Out of the north, the evil Genii have been fabled to proceed, and the destroyer of the world himself, according to the Zend-Avesta. Bailly might, without prejudice to his theory, have placed his ideal nation twenty-five degrees farther to the south, where every physical circumstance would have been found to favour it.

The same objections apply to the primeval state of De l'Isle which he places on the highest tops of the Caucasus.

But the probabilities in favour of the cradle of mankind having been situated to the south of the elevated region of Middle Asia, would be greatly strengthened, if we could find there a nation still possessing a poor, rude, imperfect language, such as may be imagined to have existed in the infancy of the world and of the human intellect.

this in every person, number and tense.
No art, connexion and subordinate ideas
were united to the rude, monosyllabic
root, thereby communicating richness,
clearness and euphony to their meagre
speech; but the rude, monosyllabic, radi-
cal ideas are perhaps placed broken and
detached from each other, the hearer
being left to supply the intermediate
ideas. As the monosyllable admits of
no inflexion the speaker either makes no
distinction between cases and numbers,
or, he seeks for aid in cases of great ne-
cessity in circumlocution. The plural
he forms like the child either by repeti-
tion-Tree, tree, or by the addition of
the words many or other—Tree, many,
tree other. I many or I others is the
same to him as we.
p. 19.

From these and other circumstances, Adelung considers himself justified in the conclusion-that these monosyllabic nations and languages are the earliest

A nation of this character is actually to be found there-not, indeed, a nation only, but a whole mass of people, consist-known and that they are the honourable ing, probably, of more than one hundred ancestors of all other nations and tongues. and eighty millions of individuals, whose Originally perhaps occupying the favorlanguage appears to be as simple as it ed region, which has been depicted, and, must have been soon after its formation. when population increased and the waKaschemire by the incessant changes ters receded, spreading into the neighwhich it has experienced in antient and bouring districts, and selecting by prefermodern times, has indeed kept pace with ence the near and charming regions to the rest of the world in the improvement the south, east and west. Hence we find, of its language; but not so with Tibet- in the countries immediately bordering on its neighbour-and with China and the Tibet, the earliest states, the first formkingdoms of Ava, Pegu, Siam, Tunkin ed kingdoms and the oldest civilization. and Cotschinschina. All these extensive History refers us, for the earliest germs countries and these alone, in the known of most of our ideas, arts and sciences, world, betray the imperfection a newly to the east, whence they subsequently formed or primitive language. As the spread to Media, Persia and western earliest attempt of the child is a stammer-Asia. To this the earliest glimmerings ing of monosyllabic notes, so must have lead us, and we cannot therefore be surbeen that of the original child of nature; prised, that whatever we know and do -and thus, the Tibetans, the Chinese, not know of the origin of the human race; and their two neighbours to the south, of the formation of the first languages and continue to stammer monosyllabically, as states; and of the earliest germs of arts they must have been taught thousands of and sciences should be referred to westyears ago in the infancy of their race. ern Asia. Egypt, which is said to have "No separation of ideas" says Ade-produced all learning and civil knowledge, lung" into certain classes, whence arose the parts of speech in cultivated languages; the same sound, even which denotes joyful, signifies joy, and to gladden and

as it were spontaneously, first comes into consideration at a later period, although the narrow valley of the Nile was earlier favorable to population and civili

zation than many of the wide plains of western Asia; but all these nations make use, and did so in the highest antiquity, of polysyllabic languages, and it is reasonable to suppose, therefore, that they must have passed through a state of infancy and youth before their words became so comparatively complex.

It may then, we think, be concluded, from the arguments adduced and from others contained in the excellent anthropological and philological work of Adelung-a work which it is important that every one should study, who is desirous of becoming acquainted with the history of our species-that the original cradle of mankind was probably in middle Asia and in the elevated region to which allusion has been made: whence as from a centre, under favorable circumstances, the tide of population flowed towards every point of the compass, until the world contained the population met with at the dawn of exact history.

a

es by imitation. Of the pronunciation which has been imported we have many familiar examples; we need only adduce a few which owe their parentage to Ireland, as course, court, length, drought, strength, which we often hear pronounced like coo-urse coo-urts, lenth, drouth, strenth &c. It is doubtless a matter of some imporlike orthoepy should be adopted: but tance that where the same language is used this is by no means a matter of facility. We have no mode of fixing the tion of a word with the same degree of satispronunciafaction, as we are able to fix the meaning. We have no standard for pronunciation: for although it has been by many determined to abide by Mr. Walker with all his faults, in preference to being without any guide whatever, the feeling is not genin words where such could not have been eral and we hear the greatest discrepancy anticipated.

There is indeed, as regards pronunciation, no standard but custom and this has always been varying: the pronunciation of the same words at the present day is very different from what it was half a century ago and the difference is still more marked if we trace farther back. It is not a hundred years since that pronunciation unnatural it may seem on examination, was introduced which, however has had an important effect in softening the language and rendering it more euphonical. I allude to the use of sh feature, virtue &c. and although we may in many hard terminations, as in creature, smile at some of the strange recommendations by Mr. Sheridan in his dictionary; he had a great agency in introducing that improvement.

One of the first things that strike our attention on visiting any country in which the same language is spoken as our own, or in travelling through a distant part of our extensive Union is the greater or less difference which exists not only in the language, but in the pronunciation. In many ability, which do him much credit, imMr. Walker, with a degree of care and cases both the words, which strike us as proved upon his predcessors and has cernovel, and the pronunciation have been im- tainly afforded us the best system of orthoported with the first settlers and been handed epy, on the whole, which we possess, yet down from father to son without much alter- Mr. Walker's orthoepy is not the orthoepy ation. They are genuine provincialisms of the present day. His dictionary is a often vulgarisms. But in many, perhaps in catalogue of the modes of pronunciation the generality of instances when good Eng- followed at his time, with recommendations lish words are pronounced differently in dif- in other and numerous instances, that words ferent States, a vitiated pronunciation has should be in future pronounced-not as arisen with some individual and been subse- they then were but as he considered they quently extended in various directions. We ought to be. Many of the pronunciations, frequently notice in a family incorrect ortho- again, which he has honestly given as epy introduced in some accidental manner prevalent in his time have since underand extending through all the junior branch-gone considerable mutations, whilst his

own recomendations, in spite of the good | most preposterous reason that could have sense which generally characterizes them, been assigned. have passed away unheeded, and an enunciation of a very different character has been adopted. The dictionary of Walker may depict the existing orthoepy of the English language in an accurate manner in by far the majority of cases, yet there are numerous examples in which he cannot be regarded as authority. Mr. Walker is himself, indeed, not always consistent,and we are aware of the difficulties of being so in a work as extensive as the one he executed. A few cases, taken at random, will exhibit this in a striking manner.

Buoy is another instance of a similar kind. It is a naval term and is universally pronounced by the sailor and by all dwelling near or attached to the sea, as boy. Some of the miserable puns of Mathews-the comedian-wouldhave been totally unintelligible, had it been pronounced otherwise: but Mr. Walker says that this pronunciation "ought to be avoided by correct speakers.” He adds "the dipthong (uoy) is found only in the word buoy, pronounced as if written bwoy." Yet in the body of the dictionary he forgets this remark and gives it as if written boo-y. Mr. Walker's recommendation, however, fell from him stillborn. We do not think that a single in

In the word bitumen, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Entick agree with Mr. Walker in placing the accent on the second syllable, whilst Dr. Ash and Mr. Bai-dividual in England has ventured so far to ley lay it on the first. Mr. Sheridan and oppose the universal custom as to proMr. Walker, however, disagree in the nounce it according to his view of the subsound of the i in the first syllable: the ject. former pronouncing it like i in fight: the latter like e in me. But in bituminous Mr. Walker forgets his principle; and gives the the long sound like Mr. Sheridan. The long sound is now scarcely ever heard either in one word or the other. Under boatswain Mr. Walker's attempt to make system predominate over custom has had the inevitable fate which must befall every attempt of the kind in a matter which has been already regulated by cus

tom.

"This word "says he" is universally pronounced in sommon conversation as it is here marked (bosn): but in reading it would savour somewhat of vulgarity to contract it to a sound so very unlike the orthography. It would be advisable, therefore, in those who are not of the naval profession, where it is technical, to pronounce this word when they read it disticntly as it is written."

The principle which Mr. Walker here favors is that of pronouncing words nearly as they are written, but he well knew-what every one must know-that this principle cannot be universally adopted. Boatswain is not at all more unfairly dealt with than people, bagnio, recipe and a thousand other words. The recommendation of using a different pronunciation in reading from that which, according to his own account, is universally adopted in common pronunciation and in the profession in which it is technical is the weakest and

The difficulty of consistency is again manifested in the word bergamot "a sort of pear, a sort of perfume." Both Mr. Walker and Mr. Sheridan have given this word twice, first spelling it bergamot and then burgamot and very properly assigning the same etymon and signification to each. Yet they place the accent on the first syllable of bergamot and on the last of burgamot.

Cadger (so written)-from cadge or cage "a pannier, a huckster, a churlish old fellow"-Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Walker cannot consent to pronounce-as it ever has been and probably ever will be pronounced

-Kodjur. But-strange to say-they have not marked cadjur, at least in their later editions, but Kedjur! a pronunciation equally remote from the spelling.

With Mr. Walker's almost invincible objections to pronounce differently from what the orthography would seem to indicate we are surprised that he should even sanction the pronunciation of canal coal as kennil coal.

Chamois gives another instance of inconsistency. Mr. Walker has it written both chamois and shamois; but when he writes it with c he places the accent on the last syllable; whilst if it begins with s the stress is placed on the first. The universal custom at present is, to pronounce it in both cases with the accent on the first syllable.

Confessor would seem to have been once pronounced with the accent on the

first syllable as in the following lines of similitude of the Italian a to the action Dryden :

"To this sagacious con 'fessor he went, And told her he loved her."

Notwithstanding this old authority, which can only be esteemed evidence how it was pronounced, Dr. Johnson has placed the stress on the second syllable, as well as Dr. Ash, Dr. Kenrick and Mr. Bailey. Mr. Walker, with Mr. Entick and Mr. Sheridan, has, however, accented it on the first: and he has added the following remark; "It may be observed that this impropriety" (placing the accent on the second syllable) "is become so universal that no one who has the least pretension to politeness, dares to. pronounce it otherwise." He farther says, in spite of the quotation from Dryden just adduced-"this word can now have the accent on the second syllable only when it means one who confesses his crimes." Notwithstanding this sweeping denunciation it is now extremely rare to hear any "polite" individual pronounce it otherwise than with the accent on the second syllable.

Mr. Walker, with many other orthoepists, lays the stress on the penultimate of Elegiac, because its derivation from the Latin elegiacus, Greek ελɛyɛaxos, would not seem to admit any other pronunciation. Elegiast has the accent placed by them on the same syllable. Mr. Walker is not here consistent. In another work of his A Key to the classical pronunciation of Greek, Latin and Scripture proper names"-he has taken pains to shew, that even the ancient proper names may be by use nunciated withthe accent on a different syllable than the one accented by them.

Equerry is accented by Dr. Johnson, Dr. Ash and Mr. Entick on the first syllable but Mr. Bailey, Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Walker lay the stress on the second. Johnson's is certainly the prevalent pronunciation.

Mr. Walker sounds the first syllable of Flatulent, flatulency &c. as if it were flatsh in which he is certainly not supported by the best usage. His pronunciation is soft

but it is vulgar and conceited.

To gape, with the a as in far, is certainly not unfrequently heard, but we are somewhat surprised to find Mr. Walker giving this pronunciation and no other. He makes the following lame apology for it however; "the irregularity in the pronunciation of this word seems to arise from the greater

signified than of the slender English a."

He farther suppresses the h in hospital which, by the bye, at the present day in England is more frequently aspirated than not; yet in the words hospitable, hospitably, and hospitality, which are similarly circumstanced, he pronounces it. Humble is universally marked in the dictionaries umble; but the pronunciation is by no means as general as the accordance amongst the orthoepists would indicate. We now hear it repeatedly pronounced with the h aspirate.

Mr. Walker places the accent on the second or third syllable of irrefragable, Mr. Sheridan on the second only; whilst Dr. Johnson, Dr. Ash, Mr. Entick, Mr. Bailey, Mr. W. Johnson, Mr. Perry and Mr. Buchanan lay the stress on the third. Mr. Sheridan's, though standing alone, is certainly the prevalent pronunciation. We hear it frequently pronounced, by those who ought to know better, irrefradgeable. This is barbarous, and has doubtless arisen, in the first instance, from some mistake in the orthography of the word.

Both Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Walker pronounce oblige with the i long, and also as if written with a long e, but they give preference to the former mode; and Mr. Walker informs us, that when Lord Chesterfield wrote his letters to his son, it was, by many polite speakers, pronounced as if written oleege, to give a hint of their knowledge of the French; but it was so far from having generally obtained, that Lord Chesterfield strictly enjoins his son to avoid this pronounciation as affected. It soon became so general, however, that the longi was heard only from the lowest vulgar; but no sooner had this nobleman's letters appeared (which was about twenty years after he wrote them) than his authority had such weight with the polite world, that a change was soon perceptible; and this pronunciation is now never heard in the same circles where fifty years ago it would have been considered vulgar to pronounce it as it is now done.

In the word orangery Mr. Walker gives an affected pronunciation which will not bear examination. Because derived from the French he thinks it ought to have a French pronunciation,-o-rawn-zher-e. The reason would apply to every word de