Part 7 (1/2)

height} heighth} height} hight} hight }

maneuver maneuver } manuvre}

melasses molasses

mold mold } h}

tongue} tongue tung }

oe

crum crumb

pontif pontiff

ake } ache ache}

imlet

feather} feather fether }

steady} steady steddy}

mosk mosque

ribin ribbon

cutlas cutlass

skain skain} skein}

sherif sheriff

porpess porpoise

It should be added that in many cases where the later editors have receded fro his innovation as etyically correct and preferable There can be no doubt that Webster was careless and inconsistent in his entry of these words, since he would venture his ie, and then, when using the word elsewhere in definition or in coet his iraphy Froraphy, however, it eneral that Webster's decision in the case of classes of words has been maintained in subsequent editions, but his individual alterations have been regarded as contributions to an iraphy, and quietly dropped The fact illustrates Webster's strength and weakness His notions on the subject of unifore of reducing to order as hopelessly chaotic in coe was iing the language to suit his personal taste, he discovered or his successors did that words have roots of another kind than what etyainst the co that, if one went far enough back, he would be sure to colish literature; that his aie to its earlier and historic shape This is a defense fa refor before the days of printing, that authority could be found for any favoritea word Webster claimed the same conservative principles in the matter of pronunciation, and stoutly declared that he was a chalish sounds as opposed to the innovations offered by Sheridan, Walker, and Jae of a nation,” he says in his Introduction, ”is the coht to make in-roads upon its principles As it is the medium of communication between men, it is important that the same written words and the same oral sounds to express the same ideas should be used by the whole nation When any raphy or pronunciation, except to correct palpable errors and produce unifories, he offers an indignity to the nation No local practice, however respectable, will justify the attenity, as well as propriety, in respecting the universal and long-established usages of a nation With these views of the subject, I feel myself bound to reject all modern innovations which violate the established principles and analogies of the language, and destroy or i I have therefore endeavored to present to enuine purity, as we have received the inheritance froe is fatally destined to be corrupted, I will not be an instrument of the mischief”

These are certainly brave words, and there are even people ould doubt if Webster had the courage of such convictions In his Dictionary he see the pronunciation He devotes a nues, it is true, in the Introduction, to a discussion of the principles involved, but in arded refinements of speech The word culture, for instance, is marked by him [c-]ul'ture, while in the latest edition it appears as [c-]ult'ure (kult'y?r) He had a few antipathies, as to the _tsh_ sound then fashi+onable in such words as _tunacity he attacked the orthoepists who at that tiraphists; he did not believe that nice shades of sound could be represented to the eye by characters, and he appears to have been somewhat impatient of the whole subject He enerally prevailed in New England in his day represented the best and most historic pronunciation The first ministers had been educated at the universities, and the respect felt for theeneral acceptance of their mode of speech He himself said _volluarded Sheridan, Walker, Perry, Jones, and Ja uniformity, only unsettled the old and familiar speech,--a curious coraphy He does not here, either, forget his loyalty to Ae of a great and respectable portion of the people of this country accords with the analogies of the language, but not with the lish orthoepists In such cases it seee To renounce a practice confessedly regular for one confessedly anoe, would hardly be consistent with the dignity of lexicography When we have principle on our side, let us adhere to it

The time cannot be distant when the population of this vast country will throw off their leading-strings, and walk in their own strength; and the more we can raise the credit and authority of principle over the caprices of fashi+on and innovation, the nearer we approach to uniformity and stability of practice”

The absence of the finer qualities of scholarshi+p in Webster's coh and ready treatment of the subject of pronunciation; perhaps no rain of an educated person's culture than that of pronunciation It is far rammar, and pleasure in conversation, when analyzed, will show this fine sense of sound and articulation to be the last element

If any one had asked Webster upon what part of his Dictionary he had expended the hest value, he would undoubtedly have answered at once the etyy, and whatever related to the history and derivation of words The greater part of the tiiven continuously, from 1807 to 1826, to the elaboration of his Dictionary was spent upon this department; his severest condenorance in these particulars, and the credit which he took to himself was frank and sincere There can be no doubt that he worked hard; there can be no doubt, either, that he had his way to make almost unaided by previous explorers The science of colish of Webster's day were no better equipped than he for the task which he undertook, except so far as they were trained by scholarshi+p to avoid an empirical method Horne Tooke was theas he followed anybody But Tooke was a guesser, and Webster, with all his deficiencies, had always a strong reliance upon systeht they were scientific analyses, and he ca it