' ik-^l 'i^:i^r «..:# m^»-^ ;fm^i -*r y^ \^ ^ '»f^^- 'SR>i fi«*< f**W^'% « #.•. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES WORLD-ENGLISH: THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE ALEXANDER MELVILLE BELL, AUTHOR OF "VISIBLB SPEECH," *C.,4C. New York : London : n. d. c. hodges, trubner & co 47, LAFAYETTE PLACB. 57 AND 59, LUDGATB HILL. am^ Copyright, 1888, by Alexander Melville Bell. 4 \\50 S^\ CONTENTS. PAR. PAOK Prologue, 5 Phonetic Writins^ of English 5 Dedication to the Press, 5 World-English, 7-8 Fitness for Universality, 1.7 Ordinary orthography untouched 2 Roman Letters retained, 4 Alphabetic defects cured, 4 Duty of governments, 5 Introductory to Literary English, 6 Two forms of writing necessary, 6 World-English Lettkrs and Sounds 8 13 Twenty-three unaltered letters, 8.9, 10 Sounds of the vowels, 11. 12, [3 \ Name-sound of L 14,19 ,x Nine new letters for unrepresented consonants, . . 15 ^ Three discarded letters, 16 Sounds of letters invariable, 17, iS Forms of the new letters, 20-27 Phonetic memoranda, 28-33 Alphabet limited to normal sounds, 34. 35. 36 World-English for children, 37 World-English for foreigners, 38 English needs no grammatical change, .... 39 Exemplifications OF World-English, .... 15-21,-3,-6,-8,-9 Reference Table of the Alphabet, 19 Note on the Alphabet 20 English Sounds, 22 Universal Language, 24 Spelling Reform, 27 Phonetic Rules, 28 Epilogue, • . . 29 160738 PROLOGUE. CoNDUCTOBS of the Press have the power of greatly facilitating the object of this work, by making it known ; or of retarding it. by simply ignoring the effort. Opposition is not to be looked for from any quarter. There can be no doubt that phonetic writing of English is capable of an immense influence for good, both at home, — in our schools and among the illiterate — and abroad, by world-wide diffusion of intellectual benefits through practical acquaintance with the English language. The Press can determine whether this popular installation of " World-English " shall be imme- diately successful, or whether it must force its slow way against the impediment of mere inertia. To the Press, on both sides of the Atlantic, this Work is dedi- cated, in hope that enlightened " periodical " assistance will not be wanting for public good. WORLD -ENGLISH. (i) No language could be invented for International use that would surpass English, in grammatical simplicity, and in general fitness to become the tongue of the World. The only drawback to extension of English has been its difficult and unsystematic spelling. This is, however, established in its literature ; and any attempt tP remodel the general orthography of the language would fail to have the slightest hope of success. But such alteration is not necessary. A way is open by which orthographic obstacles in the path of learners may be removed. (2) In the scheme herein presented the spelling of what may now be called "Literary English" is left absolutely untouched. ''World-English " offers a ft-ee field for all needed improvements. National reverence for the glorious associations with the forms of our words will not, therefore, interfere with univei'sal difilision of the words themselves. (3) English is mother-tongue to rapidly increasing millions, in both hemispheres ; and some knowledge of the language is de- manded by all educated populations on the globe. Social and commercial necessities require that the acquisition of this knowl- edge shall be facilitated "by removal of every impediment. (4) The Ronian alphabet — although both redundant and in- complete — established as it is, cannot be displaced. But, for pop- ular purposes, it must be cured of its defects. With superfluous letters discarded, and new letters introduced for unrepresented sounds, the anomalies which alone have made English difficult to learners, will disappear, and the beautiful simplicity of the lan- guage will become fully apparent. 8 (5) The Governments of English-speaking nations have a duty to perform in tliis matter. Let them give recognition to the amended scheme of letters, introduce it in primary schools, and — through their various agencies — spread abroad the means of teaching this unrivaled speech to every People. (6) World-English is designed to be as little unlike Literary English as possible, so that the former may be used in schools as an introduction to the latter. This is very important ; for, in or- der to leave present orthography undisturbed, a simpler mode of w^riting is absolutely necessary for beginners. Two forms of tlie written language must thus be equally acknowledged ; one for lower classes of scholars, the other for higher classes. World- English is the initiatory ioxva^ from which pupils will be graded, in due course, into the literary form. (7) But World-English has also a wider applicability. It as- pires, in fact, to be, by natural adaptation, THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, — for which vague desires have long been enter- tained, although, hitherto, only futile efforts have been made. World-English, thus, supplies a convenient method for teaching children and illiterate adults to read ; while it furnishes, besides, a simple and all-sufficient permanent form of the language, for non-scholastic learners, and for foreigners throughout the world. World-English Letters and Sounds. Old Letters Retained. (8) The * following seventeen Consonant letters, associated with their customary sounds, are retained in tlie World-English alphabet : b, d, f, h, j, k, 1, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, z. 9 (9) The following Consonant letter is now associated with a Hxed sound instead of with fluctuating sounds : g, as in go. (10) The five Vowel letters are now associated with Hxed in- stead of fluctuating sounds : a, as in an. e, as in ell. i, as in in. o, as in on. u, as in up. (ii) The following four of the vowel letters, — discriminated by the mark [-] — denote the •' long" sounds of the letters : a, as in ale. e, as in eel. 0, as in old. u, as in rude, too, &c. (13) The following four letters, — discriminated by the mark [.] — denote specific vowel sounds: a, as in ask. e, as in err. ^(tYJv<, 6, as in ore. u, as in pull, to, &c. (13) The following letter, — discriminated by the mark [••] — denotes a specific vowel sound : a, as in air. jYezv Letters. (14) The following modification of the letter i is introduced for the "• long" sound of 1 : [vSce j^ar. 19. J 1, as in isle. (15) The following nine new Consonant letters have been added for sounds hitherto unrepresented in the alphabet : [See par. 20, -3-^7-] 10 q cli, as in church. ^ sh, in she ; [ci in social, ti in nation, .^c] ^ [zh] ; s, in pleasure, z, in azure, g, in rouge. ^ th, in thin. 4 [dh], th, in then. \y vvli, in when. 14 [yh], h, in hue. g ng, in sing, [n, in ink, finger, &c.] "1 r, when not before a vowel. Discai-ded Letters. (16) The following three letters have been discarded from the alphabet : * c, because having the same sound as k, or s. q, because having the same sound as k. X, because having the same sounds as ks, or gz. Sounds of the Letters. (17) In this Alphabetical Scheme ten of the letters are slightly modified forms of ordinary letters, and twenty-three are altogether unaltered. The latter have the same phonetic values in World- English as in Literary English ; with this important distinction that the sound associated with any letter never varies, while, in Literary English, the sounds of the greater number of the letters are constantly varying. In World-English every sound has one fixed representative ; and every letter has one fixed sound. (18) The five vowel letters a, e, i, o, u, represent the most usual sounds of these letters ; and the other sounds of the same letters are distinguished by customary marks. (19) The letter i being inconveniently narrow to carry the sign of a " long" sound [-] an elongated form of the letter is used for the name-sound of I. [See par. 14.] ♦ The discarded letters are, of course, available for foreign sounds. 11 Forms of the New Letters. (20) In devising the forms of the new letters, the aim has been to combine suggestiveness with simplicity. These letters perform a grand service in World-English. The first six of the new con- sonant letters uniformly add a short line to the ordinary forms of c, s, z, t, d, w ; thus showing the relation of the new letters to the old orthography, in which the letter h stands for the short line; as in ch, sh, zh, th, dh, wh. (21) The discarded letter c might have been used instead of the first new letter, but for the violence it would have done to old as- sociations, in such combinations as nacun, vicus, for nation, vicious. (22) The Greek " theta," or the Anglo-Saxon character for th, might have been used instead of the fourth new letter ; but the principle on which the other letters are formed furnishes, in ^, a character of extreme simplicity, and one which harmonizes better with the rest of the alphabet. (23) The fifth new letter [c}] shows that the relation of its sound to that of the preceding is the same as that of d to t. (24) The sound of the sixth wqw letter [\)'] is simply a non- vocal w, and not a combination of h and w, as the old orthog- raphy erroneously suggests. (25) The sound of the seventh new letter [ij] is a non-vocal y. (26) The eighth new letter [g] combines the commencement of an n with the termination of a g, and thus fitly represents the established sound of ng. (27) The ninth new letter [1] is necessary to distinguish be- tween the Consonant sound, and the more common non-conso- nantal sound of the letter r. The consonant (r) is heard only before a vowel. Phonetic Memoranda. (28) The sound of the letter U, as in *•' use," is written, as it is pronounced, with initial Y [yu]. 12 (29) Y and W, which in Literary English are very frequently employed as auxiliary Vowel-signs, ai-e never so used in World- English. These letters invariably stand for their Consonant sounds, as heard in " yes " and " w^ay." (30) The diphthong ia " out," '■ now," &c., is composed of the sounds of a and u. [See par. 12.] (31) The diphthong in " oil," " boy," &c., is composed of the sounds of o and i. [See par. 10.] (32) The indefinite sound of unaccented a, as in a, sofa, alone, does not require any special mark to distinguish it from a. [See '' unaccented vowels," p. 23.] (33) The forms of the physiological symbols of '' Visible Speech " have not been drawn on to fill the gaps in the Roman alphabet ; for the reason that every part of every symbol in that system is significant, and the characters, if borrowed, could not have carried with them their full meaning. Object of the World- English Alphabet. (34) The reader will observe that this scheme of letters is in- tended merely to facilitate English reading. For this purpose common letters are utilized to the greatest possible extent. The alphabet is limited to the elements of normal pronunciation. The sounds, for example, of a, in an, ale, air, ask, father, may not have exactly the same quality in the utterance of all speakers. But for practical purposes these differences arc disregarded. (35) If we wanted to show the Anglican pronunciation of such words as " various, experience, glorious," we must write a sound which is unrepresented in common orthography ; thus : " vairius, ekspeiriens, gloirius ;" but the words would be no longer the same to all readers ; whereas normal pronunciation will be denoted for every reader by the writing " varius, eksperiens, glorius." 13 (36) So, too, difierent speakers will pronounce the letter ; (I) with diverse shades of sound; but to readers of World- English the effect is simply "■ name-sound of I," however vari- ously it may be uttered. Advantages of the World-English Alphabet. (37) Children and illiterate persons will be very readily taught to read from the new orthography ; and they will afterwards make transition to reading from Literary English almost uncon- sciously. A phonetic iiiitiati(Mi — so far from being a hindrance — has been proved to be a great assistance in forming the visual mem- ory for spelling. The diflcrence in appearance of a word in common orthography from that in its phonetic writing fixes its outline in the reader's mind : the word becomes a picture, and is remembered as a whole. Spelling is thus always learned by eye, rather than by rule. (38) To foreigners, World-English offers great advantages, for after merely elementary sounds have been learned from the voice of a speaker, a student, of whatever nationality, will master a correct English utterance from the writing. English Adapted for Uttiversality. (39) English does not require any alteration in grammar or construction to adapt it for its great function of universality. Should the critical reader discover any particulars in which change might be improvement, the points could be embodied in future text-books. Communications on this subject will be welcomed. Illustrations. (40) The following illustrations exemplify World - English typography, and, at the same time, furnish a test of its spontane- ous intelligibility to readers of ordinary English. 14 (41) The illustrations will, no doubt, be deciphered without difficulty; and the reader will, it is hoped, become increasingly sensible of prospective benefits from this mode of presenting his language — to school children — to the masses who cannot attend school — and to the multitudes eager to learn English, in foreign countries. Happily, he may, further, be disposed to cooperate in propagating the method within the sphere of his influence. A widely awakened interest, and a philanthropic spirit, may both be reasonably expected. (42) As the reader's knowledge of Literary English enables him to understand this phonetic form of the language, so will a knowledge of World-English be found to facilitate the reading of Literary English, by foreign and other students. 15 EXEMPLIFICATIONS OF WORLD-EXGLISH. [Accent is always on the first syllable, unless otherwise ex. pressed. The accent mark is placed after the accented vowel. Capital letters are not used in these illustrations.] numbeiz daz and mun^s wun ele'vn ^eiti sunda april tu twelv foiti 1 munda ma ^re l^eiten fifti tvuzda jun foi foiten siksti wenzda jull> fiv fiften sevnti ^uizda ogust siks siksten ati ; fr^da septe'mbei sevn sevnten njnti satu-ida okt5'bei at aten hundred 1 januan nove'mbei np npten ^aiizand ! februari dese'mbei ten i twenti milyun I maiq prolog. kondu'ktoiz ov ^i pres hav <\i paiir ov gratli fasi'litatig ^i objekt ov 4is wuik, bj makig it non, or ov retaWdig it, bj simpli igno'rig 4i efoit. opozi'gun iz not tu be lukt foi from eni kwoitei. 4en kan be no daiit (\at fone'tik rjtig ov igglip iz kapabl ov an ime'ns infliiens fon gud, bo^ at hom — in aiii skulz and amu'g 4i ili'terat — and abro'd, h\ wuild-wid difyu'^un ov intele'ktyiial ben- ifits, ^rii praktikal akwa'ntans wi^ 4^ isgli^ 1^8?^^- 4^ P^es kan dete'imin \ye4ei 4is popyiilar instola'^un ov wuild-iggli^ §al be ime'diatli sukse'sful, oi %ye4er it must fois its slo wa age'nst 4i impe'diment ov mer ine'igya. tii 4i pres, on bo^ s^dz ov 4i atla'ntik, 4is wuik iz dedikated, in hop 4at enli'tnd '* perio'dikal " asi'stans wil not be wontig foi publik gud. wmld-igglig. no laggwij kud be inve^nted for intetna'gunal yus 4^t wud suipa's igglig in grama'tikal simpli'siti and in jeneral fitnes tu beku'm 4i tug ov 4i wuild. ^i onli drobak tii ekste'ngun ov igglig haz bin its difikult and unsistema'tik spelig. 4is iz, haue'vei, esta'bligt in its literityui, and eni ate'mt tu remo'del 4i jeneral o-i^o'grafi ov 4i l^Sgwij wiid f al tu hav 4i sl^test hop ov sukse's. but suq oltera'^un iz not nesesari. a wa iz open b^ \yiq oi^ogra'fik obstaklz in 4i p^\ ov lemeiz ma be remu'vd. in 4i skem herin preze'nted, 4i spelig ov \yot ma nau be kold " lit- erari igglig " iz left absolyiitli untu'qt. wuild-igglig ofeiz a fre feld for 61 neded impru'vments. nagunal reverens foi 4i glorius asogia'gunz wi4 4^ foimz ov aui w^uidz wil not, 4e^fbi, inteife'i wi4 yunive'isal difyii'^un ov 4i vvuidz 4emse'lvz. igglig iz mu4ei-tug tii rapidli inkre'sig milyunz in bo^ hemis- feiz ; and sum nolij ov 4i laggwij iz dema'nded bj 61 edyukated popyula'gunz on 4i glob. sogal and komeigal nese'sitiz rekw^i'i 4at 4is nollj gal be fasi'litated b^ remu'val ov everi impe'diment. 4i roman alfabet — 0I40' bo^ redu'ndant and inkomple't — esta'b- ligt az it iz kanot be displa'st. but foi popyiila'^i puipusiz it must be kyuid ov its defe'kts. w^i4 syupe'ifluus leteiz diska'ided, and nyii leteiz introdyii'st for unrepreze'nted saundz, 4i ano'maliz ^yiq alo'n hav mad igglig difikult tu le-ineiz, vv^il disape'i, and 4i byuti- ful simpli'siti ov 4i laggwij wil beku'm fiilli apii'rent. 41 guveinments ov igglig-spekig nagunz hav a dyuti tii peifo'im in 4is matei. let (\em giv rekogni'gun* tii 4i arae'nded skem ov leteiz, introdyu's it in prjmari skulz, and — ^ru 4ei varius ajensiz — spred abro'd 4i «nenz ov teqig 4is unri'vald speq tii everi pepl. wuild-igglig iz desj'nd tu be az litl unl^'k literari igglig az posibl, so c\cit (\i foimei ma be yuzd in skulz az an introdu'kgun tu 4i latei. 4'^ i^ veri important ; foi, in oidei tii lev prezent 17 oi^o'grafi undistu4bd, a simpler mod ov ritip iz absolyiitli nes- esari foi begi'nenz. tu foimz ov c}i ritn laqgwij must ejus be ekwoli akno'lijd : wun foi loei klasiz ov skolaiz, c\\ ucjei foi h\c^ klasiz. wmld-irjglip iz c}i ini',syatori foim, from \yiq pyupilz wil be graded, in dyii k6is, intii (ji literari fo'im. but wuild iygHjS has olso a Wjcler aplikabi'liti. it aspj'-iz, in fakt, tu be, bj natyural adapta'^un, 4i yunive'isal laygwij, foi \yiq vag dezi''iz hav log bin ente-ita'nd, 0I40', hicjeitu, onli fyutil efoits hav bin mad. wuild-igglip, ejus, suplj'z a konve'nient me^ud fon teqig qildren and ili'terat adu'lts tu red : vyjl it fuinijiez, besjdz, a simpl and 61-sufi'jicnt peimanent foim ov (Ji l^Sgvvij, fon non-skola'stik leineiz and foi forineiz ^rua'ut <\i wuild. 4i redei wil obze'iv 4^1^ 4is skem ov leteiz is inte'nded meili tii fasi'litat iggli^ redig. foi 4''' punpus komun leteiz ai yutiljzd tu 4i gi'atest posibl ekste'nt. (.{i alfabet iz limited tii eliments ov noimal pronunsia'^un. (\i saundz, for egzampl, ov a, in an, al, iii, ask, fa4ei, ma not hav egza'ktli 4i sam kwoliti in 4i uterans ov 61 spekeiz, but foi praktikal puipusiz (\ez diferensiz ai disregarded. if we wonted tu go 4i agglikan pronunsia'^un ov suq wuidz az " various, experience, glorious," we must r^t a saund \yiq iz unrepreze'nted in komun 0-1^0'grafi: 4us " vairius, ekspe'iriens, gloirius " ; but (\i wuidz wild be no loggei 4i sam tu 61 redeiz ; \yara'z noimal pronunsia'^sun wil be deno'ted for everi redei b| rjtig "vjirius. ekspe'riens. glorius." so, tu, diferent spekeiz wil prona'uns 4i leter j (I) wi4 djvers gadz ov saund ; but tii redeiz ov wuild-igglig 4i efe'kt iz simpli " nam-saund ov I" haue'vei viiriusli it ma be uteid. qildren and ili'terat peisunz wil be veri redili tot tii red from 4i nyu oil^o'grafi, and 4^ wil afteiwoidz mak transi'^un tu redig from literari igglig 61m6st unko'n,susli. a fone'tik inigia'gun — so fai from beig a hindrans — haz bin pruvd tu be a grat asi'stans in foimig 4' vi/jUal memori foi spelig. 4' diferens in ape'rans 18 ov a wuid in komun oi^o'grafi from 4at in its fone'tik ritig fiksez its autlp in c[[ redei'z mind : eq wuid beku'mz a piktyiii, and iz reme'mbeid az a hoi. spelig iz ejus olwaz leind bj i, ra.4e"i 4^n h\ rul. tu forineiz wuild-igglig ofeiz grat adva'ntijiz ; fo-i, aftei meili elime'ntari saiindz hav bin leind from 4i vois ov a spekei, a styudent, ov xyote'vei na^una'liti, wil master a kore'kt igglig uterans from 4i I'ltig. igglip duz not rekw^i'r eni oltera'^un in gramar oi konstru'k^un tu ada'pt it for its grat fugk^^un ov yuniversa'liti. giid 4i kriti- kal redei disku'vei eni paiti'kyulaiz in ^yiq qanj m^t be impru'v- ment, 4i points kiid be embo'did in fyvitym tekst-buks. kom- yunika'^unz on 4is subjekt wil be welkumd. 4i rede^ haz, no daut, az anti'sipated, desj'feid dez ilustra'gunz vv^i4a'ut difiknlti. he wil olso, it iz hopt, hav beku'm in- ki'e'sigli sensibl ov prospe'ktiv benifits from 4is mod ov pre- ze'ntig hiz laggwij, — tii skiil-qildren, — tu 4^ masiz hu kanot ate'nd skul, — and tu 4^ multityudz egei tu lein iggli^s, in forin kuntriz. hapili, he ma, fui4ei, be dispo'zd tu koo'perat in propagatig 4i rne^ud wi4i'n 4i sfer ov hiz influens. a wjdli awa'kend interest and a filan^ro'pik spirit ma bo^ be rezunabli ekspe'kted. az 4i redei'z nolij ov literari igglif ena'blz him tu understa'nd 4is fone'tik rjtig, so wil a nolij ov wuild-igglig be faund tu fasi'litat 4i redig ov literari igglig bj form and u4er styudents. 19 REFERENCE TABLE OF THE WORLD-ENGLISH ALPHABET. Consonants. Name. Name. Name. Name. k . . . ka t . . te ,s(sh) . . . ip p . . . . pe g • ■ • ga d . . de b . . . . be S ("g) • 'S n . .en 7^ (zh) . . . i^ m . . . . em V (wj, or) jii 1 . . el ^ (th) [thin] i^ f . . . ef q (yh) [hue] qu 1 (err) ei 4 (dh) [then] icj V . . . ve h (aitch, or) ha r (ra_y) ra q(tp) . . . qe w (double U, or) we s . . es j(d^) . . . ja \y (wh) . ^ya z . . ze Vowels. an ell ill on up . ale . eel . isle . . old rude, too ask err ore poor, pull, to S . . ah, arm, alms ■ 6 all au out oil Script Forms of the New Letters. giiq^^l^ 4q\y Capital Forms of the New Letters. IHSZTD€W * The sounds of g and i never occur at the beginning of a word, in English, and these letters, therefore, require no capitals. NOTE ON THE ALPHABET. Many schemes of phonetic letters have been at various times proposed, but generally with the hopeless object of reforming ordinary spelling. Minor orthographic changes, such as omis- sion of silent letters, may meet with but little opposition, but a complete removal of the anomalies of English writing would have the effect of antiquating our entire literature and would be universally resisted. No system — strange to say while the want is a crying necessity ! — has yet come into general use for the sep- arate purpose of teaching children to read. This alphabet is preeminently adapted for the work. Its power to teach words, as they are spoken^ leaves nothing to be desired ; and the resem- blance of the words to those of Literary English secures the easy acquirement of the latter through the former. This method should be made the basis of primary instruction in schools ; and no other form of letters should be presented until perfect facility in reading has been attained. Pupils will then need little or no help in transferring their power of reading to the literary form of the language. Let primers and early reading books now in use be reprinted in the amended alphabet, and this great educational reform — affecting only beginners at first — will be at once established, without the slightest difficulty. Practical utility, in connection with English, has been the sole aim in this alphabetic arrangement. The letters ] and j, for example, represent compound sounds, because the associations are already fixed in English usage. Consistency required that the organic correspondent of j* should likewise be represented in the alphabet. Hence the new letter q. Students of phonetics, who prefer to write all compounds analytically, have only to * The sounds of j and c are produced by the same organic actions, the difference being that j is vocal, and q non-vocal. 21 substitute ai for i, d/^ for j, and tj; for q, in order to fit the alphabet for their use. The popular purpose of this work is better served by the plan adopted, because it preserves a greater likeness between the orthographies of World-English and Lit- erary English. The letter x has not been retained in the alphabet, because its sound is not uniform — like that of j — but is sometimes ks, and sometimes gz. not on c}i alfabet. meni skemz ov fone'tik leteiz hav bin at varius t^mz pr6p5'zd, but jenerali wicj 4i hoples objekt ov refo'tmig oidinari spelig. mjnor on^ogra'fik qanjiz, suq az omi'gun ov s]lent leteiz, ma met wicj but litl opozi'pun, but a komple't remu'val ov cji ano'maliz ov igglig rjtig wud hav (\i efe'kt ov antikwatig aiir enti'i literityui, and wiid be yunive'isali rezi'sted. no sistem — stranj tu sa, \yil (\i wont iz a kqig nese'siti ! — haz yet kum intii jeneral yus foi 4i separat puipus ov teqig qlldren tu red. ^is alfabet iz pree'mi- nentli ada'pted foi 4i vvuik, its paui tu teq wuidz az c|a ai spoken levz nul^ig tii be dez^'id ; and cji reze'mblans ov 4i wuidz tu 4oz ov literari iggli^ sekyuSz 4i ezi akwi'iment ov 4i latei ^ru 41 foimei. 4is me^ud giid be mad 4i basis ov prjmari in- stru'kgun in skulz ; and no u4e'i foim ov leteiz gud be preze'nted unti'l peifekt fasi'liti in redig haz bin ata'nd. pyiipilz wil ^en ned litl 01 no help in transfe'rig 4ei paiir ov redig tu 4i literari foim ov 4i l^ggwij. let primeiz and eili redig-buks nau in yus be repri'nted in 4i ame'ndcd alfabet, and 4is grat edyuka'gunal refo'im — afe'ktig onli begi'neiz at fenst — wil be at wuns esta'blijSt wi4a'ut 4i slitest difikulti. praktikal yuti'liti in kone'kgun wi4 iggli? haz bin 4i sol am in 4is alfabe'tik ara'njment. 4^ leteiz i and j, for egza'mpl, rep- reze'nt kompaund saimdz, beko'z 4i asogia'gunz ^r olre'di fikst in igglig yuzij. konsi'stensi rekwj'id 4at 4i oiga'nik korispo'ndent ov j gud Ijkwiz be repreze'nted in 4i alfabet. hens 4i "yi^ 22 letei q. styudents ov fone'tiks, hu prefe'i tii rjt 61 kompaundz anali'tikali, hav onli tii substityiit ai for \, d^ foi j, and t^s foi q, in oide-i tu fit 4i alfabet foi (^Ih yus. c}i popyiilai puipus ov (Jis wuik iz betei seivd h\ 4i plan ado'pted, beko'z it prezeSvz a gratei l^knes betwe'n c[[ oi^o'grafiz ov wuild-iggli^ and literari English Sounds. The sounds of the English language have been supposed to be difficult of enunciation. The only basis for this idea is the fact that the sounds are difficult of recognition under the fluctuating guise of orthography. Thus, at sight of an unfamiliar word, even a practised reader is uncertain how to pronounce it ; because the same combinations of letters have many different sounds in familiar words. To a foreign learner this difficulty is insuper- able. Give definite and certain phonetic values to letters, and English utterance will be found to be, in no case, and in no de- gree, difficult to native or foreigner. Enunciation of English is, on the contrary, in comparison with that of other languages, organically easy. Almost all early asper- ities have been smoothed away ; but tliey have not been equally removed from writing ; and this is one chief source of the dif- ficulty of reading, to learners, and of spelling, to writers. All the elementary sounds will be correctly pronounced, almost at first effort, by any person to whom they are properly exem- plified. The vowels in a(n), u(p), a(ll), and the consonants in th(in), th(en), h(ue), wh(y), may, perhaps, need a few repe- titions by strange organs, to render them facile. The only real difficulty to speakers of other languages is the accent^ or stress, which, in English, is always placed on the vowel of a single syl- lable in a word or phrase. The effect of this habit of utter- ance is rather to render indefinite the sounds of allied unaccented syllables, than to give force to the accented syllables. This fact must be borne in mind by foreign learners. The true effect of 23 unaccented vowels will be produced by giving such letters a care- less approximation to their ordinary sounds. Thus a, in about, comma, &c., is not precisely either a or a, but — indefiniteness of unaccented sound being understood — the vowel does not require a more exact orthography than '* a." In such words as between, receive, secede, the same vowel occurs in both syllables, but it will always be heard with an unwritten difference, being less pre- cise in the unaccented than in the accented syllable. The termi- nations in certain, fountain, foreign, cottage, courage, language, college, knowledge, &c., are regularly contracted to -in, -ij, and are so printed in World-English. Unaccented A finds its equiva- lent in a ; unaccented 6 in 6 ; unaccented 6 in o ; and unaccented u in u ; A foreigner may, for a time, be more or less unsuccess- ful in acquiring the knack of accentual pronunciation, and in giving the precise quality to some elementary sound, but he will have no difficulty whatever in making his English utterance per- fectly intelligible. It may still proclaim his foreign birth — as the speech of those born to the language proclaims their county or their State — but it will, none the less, be good English, ser- viceable wherever the language is spoken. igglij? saundz. 4i saundz ov cji iggli^ l^Sgwij hav bin sup5'zd tu be difikult ov enunsia'gun. 4i o^^li basis foi c}is ]de'a iz c|i fakt 43t cji saundz ai difikult ov rekogni'^un unden c|i fluktyiiatig gjz ov oi^o'grafi. 4us, at sjt ov an unfami'lyan wuid, evn a praktist reder iz unse'r- tin haii tii prona'uns it, beko'z c|i sam kombina'^unz ov leteiz hav meni diferent saundz in fami'lyai wuidz. tii a forin leinei (lis difikulti iz insyu'perabl. giv definit and seitin fone'tik valyuz tu leteiz, and igglig uterans wil be faund tu be, in no kas, and in no degre', difikult tu nativ oi forinei. enunsia'gun ov iggli? iz, on c|i kontrari, in kompa'risun wic] c|at ov ucjei laggwijiz, o^iga'nikali ezi. olmost 61 e^li aspe'ritiz hav bin smu^d awa', but 4a hav not bin ekwoli remii'vd from rjtig ; 24 and 4Js iz wun qef sois ov <^i difikulti ov redig, tu leineiz, and ov spelig, tu qteiz. 61 (|i elime'ntari saundz wil be kore'ktli prona'unst, olmost at feist efout, bj eni peisun tu hum 4^ ai propeili egze^mplifid. ^i vauelz in an, up, 61 ; and 4i kon- sonants in ^in, 4en, qu, \yi ; ma, petha'ps, ned a fyu repiti'punz bj stranj oiganz, tu rendei ([em fasil. 4^ o^^i ^"^^1 difikulti tu spekeiz ov u4ei laggwijiz iz (\i aksent^ oi stres, "vy^iq, in igglig, iz olwaz plast on 4i vauel ov a siggl silabl in a wind oi fraz. 4i efe'kt ov 4is habit ov uterans iz ra4ei tu render inde'finit 4i saundz ov alj'd unakse'nted silablz 4^^ tu giv fois tu akse'nted silablz. 4is fakt must be boin in mpd bj forin leineiz. 4' trii efe'kt ov unakse'nted vauelz wil be prodyii'st bj meili givig suq leteiz a kailes aproksima'^un tii ^hx oidinari saundz. 4^8 a, in about, comma, &c., iz not pres^'sli e4ei a oi a ; but — in- de'finitnes ov unakse'nted saund beig undeistu'd — 4i vauel duz not rekwj'r a mor egza'kt on^o'grafi 4ari " a." in suq wuidz az betw^e'n, rese'v, sese'd, 4i sam vauel oku'iz in bo^ silablz, but it wil 61waz be heid wi4 'in unri'tn diferens, beig les press's in 4i unakse'nted 4^^ in 4i akse'nted silabl. 4^ teimina'^unz in cer- tain, fountain, foreign, cottage, courage, language, &c., ar reg- yulaili kontra'kted tii -in, -ij, and ai so ritn in wuild-iggli^. unakse'nted a fjndz its ekwi'valent in a ; unakse'nted 6 in 6 ; un- akse'nted 6 in o ; and unakse'nted u in u. a forinei ma, for a tpn, be mor oi les unsukse'sful in akwfrig 4' nak ov akse'ntyual pronunsia'gun, or in givig its pres2's kwoliti tu sum elime'ntari saund ; but he wil hav no difikulti \yote'vei in makig hiz igglig uterans peifektli inte'Iijibl. it ma stil prokla'm hiz forin bei^ — az 4i speq ov 46z bonn tu 4' kaggwij prokla'mz dai kaunti oi 4ei Stat — but it wil, nun 4i les, be gud igglig, setvisabl xyai^e'vei 4i laggwij iz spoken. Universal Language. The idea of Universal Language has always been a fascinating one. Bishop John Wilkins gave shape to it, in England, in his 25 "Philosophical Language" published in i66S. This most in- genious scheme included a system of ideographic symbols, forming a "Real Character," translatable into the words of any language ; and also an Alphabetic method, in which the relations of ideas were expressed by adding significant letters as prefixes or suffixes to arbitrary root-syllables. Tlie plan was too elaborate for popular comprehension, and no attempt has ever been made to bring either of its forms into use. Recently, a scheme in some i^espects resembling the alphabetic method of Bishop Wilkins, has been brought forward under the name of " Volapiik." This system is said to have been favour- ably received in Germany, and elsewhere in Europe. The root- syllables in Volapiik are selected from the w^ords of existing languages ; and, by means of prefixed or postfixed letters, they are made to express distinctions of gender, number, case, person, voice, mood, tense, &c. The result is a highly inflected lan- guage, involving a multitude of details to be constantly attended to, and requiring the user to be an expert grammarian. If these are the models on which a universal language is to be built, we need look no further than to the "Philosophical Lan- guage" or to "Volapiik;" but a speaker of English, happilv emancipated as he is from vexations of verbal inflection, re- pudiates the models. The English language has been, itself, steadily reaching out towards universality. It has covered the North American continent and the islands of the antipodes. It has become a necessity wherever English or American navigators penetrate. India, China, and Japan are teaching it in their schools. Commerce has invented a barl)arous variety of it as a Port-language, called " Pigeon-English;" and, but for want of an explicit system of letters, it would, long ere this, have fully filled its destined place. One of the chief qualifications of Eng- lish for its grand future is that its learner has only to memorise ■words ^ and that he has no need to think, or know, anything of the grammatical subtleties that are essential to the use of the arti- ficial languages. World-English presents the English language — made intelligi- ble, equally, to all readers — by means of a simple and consistent mode of writing. The supposed necessity for a new Interna- tional language will be entirely superseded by furnishing English with this alphabetic passport to universal acceptance. yimive'isal laggwij. 4i ide'a ov yuniveWsal laggwij has olwaz bin a fasinatig wun. bi^op jon wilkinz gav pap tu it, in iggland, in hiz '' filoso'fikal laggwij " publipt in 1668. cjis most inje'nius skem inklu'ded a sistem ov jdeogra'fik simbolz foimig a " real karaktei," transla't- abl intii c}i wuidz ov eni laggwij ; and olso an alfabe'tik me^ud. in \yiq c[i rela'punz ov jde'az wer ekspre'st bj adig signi'fikant leteiz az prefiksiz 01 sufiksiz tu aibitrari riit-silablz . (\i plan woz tu ela'borat foi popyulai komprehe'npun, and no ate'mt haz evei bin mad tii brig ecjer ov its foimz intii yiis. resentli, a skem in sum respe'kts reze'mblig 4i alfabe'tik me^ud ov bipop wilkinz, haz bin brot foiwond undei (\i nam ov " vola- piik." 4is sistem iz sed tii hav bin favurabli rese'vd injeimani, and els>}^ar in yiirop. 4^ riit-silablz in volapiik ar sele'kted from wuidz ov egzi'stig laggwijiz ; and, bj menz ov prefikst 01 postfikst leteiz, 4^ ai mad tu ekspre's disti'gkjsunz ov jendei, numbei, kas, peisun, vois, mud, tens, &c. 4i rezu'lt iz a hjli infle'kted laggwij, invo'lvig a multityud ov detalz tu be konstantli ate'nded tii, and rekw^'rig 4i yiizei tii be an ekspe'it grama'rian. if 4ez ai 4i rnodelz on -vyiq a yuniveWsal laggwij iz tu be bilt, we ned liik no fu"i4ei (\i>-n tii di "filoso'fikal laggwij," 01 tii "volapiik;" but a speker ov iggliiS, hapili ema'nsipated az he iz from veksa'punz ov veibal infle'kpun, repyQ'diats 4i modelz. igglig haz bin itse'lf stedili reqig aiit toidz yiiniveisa'liti. it haz kuveid 4i noi^ ame'rikan kontinent, and 4i llandz ov (\i 27 anti'podez. it haz beku'm a nese'siti \yare'ver igglig or ame'ri- kan navigatoiz penitrat. india, qpia, and japa'n ai teqig it in (Jei pkulz. komeis haz inve'nted a baibarus varj'eti ov it az a poit-laggwij, kold " pijun-iggli^ ;" and, but for wont ov an eks- pli'sit sistem ov lete"iz, it wud, log iir 4is, hav fulli fild its destind plas. wun ov 4^ ^^f kwolifika\sunz ov igglig for its grand fyutyur iz cjat its leinei haz onli tii memoriz w^mdz, and ({at he haz no ned tu ^igk, oi no, eni^ig ov 4i grama'tikal sutltiz (^at ar ese'n^al tu yus ov 4i aitifi'gal laggwijiz. wuild-igglig preze'nts 4i iggli? l^SS^U — ^^^ inte'HjibI, ekwoli tii 61 redeiz — h\ menz ov a simpl and konsi'stent mod ov rjtig. 4i supo'zd nese'siti for a nyii inteina'^unal laggw^ij wil be enti'ili syiipeise'ded bj fuinigig igglig wi4 4is alfabe'tik paspoit tii yuni- ve'isal akse'ptans. Spelling Reform. With this phonetic system of World-English to remove diffi- culties of initiation in reading, and to furnish a key to pronuncia- tion, there will be less need for striving after reform in ordinary spelling. To " reform it altogether" would be beyond the scope of orthographic reformers generally ; yet nothing less than this would make our writing phonetic. Spelling must remain a sep- arate art, pictorial in its nature, and learned chiefly b}' eye. Nevertheless, many changes may be made to simplify the outlines of words and render them more easy of remembrance. The silent letter in the terminations -our, -and -ous, for exam^^le, may with advantage be omitted ; but, unfortunately, spelling " reform- ers" have been already at work on the first of these syllables, and have actually omitted the spoken letter and retained the silent one! Thus, favour, labour, vigour, are, in America, very gen- erally written favor, labor, vigor, while they are universally pronounced, both in America and England, favur, labur, vigur. Any change in the orthography of literary English ought at least to be phonetic. Otherwise spelling should be let alone. 28 spelig refoim. wi4 4is fone'tik sistem ov wuild-igglig tii remu'v difikultiz ov inigia'pun in redig, and tii fumig a ke tii pronunsia'gun, 4ei wil be les ned foi stqvig after refo'im in oidinari spelig. tu " re- fo4m it oltuge'clei " wiid be beyo'nd ^i skop ov oi^ogra'fik refo'imeiz jenerali ; yet nu^ig les (|^n (Jis "wud mak aur rjtig fone'tik. spelig must rema'n a separat art, pikto'rial in its nat- yur, and leind qefli bj \. neveicjile's, meni qanjiz ma be mad tu simplify 4.1 autlpz ov wuidz and render ^em mor ezi ov reme'mbrans. 4^ sjlent letei in 4i teimina'gunz -our and -ous, for egza'mpl, ma wi4 adva'ntij be omi'ted ; but, unfo'ityunatli, spelig " refo'imerz" hav bin olre'di at wuik on 4i feist ov 4ez silablz, and hav aktyuali omi'ted 4i spoken leter and reta'nd 4i sclent w^un ! 4^5, favour, labour, vigour, ar, in ame'rika, veri jenerali ritn favor, labor, vigor, \y"il 4^^ ^^ yiinive'isali prona'inist, bo^ in ame'rika and iggland, favui, labui, vigui. eni qanj in 4i oi^o'gi'afi ov literari igglis 6t at lest tu be fone'tik. u4ei\yiz spelig pud be let alo'n. Phonetic Rules. The orthography in the foregoing illustrations of World-Eng- lish might have been apparently simplified by the adoption of a few phonetic rules, such as : I. The letters e and o, when final in monosyllables, are always pronounced long. With this rule the words me, no, &c., might be simply written me, no, &c. II. The letter e before r in the same syllable is always pro- nounced e. With this rule the words hei, feim, ei^, &c., might be simply written hei, feim, ei^, &c. III. The letters au are always, in combination, pronounced au. With this rule the words aiit, uau, &c., might be simply written aut, nau, &c. 29 Such rules may possiblj' find advocates. Here they are merely pointed out. The exact pronunciation of every syllable is, pref- erably, indicated throughout the illustrations in this book, so that no knowledge beyond that of tiie alphabetic elements is necessar}- to enable the learner to read tiic words with accuracy. EPILOGUE Every one has heard of the butcher, who, after a long search for his knife, at last found it in his mouth. So, speakers of Eng- lish have been seeking for a Universal Language, when lo ! it is in their mouths ! The intelligibility of words has been obscured by a dense mist of letters. This is now dispersed in World- English ; and the language stands revealed, — beyond comparison clear, simple, copious, and cosmopolitan, — the fitting tongue of Humanity. epilog. everi wun haz heid ov ^i biiqei, hii, after a log seiq foi hiz nif, at last faund it in hiz mau^. so, spekeiz ov igglig hav bin sekig for a yunive'isal laggwij, ^yen 15! it iz in (|ei maucjz ! cji intelijibi'liti ov wuidz haz bin obskyu'id h\ a dens mist ov leteiz. 4is iz naii dispe'ist in wuild-iggli§ ; and <^i laggwij standz reve'ld — beyo'nd kompa'risun klei, simpl, kopius, and koz- mopo'litan — 4* fitig tug ov quma'niti. 160738 Printed by Gibson Bros., Washington, D. C, U. S. A. university of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL "-BRARY FACILrO^ ReumUhisraater^Uot!^^ , I UL SnillHI l:', '^'^ ', ':'..-. LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 888 123 7 LOS ANGELES LIBRARY ^•t:^ '"^ n^-- -*^M !f5l4**vVji ^■■\k-"' -buk