CHAPTER VI.

EUPHONIC CHANGES.

DEFINITIONS.

159. EUPHONY, as opposed to cacophony, is that quality of sound by which it strikes the ear agreeably. As the ear, the organ by which we apprehend language, is in this respect the vestibule of the soul, it must be important whether a sound excites the ear, and, of course, the soul, pleasantly or unpleasantly.

Although euphony is a quality of sound, and seems to respect the ear only, yet, if we consider the contiguity of the organs of speech to the ear, and the natural laws of the association of ideas, we shall easily be convinced that it depends for the most part on ease of utterance. The sound produced in the mouth is in close contact with the ear, which is thus constituted its rightful judge. That which passes through the lips easily strikes pleasantly on the ear; that which occasions pain and difficulty in the utterance, makes, on the contrary, a painful impression on that organ.

The facility of utterance depends on a just intermixture of vocalic and liquid sounds on the one hand, and of mute consonants on the other. This undoubtedly is the fundamental principle of euphony. The two faults opposed to this are a superabundance of vowels or liquids, producing too great softness, and a superabundance of consonants, producing too great harshness.

Although the general principles of euphony are obvious, yet, in judging of particular cases, much is left to taste, caprice, and fashion. Habit tends to make an unpleasant sound agreeable, and fashion often predominates to reject sounds in themselves pleasant. Thus different nations have formed for themselves different laws of euphony.

§ 160. The changes produced in words by euphony are called FIGURES. The euphonic changes indicated by the term are entirely distinct from those which arise in the formation and inflection of words.

These figures of euphony have not received in our common grammars the attention they deserve. They have been compressed into a narrow space, and regarded as arbitrary processes. Their con

nection with the physiology of sound, and their importance in the formation of language, have not been duly estimated. They are now beginning to form the most interesting chapter in comparative philology, and to have their bounds and limits accurately marked

out.

These figures are either necessary, occasioned by the general laws of euphony, or accidental, occasioned by the sense of euphony in a particular people. Both kinds, again, are either external, i. e., such as are perceived from a comparison with a kindred dialect or with an original language; or internal, i. e., such as appear in the structure itself of a particular language.

The following are the principal euphonic figures:

I. APHERESIS, Greek dpaípeois, a taking away, is the taking of a letter or a syllable from the beginning of a word; as, 'gainst, 'neath, for against, beneath.

II. PROSTHESIS, Greek πрóçoεσiç, addition, is the addition of a letter or syllable to the beginning of a word; as, adown, beloved, for down, loved.

III. APOCOPE, Greek dлоколý, a cutting off, is the cutting off a letter or letters from the end of a word; as, th' evening, four o'clock, for the and of.

IV. SYNCOPE, Greek σvyкoτý, a cutting short, is the taking away of one or more letters from the middle of a word; as, e'en, se'ennight, for even, sevennight.

V. EPENTHESIS, Greek έπévoɛoç, is the insertion of a letter or syllable in the middle of a word; as, honour, could, for honor, coud.

VI. PARAGOGE, Greek napaywyń, a drawing out, is the annexing of a letter or syllable to the end of a word; as, awaken, withouten, for awake, without.

VII. DIERESIS, Greek diaípeois, division, is the dissolving of a diphthong, with a mark over two vowels, which might otherwise be taken for one syllable; as, zoölogy, aërial.

VIII. SYNERESIS, Greek ovvaípeois, contraction, is the contracting of two syllables into one; as, ae and ie in Israel and alienate.

IX. METATHESIS, Greek μɛráðɛoiç, transposition, is the trans

posing of letters in a word; as pistris for pristis; bird for Anglo-Saxon brid.

X. COMMUTATION, Latin commutatio, an exchange, is exchanging one letter for another. See GRIMM's Law, § 161, and

also $162.

GRIMM'S LAW OF CONVERTIBILITY.

§ 161. Every language has its own principles of euphony pervading it. This is strikingly manifest in a comparison of the Romanic languages with one another in their departure from their common parent, the Latin. Thus the word flos in the Latin becomes fleur in French, flor in Spanish, fiore in Italian. J. GRIMM, the great historical grammarian of the age, discovered that in the interchange of consonants in the Teutonic languages in their relation to the Sanscrit, Greek, and Latin, which are here reckoned as one, and in their relation to one another, there is a certain law, which, from its discoverer, has been called "GRIMM's law." According to this, MasoGothic, when compared with the Sanscrit, Greek, and Latin, substitutes aspirates in place of the primitive tenues, namely, h for k, th for t, and ƒ for p; tenues in the place of medials, namely, t for d, p for b, and k for g; lastly, medials in the place of aspirates, namely, g for ch, d for th, and b for p. Upper German holds the same relation to the Gothic which this does to the Greek, according to the following summary.

These are only specimens of a law which obtains in these languages.

LAW OF

CONVERTIBILITY

IN THE LATIN, ENGLISH,

AND GERMAN.

162. As the English language stands on the ground of the MesoGothic, and the German on the ground of the ancient High German,

we have the following illustrations of "GRIMM's law," from a comparison of the Latin, English, and German.

1. The Latin c (=k) becomes h (for kh) in English and German. Latin calamus; English halm; German halm. Latin cannabis; English hemp; German hanf. Latin centum; English hundred; German hundert.

2. The Latin h (for kh) becomes g in English and German. Lat. hædus; Eng. goat; Germ. geiss. Lat. hostis; Eng. guest; Germ.

gast.

3. The Latin g becomes k or c in English and German. Lat. gena; Eng. chin; Germ. kinn. Lat. granum; Eng. corn and kernel;

Germ. corn and kern.

4. The Latin t becomes th in English and d in German. Lat. tonitru; Eng. thunder; Germ. donner. Lat. tres; Eng. three;

Germ. drei.

5. The Latin or Greek th becomes d in English and t in German. Gr. thugater; Eng. daughter; Germ. tochter. Gr. ther; Eng. deer; Germ. thier.

6. The Latin d becomes t in English and in German. Lat. decem; Eng. ten; Germ. zehn. Lat. dens; Eng. tooth; Germ. zahn. 7. The Latin p becomes f in English, and for v in German. Lat. pater; Eng. father; Germ. vater. Gr. pente; Eng. five; Germ. funf.

8. The Latin f becomes b in English and German. Lat. fagus; Eng. beech; Germ. buche. Lat. flos; Eng. bloom; Germ. blume. 9. The Latin 6 becomes p in English and ƒ in German. Lat. cannabis; Eng. hemp; Germ. hanf.

All these examples, excepting the very last one, have respect to the initial sound of the word, where these principles exert their power freely; but in the middle or end of a word, these principles are often affected by euphonic laws, arising from the accumulation of consonants.

Sometimes two of these changes are illustrated in the same word; as, 1. Lat. claudus; Eng. halt. See Nos. 1 and 6.-2. Lat. caput; Anglo-Saxon heafod. See Nos. 1 and 7.-3. Lat. cannabis; Eng. hemp. See Nos. 1 and 9.-4. Lat. hædus; Eng. goat. See Nos. 2 and 6.-5. Eng. third; Germ. dritte. See Nos. 4 and 5.-6. Lat. istud; Eng. that; Germ. das. See Nos. 4 and 6.-7. Lat. trudo; Eng. thrust. See Nos. 4 and 6.-8. Gr. theggo; Eng. duck. See Nos. 5 and 3.-9. Eng. deep; Germ. tief. See Nos. 5 and 9. —10. Eng. tide; Germ. zeit. See Nos. 6 and 5.-11. Lat. pater; Eng. father. See Nos. 7 and 4.-12. Lat. piscis; Eng. fish. See

Nos. 7 and 1.-13. Lat. frango; Eng. break.-14. Lat. fråter; Eng. brother. See Nos. 8 and 4.

§ 163. 1. There is a play of vowels in the collateral Teutonic roots, especially in those that are formed by onomatopeia; as, gloom, gleam; juggle, gaggle, and giggle; cluck, clack, click; croak, crack, creak.

2. There is a play of vowels in Teutonic words formed by reduplication, one of the more simple and mechanical processes in the formation of language; as, chit-chat, ding-dong, zig-zag, whim-wham. This mode of forming words, consisting in a mechanical repetition of the same sound, is naturally adapted to express (1.) The continuous flow of conversation; as, chit-chat, tittle-tattle; (2.) Other constant and repeated sounds; as, ding-dong, tick-tack; (3.) Certain oscillatory motions; as, zig-zag, see-saw; (4.) Certain mental fluctuations; as, whim-wham, knick-knacks; (5.) Some miscellaneous things involving the idea of repetition; as, mish-mash, slip-slop.

3. There is a play of vowels or diphthongs in the formation of the past tense and of the past participle in the ancient and strong inflection of Teutonic verbs, which is seen, however, to much better advantage in the kindred dialects than in the English language; as, pres. break, past brake, part. broken; pres. sing, past sang, part. sung; pres. give, past gave, part. given; pres. slay, past slew, part. slain; pres. drive, past drove, part. driven.

4. There is a play f vowels in the derivation of nouns from Teutonic verbs; as, ban, and bond from to bind; bat and bate from to beat; cake from to cook; dole from to deal; doom from to deem; share and shire from to shear.

5. There is an attenuation or precession of vowels in certain formative processes of Teutonic words.

a. In the formation of verbs from nouns; as, to bleed, from blood (compare Anglo-Saxon bledan, from blod); to breed, from brood (compare German brüten, from brut); to feed, from food (compare AngloSaxon fedan, from fod). b. In the formation of verbs from other verbs, and having a factitive or causative sense; as, to bait, from to bite (compare Anglo-Saxon batan, from bitan); to fell, from to fall; to lay, from to lie (compare Anglo-Saxon lecgan, from licgan); to set, from to sit. c. In the formation of adjectives from substantives; as, English, from Angle (compare Anglo-Saxon Englisc, from Angle). d. In the formation of abstract substantives from adjectives, by means of the suffix th; as, breadth, from broad; length, from long. e. In the formation of certain diminutives; as, bundle, from bond; gosling, from goose; kitten, from cat.

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