2 Wisconsiii Academy of Sciences^ /Ms, and Letters. 



indefinite as "some," mav quite as justly claim the rank of in- 

 definite pronouns. Again it must be seen that "here" and 

 "there" are fully as demonstrative as "tliis" and "that;" but 

 pronominal rank is withheld from "here" and "there," because 

 they are not also substantive. That is, the pronominal group, 

 already in^ational because both incongruous and incomplete, is 

 further irrationalized to fit it for a place in the larger absurdity 

 known as the Parts of Speech. 



In forming these it has caught the notice of Grammar that 

 this or that word is alwavs used to name the same thouffht-ele- 

 ment;-^ and no doubt a language might bo so constructed that 

 every word, whenever used, would thus express a particular ele- 

 ment of thought. As a matter, however, of fact, such regular- 

 ity is not obtained by any language.^ To attempt then a classi- 

 fication of words by what may be called the function of their 

 ideas is hardly more encouraging than to venture a classification 

 of the fowls by their position in the barn-yard. 



The unavailability of function as a basis for classification is, 

 however, no derogation to its importance. The understanding 

 of speech consists, it is true, on the one hand most obviously in 

 obtaining right ideas, but not less truly, on the other hand, in 

 rightly putting them together. Correct perception of function, 

 then, is indispensable. Its emphasis, even in a misguided effort, 

 might therefore have been helpful, were it not that function, in 

 the differentiation of the parts of speech, has been hopelessly 

 confounded with other matters. Thus, the adverb being de- 

 fined by function as an adjunct (of various sorts), the adjective 

 is, by an altogether different criterion, distinguished as a word 

 with a qualitative meaning. Still another ground of distinc- 

 tion is found in what a word is said to do, the conjunction being 

 defined as "a word which joins." It might be als-o proven that 



^Thus "exceeds" will never be used to name a first term (point of thought- 

 departure, subject), or a last term (point of thought-arrival, object, predicate) ; 

 it will always name a relation, an impression derived from a pair of ideas r 

 that is, it will be used as a mid-term. 



*Thus of a spliced rope it may be said that "The overlap of the two parts is 

 three feet ;" or "The two parts have an overlap of three feet ;" or "The strands 

 of one part overlap those of the other." That is, in these examples the word 

 "overlap" names an idea successively used as subject, object and mid-term, be- 

 ing twice therefore a noun and once a verb. It may also even be said that "The 

 overlap factor is ten per cent.," the same word being in this case made to func- 

 tionate as adjective. 



