comstock's phonology. 261 



citil and erroneous theories, and all premature and empirical attempts at 

 reform. Every thing of this kind only retards and throws embarrass- 

 ments in the way of the great work that the interests of literature and 

 of humanity are here urging forward. The sifting process, through 

 which every thing of this sort must pass before it can establish itself in 

 the widely diffused commonwealth of English letters, will certainly and 

 speedily detect its insufficiency, and this will always create more or less 

 prejudice against all efforts in this direction. 



la this light we are inclined to regard the work of Dr. Comstock, 

 the title of which we have placed at the head of this article. From be- 

 ginning to end, it displays marks of haste, and other still greater 

 blemishes which admit of no excuse. His definition of the word "Pho- 

 nology," which he uses to designate his science, is far from accurate, and 

 his illustrations of his system wretchedly defective. "Phonology" he 

 tells us " is the doctrine, or science of the elementary sounds of vocal 

 language." There was no need of his coining a new word, as P[tman, 

 whom he had before him, had already introduced the term "Phonetics," 

 and very properly defined it as, "the science which treats of the differ- 

 ent sounds of the human voice and their modifications." (Manual of 

 Phonography, p. 19. 



Perhaps, however, Dr. Comstock wishes by this word to vindicate 

 his title to the authorship of this science ? Sucli appears to be the im- 

 plication in the following passages which stand upon p. 9. 



In the preceding table each elementary sound is represented by a peculiar character. Hence, 

 words spelled with these characters have no superfluous letters. Exercises of this kind were pub- 

 lished in the author's Elocution, in 1830, and they have been republished in all subsequent editions. 



Tliis method of spelling with sounds, which was published by the aull:or iu 1830, has recently 

 claimed attention in Europe, and has been successively applied in tcacliujc the deaf and dumb to 

 speak; and upon it Mr. Pitman, of England, has founded an excellent syWm of Phonography, the 

 outlines of which are given In another part of this treatise. 



A note refers to Hon. Horace Mann, as though his Report corrob- 

 orated Dr. Comstock's claim. Now we have not seen this Report, but 

 cannot for a moment believe, that Horace Mann intended to do or does 

 any such thing. A correspondent of the Journal (Vol. H. 205, 208,) in- 

 forms us that he has heard "the dumb speak" in Derlin, and very pro- 

 perly says that this cannot be done hy English mwics^ because our "lan- 

 guage is not ])ho7iograj)hicy But the German and various other Euro- 

 pean languages are so, or at least approximate to this character. It is 

 "therefore amazing to hear Dr. Comstock speak of his system having 

 been successfully applied in teaching the deaf and (kiinb to speak." 



Still further, all that he here claims to have effected in his publica- 

 tion of 1830, had been effected at least substantially, a century before. 



