Hieroglyfic: or, a Grammatical Introduction to an Universal Hieroglyfic Language — John Shaqi
Hieroglyfic: or, a Grammatical Introduction to an Universal Hieroglyfic LanguageJones, Rowland
Philosophy
Hieroglyfic: or, a Grammatical Introduction to an Universal Hieroglyfic Language
Jones, Rowland
Grammar, Comparative and general -- Early works to 1800; Language and languages -- Early works to 1800
This alphabet consists of seven vowels or voices, which in their own
nature, actively, and without any super-addition, yield compleat
articulate sounds, particles, or names, and hieroglyfically represent
the elementary or active parts of the human body, and nature, as similar
thereto, namely, a, e or h, i, o, u, w or ω, Υ; and of other characters
or letters, which are called consonants from their yielding articulate
sounds only in company with vowels. Of these b, c, d, f, g, l, m, p,
t, are also hieroglyfic representations of the various parts of the
human body and other things as similar thereto; and they are mutable
and inflectory in the pronominal cases, from the less animate, slow,
and almost silent radical state, both as to the sense and sound, to the
rougher, louder, and more animate and active sounds and things; as for
instance, c, p, τ, the most silent, as expressive of material or passive
substances or local inanimate actions inflect into g, b, d, which are
somewhat louder and rougher, as being expressive of the higher and more
active things and actions of men and animals; and those again into the
still louder and rougher sounds of ch, ff, th, as those are expressive
of the most energic actions or modes of motion; but when g, b, d, are
the radicals of inflection, they again inflect into ng, f, m, dd, n,
and in some dialects the l and r have the aspirates ll and rh for the
radicals, as has been shewn in my former treatises. To the loss of these
inflections may in a great measure be imputed the great variety and
confusion of languages; new dialects having been formed by changing the
radicals and misapplying the inflectories, as father for pater, brother
for frater, and mother for mater. b, c, d, j, k, p, q, t, as yielding
little or no sounds, without the assistance of vowels, are called mutes;
l, m, n, r, f, s, as having imperfect obscure sounds without the company
of vowels, have been distinguished as semivowels; and l, m, n, r, also
as liquids from their flowing in particles, as in, îf, îl, îm, în, îr,
the flow of the sun’s rays, light, motion, liquid, and life or qualities
upon the lower world of beings and things; but the distinctions of mutes
and semivowels seem trifling, as most letters seem to be vowels in some
degree.
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