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
which appear to be as equally related to the nature of things as these,
he could have no difficulty of putting them together according to true
concord, as the meaning and signification would not permit him to err;
nor indeed is the English to be taught by any other significant rules.
The parts of speech being precisely understood, the best way then of
acquiring the right English construction, is carefully to observe the
manner and style of the best English writers, and to procure an habit
thereof by reading and writing, rather than be perplexed by innumerable
tedious and unmeaning rules of phrases, sentences, distinctions, and
variations of names, from their natural order; for which there is no sort
of foundation in the English, or any other language of nature.
But since the English language is that here proposed as an universal one,
it may not however be improper to take some little farther notice of the
rules of English Syntax. In all languages to form a right sentence the
words must agree in construction with one another, as to case, number,
gender, and person, either according to the natural order of things, or
some arbitrary mode of concord and government, by a variation of the
terminations substituted in lieu thereof in particular languages. But the
English doth so only from the sense of the words, without any variation
of terminations, except that es or s signifying the feminine gender,
is sometimes added to form the plural number of substantives, and the
substantive verb _is_, or the pronouns _it_, _with_ its inflections, to
form the third person singular of verbs, and as and es in some instances,
to express the masculine and feminine genders.
And though it has no other case but the nominative, or any variation
of cases at all, yet all English verbs agree with the substantives in
number and person, without any exception; and the state or situation of
substantives are expressed by prepositions set in apposition thereto in
the same manner as the articles; nor have the adjectives any variations,
besides the degrees of comparison; and yet both they and participles
agree with the substantives in gender, number and case; and when two
substantives of different sorts of things come together, the place,
state, or case of the last is expressed by the preposition _of_ or-’s,
signifying _of his_; unless the latter substantive is of the same sort
with, or explains the former; in which case they are both of the same
case, state, or situation. Conjunctions, adverbs, and relatives, serve to
connect sentences, as prepositions do words. The relatives _who_, _what_,
and _which_, and all other English names as well as things, must agree
with the antecedents as their originals, whether persons, actions, or
substantives. When two verbs come together, the latter is to be in the
infinitive mode.
VOCABLES.
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