CONTENTS.

Previous
Noah Webster
DISSERTATION I.
Page.
Introduction, 17
Advantages of national uniformity in language, 19
The English language the parent of the American, 21
Absurdity of copying the changes of language in Great Britain, 24
The only good principles on which any permanent uniformity can be established, 27
English writers who are the best models of stile, 31
Writers who have corrupted stile, 32
History of the English Language, 40
Of the ancient Celtic, 41
Of the Armoric, 48
Of the old Irish, 49
Of the Teutonic or Gothic, 53
Of the Norman French, 56
Of the language in Chaucer's time, 59
Remarks, 61
Of the Saxon origin of the English tongue, 61
Of the poverty and copiousness of languages, 63-64
Of the difference in the French and English manner of speaking, 67
Of the irregular orthography of the English language, 70
DISSERTATION II.
Elements of the language unfolded, 81
Rules of pronunciation, 91
Of accent, 95
Differences of pronunciation and controverted points examined, 103
How the manner of speaking may be affected by the laws of property, &c. 106
DISSERTATION III.
Examination of controverted points, continued, 131
Of modern corruptions in the English pronunciation, 146
DISSERTATION IV.
Remarks on the formation of language, 181
A sketch of Mr. Horne Tooke's new and ingenious explanation of the particles, 186
Examination of particular phrases, 201
Noun, 201
Verb, 222
Mode, 231
Number and person, 232
Auxiliaries, 234
Criticisms on the use of what is called the future tense, 236
————— On the use of what is called the Subjunctive Mode, 240
Of the participial noun, 279
Particles, 284
State of the language in America, 287
DISSERTATION V.
Of the construction of English verse, 291
Pauses, 299
Expression, 305
Of reading verse, 310
NOTES, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL.
Etymological reasons for supposing the European languages to be descended from one common stock,

DIRECTIONS.

The sounds of the vowels, marked or referred to in the second and third Dissertations, are according to the Key in the First Part of the Institute. Thus:

a e i o u y
First sound, late, feet, night, note, tune, sky,
Second, hat, let, tin, tun, glory,
Third, law, fraud,
Fourth, ask, father,
Fifth, not, what,
Sixth, prove, room,

The capitals, included in brackets [] in the text, are references to the Notes at the end.

DISSERTATIONS
ON THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE, &c.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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