10 Nov r. 1815

Chrestomathia ? Language

IV. Noun[?]

The several properties of the first order which, with reference to all ends and on all occasions taken together, - are desirable in language, may therefore be thus enumerated.

1. Clearness.

2. Correctness.

3. Copiousness.

4. Conciseness.

5. Impressiveness.

6. Melodiousness.

The several properties of the second order, which in respect of their conduciveness but through the mediums each of them of one or more of the particular standing in the above list of primary properties, may be thus enumerated.

1. The relations expressed by it, expressed as much as may be by distinct words in contradistinction to modifications of other words.

In proportion as it is endowed with this property, a language may be termed a sparingly inflected language. Contrâ, a copiously inflected language.

A word being assumed as the basis or root of these several modifications, they will consist either of additions to, substractions from or changes of some one or more of the letters of the fundamental or radical word: thence 1. at the beginning. 2. at the end. 3. at any intermediate part.

All such modifications may be termed inflections.

 Add for another secondary property, Affording facility to the construction of composite words. - State the use of composite words.
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  • Title: [3 Dec r 1815 Chrestom Language Rudiments]
    Description: 3 Dec r 1815

    Chrestom Language Rudiments

    Properties desirable

    Language of an individual good in proportion as it possesses them: of a language in proportion as it affords facility to individuals for giving to their stile these properties

    I. Properties or Qualities desirable in language in general—at large—

    I. Prop. of the 1 st order

    1. Clearness

    2. Correctness

    3. Copiousness

    4. Conciseness or Compactedness

    5. Impressiveness

    6. Melodiousness

    7. Pronuntiability.

    8. Discibility

    9. Ornability or Decorability

    10. Dignity: ex.gr. Period.

    II. of the 2 d order

    I. Oligothesic or Sparingly inflect[ed]ness—subservient to 1. Clearness 2. Correctness 3. Copiousness 4. Conciseness 5. Impressiveness 6. Discibility

    II. Poly-[…?] or […?]-conjugatedness is subservient to 1. Copiousness 2. Conciseness

    III. Encherosyncrasia/thesis/—Readily compoundedness is subservient to 1. Copiousness 2. Conciseness

    Copiously inflected Lang. s Cause of the inflection by termination the perturbedness of the order necessary to bring the words into measured verse—the identity or correspondence of terminations afforded a mark by which their relations might in this confusion be recognized.

    II. Degrees in which these qualities are respectively possessed by different languages.

    Beauty is the result partly of negative partly of positive properties. So far as of negative, it is exempt from the imperfections opposite to the other desirable qualities: so far as of positive, in addition to the other positive qualities it consists of Decoratedness

    III. Qualities desirable in the language—i.e. the stile of an individual.

     Taking these for the standard of reference, parallel to the columns exhibiting them, put the Column of qualities desirable in a language.

    These are

    I. Qualities desirable on all occasions, viz.

    1. Clearness

    2. Correctness

    3. Copiousness

    4. Conciseness

    5. Impressiveness

    6. Melodiousness

    II. Qualities /more particularly/ desirable for particular purposes, or occasions.

    I. Oratorical purposes & occasions

    1. Decorableness

    2. Dignity or Commandingness

    3. Persuasiveness

    4. Patheticalness

    Dignity—its oppositives 1. Levity 2. Fumblingness

    II. Poetical purposes & occasions

    1. Ornamentality

    N.B. In regard to stile distinguish between the properties that depend upon the words, and d o that depend upon the ideas exclusive of the words.

    In so far as they depend not on the words, they belong not to this subject.

    Between—Among—Entre

    Between—the impropriety produced by its inclusiveness is peculiar to the English Entre in French from Inter (Latin) is not infested with it

    Entre serves for between and among

    Among will not serve for every state of things for which entre and inter serve.

    No otherwise than on the supposition of their being divided into pairs can between server for the case of plurality.

    Clearness absence of Ambiguity Sources of—

    1. Words taken singly

    2. Words considered as ingredients in a sentence: uncertainty to which other words in it they refer ex. gr.

    1. Restrictives—only

    2. Ordinals—First

    Inflected languages

    3. Clauses—Adjective Clauses restrictive, as most are N.B. Adjective Changes.

    Clearness

    I. Instrument of Definition and the other mode of Exposition.

    Substitution of a definand, after definition, to the definition itself is analogous to the substitution of a letter to a plexus of [...?] figures in Algebra

    2. Avoidance of terms of ambiguous import—unless fixt at the time.

    II. Apposite Collocation.

    Propositions object they are expressive of i.e. faculties of the exercise of which they are expressive

    1. Perceptive—de perceptend[o]

    2. Judicative—de judicand[o]

    3. Volition—de volendo.

    Conjugates viz. Logical

    1. Grammatical or Syntactical

    2. Extra-/Exo-/syntactical or Logical

    Conjugates are

    1. Simple or /i.e./ uncompounded

    2. Compounded

    Conjugates are

    I. Integral

    1. Contained in a substantive

    2. —— in an adjective

    3. —— in a verb

    II. Fractional. Portions of an integral cluster of conjugates.

    Of Terminations in so far as indicative of particular ideas

    Conjugates—Pseudo Conjugates and Quasi-Conjugates

    Terminations

    Different senses designated by the same terminations Ex. gr. By the termination ation the operation and the result.

    Modes

    I. Properly distinguished

    1. Absolute viz. indicative

    2. Conditional voz. potential

    Note how Tense and Mood run into one another in shall will &c

    II. Improperly or unnecessarily distinguished

    1. Subjunctive—i.e. indicative of the conjunct use of a conjunction

    2. Imperative

    3. Optative indicative of a wish—Expressed in Latin and Greek by a conjunction indicating in English by [...?] 1. Oh I wish that

    4. Causative

    1. Subjunctive is useless

    2. Imperative is complex in its signification

    3. Optative is useless

    4. Causat[ive] is complex in its signification. No use in a separate /peculiar/ [...?] for it

     See the English moods as expressed by the auxiliary Verbs—must—ought—should can, could &c.

    Futurity—its Modes over and above the modifications of time

    I. Absolute

    1. I shall &c

    2. I will &c

    Conditional

    1. I should &c

    2. I would &c

    Shall expresses futurity and necessity.

    Conditionality—its Modes

    1. May and might

    2. Can and could

    3. Should

    4. Would

    Absoluteness and Conditionality i.e. expressive of

    1. Certainty—or

    2. Uncertainty.

    May and Can

    Modifications applied to the import of them by the addition of the negative not

    Affections or Modifications of

    1. Substantives

    2. Adjectives

    3. Verbs

    An adjective is the name of a quality (or relation) accompanied with an intimation of the existence of a subject in which it is— to which it belongs of which it is a property Abstraction-denoting substantive, name of a quality unaccompanied by any such intimation [...?]

    A complex verb is the name of a quality, considered as momentarily belonging or as permanently belonging, to a subject, accompanied with an /the/ assertion of the existence of that quality: viz. either absolute or conditional (i.e. certain or uncertain) in some point or other of time, as expressed by some one or other of the several modifications or relations of time: accompanied moreover or not with an assertion that in the production of the event /quality/ momentary, transient or permanent in question the will of the speaker has a determinate influence

    English Substantive its Genitive Cases

    1. Not-inflected— the hand of man.

    2. Inflected—Man’s hand.

    Use of the inflected.

    Subserviency to 1. Conciseness. 2. Clearness (viz. by preventing entanglement) 3. Impressiveness (in some cases)

    His loss—the loss of him ambiguity of the expression.

    Time—its Grammatical Affetions or Modificat.

    s

    I. Present; [...?] /pastness/ futurity.

    1. Definiteness or indefiniteness

    2. Continuatedness /Continuedness/ or Uncontinuatedness

    3. Designation or Non-designation of Speediness (Paulo-post futurum.)

    4. Aboluteness or say Certainty—or Conditionality or say Uncertainty—See Mood.

    5. Dependence or Non-dependence of the event on the will of the speaker shall, will, should, would may, can, might, could ought, might

    6. Causationality. [...? ...?]. See Moods.

    Improvement—Measures of pene individuos continued

    Works

    Gradus [...?] Names of Subjects classed, with d o of their respective qualities.

    Improvement—Modes of

    pene individuos.

    1. Clearness—by Definition

    2. D o by formalizing the words defined /definitions/

    3. Employment of new Conjugates in the [...?] of the old. 1. Copiousness and incidentally Clearness, Correctness, Conciseness and Impressiveness

    Conjugates Logical Table of

    ( Add d o of Quasi-Conjugates and Pseudo-Conjugates)

    Heads for

    1. Part of speech they belong to

    2. Import of each

    3. Language from which derived

    4. [...? ...?] composed from simple

    5. Next whether [...?] with relation to the main verb by

    1. Suffix

    2. Affix.

    3. [...?]

    4. Modification i.e. substitution of letters.

     [...?] as fit for emulation in English

    [...?] Classification.

    Grammatically Conjugates Easy to explain them in copiously inflected languages by d o in sparingly d o: the reverse extremely difficult. Example serves in the 1 st case; in the other invention[?] of a subtle logical exposition is necessary.
  • Title: [12 Nov r. 1815 Chrestomathia]
    Description: 12 Nov r. 1815

    Chrestomathia

    IV. Nomenclature

    Parts of Speech Tabulated

    II. Number - Proposition, the import of which is indicated. Objects of the same kind more than one are meant to be indicated by the noun substantive to which the termination in question is attached.

    In the same way may be brought to view the propositions respectively indicated by the terminations or other modifications expressive of Tense and Mood or Mode.

    Two cases there are in and by the import of which no such adjectitious and accessory idea is necessarily involved. These are 1. The Nominative. 2. The Accusative. In these cases there is not any preposition of the import of which the designation is added to that of the import of the Noun to which[?] the termination or other modification is attached.

    Those in the instances of which there is always some preposition, the import of which the designation is always involved in that of the termination in question are, 1. the genitive. 2. the dative. 3. the ablative.

    In certain sparingly inflected languages, the import of the genitive is indeed expressed by a termination. But in these same languages it is in every instance expressed also by a preposition.

    In every language in which it has place the substitutive mode of terminations[?] or other inseparable modifications to separate words, for example such as prepositions, is on several accounts a great blemish. 1. It is a source of prodigious complication, the whole of it useless. 2. It is a most copious source of ambiguity. One such modification being in these copiously inflected languages applied of necessity to convey indiscriminately [a] multitude of different imports, which being essentially different, present a correspondently urgent demand for these instruments of distinction of which such correct and compleat a stock is afforded by the sparingly inflected languages.
  • Title: [24 Nov r. 1815 Chrestomathia or Language]
    Description: 24 Nov r. 1815

    Chrestomathia or Language

    Ch.9. Thought the basis

    The ideas in the designation of which language is employed are reducible to two heads: viz. 1. ideas of subjects (i.e. of entities real or fictitious considered as subjects) and 2. ideas of relations, of relations between subject and subject.  (Quære as to adjuncts and modifications?)

    For the designation of ideas of relation attached to the principal idea, the idea of the subject, two modes are employed in language, viz. 1. separate accessory words. 2. modifications of the sign of the principal idea or subject - the principal word.

    For the giving an account of these different modifications of idea, the most commodious of all languages will be that in which the greatest use is made of separate words. Why? Because in this case, for the separate designation of each such modification, there is a separate and apposite words already provided by the language.

    The language in which for this purpose the greatest use is made of separate words is, it is believed, the English.

    The more of these separate words a language possesses, the less demand it has for, and naturally in[?] the less the numbers it will have of, the abovementioned verbal modifications.

    These modifications have by grammarians been termed inflections.

    In proportion as the number which it furnishes of this modification or inflection is small, a language may be said to be a sparingly inflected;- in the opposite case, a copiously inflected language.