54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



by far the most prominent part of the whole sign-word, performs 

 no other function than that of indicating the pronunciation, and that 

 whatever reference there is to signification is to be sought in the re- 

 maining part previously called the modifier. Hence he gives to the 

 primitive the name of phonetic, and to the modifier (or radical) that 

 of classifier, as he considers it a sign of the class of ideas to which 

 the word relates. This is what he denominates the phonetic system. 

 He rejects entirely the theory of Mr. Marshman, that the primitive 

 gives the general meaning, and the modifier the particular one, and 

 derides the attempt of Mr. Lay to establish a relationship of idea 

 between all the words having the same vocal utterance, or, in other 

 words, between all the numerous meanings of the same syllabic word. 



" It will be observed, that the sign-words having in them the same 

 ■primitive (phonetic), are not sufiiciently numerous to signify all the 

 various meanings of a single syllabic word. Hence there are other 

 homophonous sign-words having different primitives (phonetics) in 

 their composition, which denote other meanings of the same vocal 

 utterance. Hence, again, there are several phonetics (considering 

 them as such), generally as many as five or six, employed to signify 

 the same vocal utterance or syllabic word, and having no other func- 

 tion. This M. Gallery supposes to be so, and he accounts for what- 

 ever of seeming relation there may be in the meaning of sign-words 

 having the same phonetic (primitive), on the ground that the inventer 

 of this system of writing, having before him several phonetics, for the 

 same sound would naturally select a given one of them for those 

 meanings which should happen to be most alike, and so of the others. 

 These several views may be shortly stated thus : — 



" Mr. Marshman held that all the sign-words which have the same 

 primitive (phonetic) must represent ideas which have something in 

 common, and that the primitive is the representative of that common 

 element of thought, like the root pel, in the words expel, compel, re- 

 pel, &c. Of this he adduced some illustrations and presumptive evi- 

 dence, which are disposed of by M. Gallery as just stated. 



" Mr. Lay went farther, and held that this common element of 

 thought must be not only coextensive with a single primitive (pho- 

 netic) among the written sign-words, but with the spoken syllabic word 

 itself, for which, as before stated, there are several primitives. This 

 theory, the boldest which has been put forth, and which is not, as M. 

 Gallery seems to suppose, identical with that of Mr. Marshman, is not 



