manie moe, q_uhi_lk I com_m_end to the attention of the wryter.

3. Also quhat they wryte w_i_th s we sould alsoe wryte with s; as servant, from servus; sense, from sensus; session from sessio; pa.s.sion, from pa.s.sio.

4. Neither is the c joined w_i_th s here to be omitted; as science and conscience, from scientia, conscientia; ascend and descend, from ascendo, descendo; rescind and abscind, from rescindo and abscindo.

4 (_sic_). This difference of c and s is the more attentivelie to be marked for that wordes of one sound and diverse signification are many tymes distinguished be these symboles; as, the kinges secrete council, and the faithful counsil of a frende; concent in musik, and consent of myndes; to duel in a cel, and to sel a horse; a decent weed, and descent of a n.o.ble house. These tuo last differres alsoe in accent.

5. Lykwayes, that we derive from latin verbales in tio, sould also be wrytten with t; as oration, visitation, education, vocation, proclamation, admonition, _et_c.

6. Wordes deryved from the latin in tia and tium we wryte with ce; as justice, from just.i.tia; intelligence, from intelligentia; vice, from vitium; service, from servitium. In al q_uhi_lk, houbeit the e behind the c be idle, yet use hes made it tollerable to noat the breaking of the c, for al tongues bear with sum slippes that can not abyde the tuich stone of true orthographie.

7. C is alsoe written in our wordes deryved from x in latin; as peace, from pax; fornace, from fornax; matrice, from matrix; nurice, from nutrix, q_uhi_lk the south calles nurse, not without a falt both in sound and symbol; be this we wryte felicitie, audacitie, tenacitie, _et_c.

8. Lykwayes we sould keep the vouales of the original, quherin the north warres the south; from retineo, the north retine, the south retain; from foras, the north foran, the south forain; from regnu_m_, the north regne, the south raigne; from cor, the north corage, the south courage; from devoro, the north devore, the south devour; from vox, the north voce, the south voice; from devoveo, the north devote, the south devoute; from guerrum, the north were, the south war; from gigas, gigantis, the north gyant, the south giaunt; from mons, montis, the north mont, the south mount. Of this I cold reckon armies, but wil not presume to judge farther then the compa.s.se of my awn cap, for howbeit we keep nearar the original, yet al tongues have their idiom in borrowing from the latin, or other foran tongues.

OF SUM IDIOMES IN OUR ORTHOGRAPHIE.

Cap. 8.

1. In our tongue we have some particles q_uhi_lk can not be symbolized with roman symboles, nor rightlie p.r.o.nunced but be our awn, for we in manye places soe absorb l and n behynd a consonant, quher they can not move without a voual intervening, that the ear can hardlie judge quhither their intervenes a voual or noe.

2. In this case sum, to avoid the p.r.o.nu_n_ciation of the voual befoer the l and n, wrytes it behind; as litle, mikle, muttne, eatne. Quhilk houbeit it incurres in an other inconvenience of p.r.o.nu_n_cing the voual behind the l or n, yet I dar not presume to reprove, because it pa.s.seth my wit how to avoid both inconveniences, and therfoer this I leave to the wil of the wryter.

3. Sum of our men hes taken up sum unusual formes of symbolizing, q_uhi_lk I wald wish to be reformed, yet if I bring not reason, let no man change for my phantasie.

4. First, for peple they wryte people, I trow because it c.u.mes from populus; but if that be a reason, I wald understand a reason quhy they speak not soe alsoe. Or gif they speak not soe, I wald understand quhy they wryte not as they speak. I knawe they have the exemple of France to speak ane way and wryte an other; but that exemple is as gud to absorb the s in the end of everie word. Al exemples are not imitable.

5. They use alsoe to wryte logicque, musicque, rhetoricque, and other of that sorte, with cque. If this be doon to make the c in logica, _et_c., subsist, quhy wer it not better to supply a k in the place of it, then to hedge it in with a whol idle syllab; it wer both more orthographical and easier for the learner, for c and k are sa sib, _tha_t the ane is a greek and the other a latin symbol of one sound. In this art it is alyke absurd to wryte that thou reades not, as to read that thou wrytes not.

6. We use alsoe, almost at the end of everie word, to wryte an idle e.

This sum defend not to be idle, because it affectes the voual before the consonant, the sound quherof many tymes alteres the signification; as, hop is altero tantu_m_ pede saltare, hope is sperare; fir, abies, fyre, ignis; a fin, pinna, fine, probatus; bid, jubere, bide, manere; with many moe. It is true that the sound of the voual befoer the consonant many tymes doth change the signification; but it is as untrue that the voual e behind the consonant doth change the sound of the voual before it. A voual devyded from a voual be a consonant can be noe possible means return thorough the consonant into the former voual. Consonantes betuene vouales are lyke part.i.tion walles betuen roomes. Nothing can change the sound of a voual but an other voual coalescing with it into one sound, of q_uhi_lk we have spoaken sufficientlie, cap. 3, to ill.u.s.trat this be the same exemples, saltare is to hop; sperare to hoep; abies is fir; ignis, fyr, or, if you wil, fier; jubere is bid; manere, byd or bied.

7. Yet in sum case we are forced to tolerat this idle e; 1. in wordes ending in c, to break the sound of it; as peace, face, lace, justice, _et_c.; 2. behind s, in wordes wryten with this s; as false, ise, case, muse, use, _et_c.; 3. behind a broaken g; as knawlege, savage, suage, ald age. Ther may be moe, and these I yeld because I ken noe other waye to help this necessitie, rather then that I can think anye idle symbol tolerable in just orthographie.

OF THE ACCENTES OF OUR TONGUE.

Cap. 9.

1. Seing that we fynd not onelie the south and north to differ more in accent then symbol, but alsoe one word with a sundrie accent to have a diverse signification, I com_m_end this to him quho hes auctoritie, to com_m_and al printeres and wryteres to noat the accented syllab in everie word with noe lesse diligence then we see the grecianes to noat their's.

2. Cicero, in his buik de Oratore ad Brutum, makes it a natural harmonie that everie word p.r.o.nunced be the mouth of man have one acute syllab, and that never farther from the end then the third syllab, quhilk the grammareanes cales to the same end the antepenult. Quhilk observation of so n.o.ble a wit is most true in tongues q_uhi_lk he understud, the greek and latin. But if Cicero had understud our tongue, he sould have hard the accent in the fourth syllab from the end; as in matrimonie, patrimonie, vadimonie, intollerable, intelligences, and whole garrisones of lyke liverie. This anie eare may if he accent the antepenult matrimonie, or the penult matrimonie, or the last as matrimonie.

3. Then to the purpose we have the same accentes q_uhi_lk the latin and the greek hath, acute, circu_m_flex, and grave.

4. The acute raiseth the syllab quheron it sittes; as professe, profit, impudent.

5. It may possesse the last syllab: as supprest, pretence, sincere; the penult: as subject, candle, craftie; the antepenult: as difficultie, minister, finallie; and the fourth also from the end, as is said sect.

2; as speciallie, insatiable, diligentlie. In al q_uhi_lk, if a man change the acce_n_t, he sall spill the sound of the word.

6. The grave accent is never noated, but onelie understood in al syllabes quherin the acute and circ.u.mflex is not. Onlie, for difference, sum wordes ar marked with it, thus ', leaning contrarie to the acute.

7. The circ.u.mflex accent both liftes and felles the syllab that it possesseth, and combynes the markes of other tuae, thus . Of this we, as the latines, hes almost no use. But the south hath great use of it, and in that their dialect differes more from our's then in other soundes or symboles.

8. The use of the accent wil be of good importance for the right p.r.o.nu_n_ciation of our tongue, quhilk now we doe forte, non arte, and conforming of the dialectes, q_uhi_lk, as I have said, differes most in this.