A thorough reformation of the orthography of the English language, desirable as it is, can scarcely be hoped for in this century; though doubtless the time will come when an international convention will settle authoritatively the spelling of every word, as acceptably as has been done by the Academies of France and Spain in regard to the orthography of the languages of those countries.

A or AN before a Vowel or silent H.

In regard to the use of the indefinite article, Walker’s Dictionary very judiciously says,—

“This indefinite, and, as it may be called, the euphonic article, is said by all our grammarians to be used before a vowel or h mute; but no notice is taken of using a instead of an before what is called a vowel, as, a useful book, a useful ceremony, a usurer, &c.; nor is any mention made of its constant usage before h when it is not mute, if the accent of the word be on the second syllable, as, an heroic action, an historical account, &c. This want of accuracy arises from a want of analyzing the vowels, and not attending sufficiently to the influence of accent on pronunciation. A proper investigation of the power of the vowels would have informed our grammarians that the letter u, when long, is not so properly a vowel as a semi-consonant, and perfectly equivalent to commencing y, and that a feeling of this has insensibly influenced the best speakers to prefix a to it in their conversation, while a confused idea of the general rule, arising from an ignorance of the nature of the letters, has generally induced them to prefix an to it in writing. The same observations are applicable to the h. The ear alone tells us that, before heroic, historical, &c., the an ought invariably to be used; but, by not discovering that it is the absence of accent on the h that makes an admissible in these words, we are apt to prefix an to words where the h is sounded, as, an horse, an house, &c., and thus set our spoken and written language at variance. The article a must be used before all words beginning with a consonant, and before the vowel u when long; and the article an must be used before all words beginning with a vowel, except long u; before words beginning with h mute, as, an hour, an heir, &c.; or before words where the h is not mute, if the accent be on the second syllable, as, an heroic action, an historical account, &c.” The few words in our language in which the h is mute are heir, herb, honest, honour, hospital, hostler, hour, humble, humour, and their derivatives.

O, or OH.

Oh should be used to express surprise, pain, sorrow, or anxiety. When the interjection is followed by a proper name, or as an exclamation of wishing the O should be employed singly, thus: O mother dear, Jerusalem! O Lord! O that I might find him.

ABLE and IBLE.

All English words, without regard to the source from which they have been derived, and those which come from Latin words ending in abilis or French ones in able, take the termination able in English, as, procurable, amendable, desirable, allowable, voidable, available, fordable, incontestable, &c.; but in words from Latin and French words terminating in ibilis or ible, then the ending will be ible in English. For instance: accessible, sensible, defensible, convertible, &c.

In words ending in ce or ge, the final e is preserved before the termination able, for the purpose of indicating the soft sound of the consonant, as in marriageable, chargeable, traceable, serviceable, &c.; but before the ending ible the final e of the primitive disappears, and there is no e before the termination. Examples: deducible, reducible, frangible, &c.

The following list of words in ible is here added; all others end in able:—

IM or IN, and EM or EN.

The prefix in is from the Latin, and that of en from the French and Greek. In generally signifies situation, and en mostly expresses action. Hence, perhaps, in strictness, inclose will signify “to close in,” and enclose, “to make close.” So, to inquire will be “to seek in, or to search in,” and enquire, to “make search.” Immigrate, “to pass into;” emigrate, “to go out of.” But this distinction is not attended to by writers, and is, indeed, too refined for general practice.

Before the letters b and p, en becomes em, as in embattle, empower; and in before some letters becomes ig, il, im, or ir, as in ignoble, illegal, improper, irresolute.

We give a list of those generally spelt with im or in; leaving it to be inferred that the rest are more usual with em or en.

IN and UN.

In, as a prefix, also marks negation: it is probable that it came from the Romans. Un, as a prefix, is synonymous with in: it is of Saxon origin, and generally joined to words from a northern source; while in is oftener applied to those of Latin derivation.

ISE and IZE.

The variation in the terminations ise and ize is due to the different derivations of words,—ize characterizing words from the Greek and Latin, and ise from the French. The rule, however, is not inflexible. The following words are commonly spelled with the s.

OR and OUR.

The ending our was in general use until the appearance of Webster’s Dictionary, in which the u was dropped in words terminating with our. This innovation has steadily gained ground. We do not approve of partial tinkerings with English orthography; and, until a general convention of British and American scholars settle the method of spelling English words, we shall adhere to the established usage. We append a list of words terminating in our.

The u is dropped when the termination ous is added to any of these words; as, clamorous, dolorous, humorous, laborious, odorous, rancorous, rigorous, valorous, vigorous. And also in derivative words; such as armory, honorary, &c.

SION and TION.

Primitive words which end in d, de, ge, mit, rt, se, or ss, take sion in their derivatives; but all other words have tion.

FARTHER and FURTHER.

Farther is nowadays only employed when speaking of distance; in all other acceptations of the word, further is generally adopted.

PEAS and PEASE.

There are scarcely any words in which a mistake is more frequently made than in peas and pease. Yet the distinction between them is simple and well defined. Peas is the plural of pea, and, consequently, only follows numeral adjectives; as, “ten peas,” “a hundred peas,” “a few peas,” “many peas;” but pease is used when speaking of the legumen in the aggregate, or generally. Thus, we correctly say, “Pease are dear this year,” “Pease were plentifully supplied to the horses,” &c.

Pease is also employed adjectively; as, “pease-pudding,” “pease-soup,” or “pea-soup,” &c.

The Omission of S in the Possessive Case.

It is not uncommon with some persons to omit the s after the apostrophe in the possessive case of nouns, if the name itself ends in s; as, “James’ book,” “Barnes’ Notes.” But this is incorrect; for if we ask, Whose book? we should directly answer, James’s. The only case when the s can be judiciously omitted, and this solely to avoid the too hissing sound of so many s’s in succession, is when the first word ends with the sound of s in its last two syllables, and the next word begins with s; as in Misses’ spectacles, righteousness’ sake, conscience’ sake.

Formation of the Plurals of Words compounded of a Noun and an Adjective.

Adjectives have no plural number. Therefore, in a word compounded of a noun and an adjective, the s denoting the plural number is attached to the end of the noun, as follows:—

But where the adjective is taken substantively, the mark of the plural will properly follow it. For example: Brigadier-generals, major-generals, lieutenant-generals.

Words compounded of a noun and the adjective full form their plurals thus: spoonfuls, cupfuls, bucketfuls, handfuls, mouthfuls.

Pointing of Numbers, Weights, Measures, &c.

No comma should be placed between the constituent parts of the same number, however long it may be. Thus, we say, “One million one hundred thousand five hundred and twenty-one,” without any interpunction. The reason is, that there is no more than one numerical aggregate intended, or but one complex notion; and, consequently, no separation of parts or members can take place. The same reasoning holds good as respects values, weights, &c. For instance, when we say, “Six dollars and ten cents,” we merely mean that aggregate amount, but not necessarily any one of the coins indicated. If we did so intend, then two commas should be introduced,—one after “dollars,” and the other after “cents.” In like manner we should act with such sentences as, “Five tons three hundredweight two quarters and fifteen pounds;” or, “Ten acres four roods and twenty-seven perches;” and for the same reason: no division of parts is intended, but merely one aggregate amount.

When figures are used to express amounts, a comma should not be inserted to cut off the tens unless the sum requires five figures: e.g. $10,600, 20,000 men, &c. In column matter this rule will not apply.

Derivation of English Words.

Of course the Saxon forms the basis of our language in its essential parts, and is the source whence we derive the greater part of our ordinary and most emphatic words. Nevertheless, various other languages have been put under contribution, especially the French, Latin, and Greek. This will be evident from the following statement of derivations, which will show the unlearned reader how important it is to him that he should acquire some knowledge of those languages, if he desires to attain to a thorough proficiency in his business as an educated printer.

I. From the Greek are derived—

1. Words ending in gram, graph, and graphy; as, telegram, telegraph, geography, &c.; from the word ???f?, (grapho,) I write, and some other Greek word.

2. Those in gon; from ????a, (gonia,) an angle; as, octagon.

3. All words in logue or logy; as, epilogue, astrology; from ?????, (logos,) a discourse.

4. Ic, ick, ics are also Greek terminations, generally of adjectives.

5. Words in meter are all of Greek origin, coming from the verb et??, (metro,) I measure, in combination with some other word.

6. Most words into which the terminations agogue, asis, esis, or ysis enter are also of Greek origin; such as demagogue, emphasis, parenthesis, analysis, &c.

II. But the main source whence we have derived words, with the exception of the Saxon, is the Latin, as will appear from an inspection of the following list:—

1. Words ending in ance, ancy, or ant, and ence, ency, or ent, come from Latin words ending respectively in ans, antia, or ens, entia; as, abundance, from abundantia; infancy, from infantia; abundant, from abundans; absence, from absentia; excellency, from excellentia; and excellent, from excellens.

2. Words in al have their Latin representatives in alis; as, corporal, from corporalis.

3. Verbs in ate mostly come from Latin verbs of the first conjugation; as, moderate, from modero.

4. Words in ator are generally the same in both languages; as, orator, senator, moderator.

5. The termination id comes mostly from Latin words ending in idus; as, acid, from acidus; but sometimes words of this ending are of Greek origin; as, oxide, (more correctly, oxyd,) from ????, (oxys;) and, indeed, most scientific words of this ending; as, carotid, from ?a??t?de?, &c.; rhomboid, from ???e?d??.

6. Il or ile is likewise from the Latin termination of adjectives in ilis; as, docile, from docilis; civil, from civilis.

7. The Latin termination osus has its English representative in ious or ous; as, copious, from copiosus; numerous, from numerosus. But sometimes the English ending ous comes from a Latin word in ax; as, capacious, from capax.

8. The Latin ending io has its English corresponding word in ion; as, nation, from natio; oration, from oratio.

9. The endings ne, re, and te after a vowel are also for the greater part of Latin origin; as, fortune, from fortuna; aquiline, from aquilinus; culture, from cultura; pure, from purus; complete, from completus, &c.

10. Words in ty come from Latin words in tas; as, equality, from Æqualitas; bounty, from bonitas; rarity, from raritas, &c.

11. The termination ude is also of Latin origin, coming from words in udo; as, fortitude, from fortitudo; elude, from eludo.

12. So also is uous, by inserting the letter o; as, ambiguous, from ambiguus; continuous, from continuus, &c.

III. From the French have come—

1. Most of our words in age; as, page, rage, usage.

2. All those in eau; as, beau, flambeau, &c.

3. The French esse is represented by the English ess: as, princess, from princesse.

4. Words in que mostly come to us from the French directly; some from the Latin directly or indirectly; as, antique, (L. antiquus, F. antique,) oblique, opaque.

5. Words ending in ment are nearly the same in both languages; as, commencement, advancement, (F. avancement,) &c.

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We subjoin some rules for spelling, adapted from Laidlaw’s American Pronouncing Dictionary.[26]

RULE I.

Words ending in silent e after u or a consonant generally drop the e on taking an additional termination beginning with a vowel; as, sale, salable; plague, plaguy; sue, suing; eye, eying.

RULE II.

Words ending in silent e generally retain the e on taking an additional termination beginning with a consonant; as, bereave, bereavement; issue, issueless.

RULE III.

Words ending in ie change them into y before ing; as, lie, lying. The following words conform to this rule:—

RULE IV.

Words ending in y preceded by a consonant generally change y into i on taking an additional syllable; as, mercy, merciful, merciless; defy, defied, defies, defieth, defiant; busy, busier, busiest, business; ply, pliers; porphyry, porphyritic.

RULE V.

Words ending in y preceded by a vowel retain the y; as, gay, gayly, gayness, gayety; pray, prayer, praying, prayed, prays.

RULE VI.

Monosyllables and words having the primary accent on the last syllable, when they end with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double their final consonant before an additional syllable that begins with a vowel; as, wet, wetter, wettest, wetting, wetted; drum, drumming, drummed; dispel, dispelling, dispelled.

RULE VII.

A final consonant is not doubled when it is preceded by a diphthong, when the primary accent is either not on, or not retained upon, the last syllable, or when the additional syllable begins with a consonant; as, beat, beating, beaten; dif´fer, dif´fering, dif´fered, dif´ference, dif´ferent; prefer´, pref´erence; refer´, ref´erence; fit, fitful, fitly, fitness; ben´efit, ben´efited, ben´efiting.

RULE VIII.

Words ending in c accept of k before a termination beginning with e, i, or y; as, frolic, frolicked, frolicking; colic, colicky.

RULE IX.

Words ending in a double letter preserve it double after a prefix or before a termination beginning with a different letter; as, op-press, mis-spell, in-thrall, oversee; see-ing, op-pressive, stiff-ness, woo-ed, still-ness, assess-ment.

RULE X.

The plural is usually formed from the singular by adding s; as, brave, braves; night, nights; hymn, hymns.

RULE XI.

Nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel accept of s in the plural; as, cameo, cameos; studio, studios.

RULE XII.

Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel accept of s in the plural; as, money, moneys; attorney, attorneys; valley, valleys.

RULE XIII.

Nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant usually accept of es in the plural; as, echo, echoes; embargo, embargoes.

RULE XIV.

Nouns ending in ss, z, x, ch soft, and sh, accept of es in the plural; as, dress, dresses; buzz, buzzes; box, boxes; peach, peaches; dish, dishes.

RULE XV.

Nouns ending in y after a consonant change y into ies in the plural; as, city, cities; daisy, daisies.

RULE XVI.

Compound nouns whose parts are connected by a hyphen accept of the sign of the plural after that part which essentially constitutes the noun; as, knight-errant, knights-errant; son-in-law, sons-in-law; man-of-war, men-of-war; step-child, step-children; ember-day, ember-days; man-singer, men-singers.

RULE XVII.

The compounds of man form their plural in the same manner as the simple word; as, fisherman, fishermen; man-of-war, men-of-war.

RULE XVIII.

Of the terminations eive and ieve, and of the derivatives of each, the former are found after c, and the latter after other letters; as, conceive, conceit, receive, receipt; relieve, relief, relieving, thieve, thievish.

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Plurals of Nouns which change F or FE into VES.

All other nouns ending in ff conform to Rule X. Wharfs prevails in Great Britain, wharves in America.

Plurals of Nouns ending in F or FE which accept of S only in the Plural.

Plurals of Nouns ending in EAU, IEU, and OU.

A number of these nouns admits of two forms in the plural.

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