1806.] 



JRemarks on Malta and Sicily. 



5U 



which leans moft againft. My next neigh- 

 bour, my near neighbour, my nigh neigh- 

 bour, dcfcribe the fuperlative, the fecon. 

 dary, and the lefs, definite degree of con- 

 tiguity. 



' Near' is corruptly become pofisive, 

 and i> itfclf compared in tiie terms ' iicar- 

 tr' and ' neaicft.' ' Nigh' is iifo compared 

 in the forms ' nighsr' and ' nigheft j' and 

 'ntxt' remains a fuperlative, a mere varia- 

 tion of ' nigheft.' 



The inllinftive impatience of redun- 

 dance in language is attempting to intro- 

 duce diltiniiioni between terms, which 

 are in fift different forms or dialetts of the 

 fame word ; we leldom ufe ' nigh' meta- 

 phorically, but we fay * near lelations,' 

 and ' next of kin.' 



' Next' is cacophonous and anomalous ; 

 it ought furely to be difniifTcd. The 

 phralc *' near relation" may with proba- 

 bility be derived from neer,* an old word 

 for ihe kidneys. We (hll fay of ihofe 

 who are alike m difpofition, that they aie 

 ' of one kidney :" our anctftcrs may have 

 faid ' of one neer.' * Neerkinfmen' will 

 then have meant relatives who bear the 

 mark of relationfhip. The phr.de was 

 natural while the kidnej's were fuppofed 

 conducive to generation. 



The purift will prefer fiigh, niirher, 

 nightijt, as the molt defciifilde of the ufual 

 forms of empioyiilg this a<!jeflive ; and 

 rvill be fjmewhat difpofed to Ipell « nigh- 

 bour,' inftcad of ' neighbour," in order 

 to prcferve in the allied words a family- 

 refcmblance. 



'To/igue, Language, Speech, Dialecl. 



The Gothic /ijwtf, like the L:^rin lingua, 

 is the name of that organ wiih which 

 fp^ak'.ng is principally perfoimed : tongue 

 and language therefore were originally 

 identical in meaning, and diffeied only in 

 thit the one had a northern and tiie other 

 a f.uthern derivation. B'.t as the word 

 * ti.nguc' is aifo in ufe among \ts for the 

 ramt ot the oigan i.f fpeech, whereas ilie 

 word lingua is n i, we aie conrinually re- 

 minded that ' t(-ng(ie' nsulf mean fpoken 

 language, wheieas we aie never icmmdcd 

 that • language' fnouhl. 'I'iit. corjlequetjce 

 is, that ilieideaof fpoktniieis has bcc-n 

 progieliive^y detached from tlie word 

 ' liriguagc,' ar;d is now omitied altnge- 

 fher : <u that we lay, « Tdc philofophic 

 language of IJifhop Wilkins :* whereas in 

 the v/oid • tor.gue' the idea li Cpokcnncfs 



• The k'dncy and furrounding fat of the 

 Call is Aill fdU at nuiket under the dcJiOR)!' 

 nation ' nefr of veal." 



MonthlV Mag. No. 137. 



is retained : ' The vulgnr tongue,' • A 

 mother-tongue ;' * A dead language.' 



' The written language of the Chinefe 

 is undtrftood by the people of Japan in 

 their own tongue: like the aiithmetical 

 figuies of E'lrope.' 



Adelung has vcy ingenioiifly (I'ewn 

 that the word fo fpcak u etymologic lly 

 connefted with ' to i'piit' and ' to brc'.k ;' 

 and that fpeech contemplates li^igiiage ?s 

 broken or cut into words. ILnce the 

 Accidence rightly lays, ' Speech his eight 

 parts :' wheie tnngue or lanp.u-'ge would 

 be improper. Every thing is Ipcfcch which 

 is articulate ; < the fpeech of your pirrot 

 is very dllinit :' but only that which i« 

 intelligdilc is a tcngue. 



Wheie the fame Ijnguage is fpoken or 

 written witli vaii.jtiois, fuch variation* 

 are c died dialecfs. In Gieat Britain the 

 Kumber is the limita y line of dialeff : 

 north of it every thing tends to the Scot- 

 ti(h pronimciati-.n and idiom ; fouth of it 

 every thing tends to the Englifti pronnn- 

 ciaiion and idiom. Edinbuigh and Lon- 

 don have diflinrt dialers. A dialeil is a 

 (ubdivifion of a language. 



(Ta be cotitinued.) 

 "• I — 

 To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



SIR, 



IT is not prefumed that the few following 

 remarks, made during afhort refidence 

 in the illands of Malta and Sicdy, are cal- 

 culated to impart to the reader? of llie 

 Monihly M.igazine any inlormation of 

 great importance jf but (hould they be 

 clecined capable of affording them the 

 imilhit atiiifement, they are much at your 

 forvice, and the purpofe of the writer 

 will be fully anfwered. 



I was f riunate enDugh to 1-ave Egypt, 

 fhortly after the evacuation of it by the 

 French troops, and, after a paffage of 

 three wetks, entered the principal har- 

 bour m the ifl.md of Malta, tn the 16th 

 of N>)Vcmber, iSoi. This haibour is 

 fttuated eadward of the city ot Valett.i, 

 and is perhaps better feciired from the vio- 

 lence of the elements, or the moleftations 

 of an cDeiiiv, than any other in the >-'^oild. 

 Its tntrai;ce, on each (iile of which aie 

 fortifications of uncommon ihengih, is 

 extremely narrow; but tliebafon, in which 

 are feveial feparate harbours, is capable 

 of containing a vaft number of vtlfcls, 

 and is lurroundcd iiy lofty and well-foiti- 

 ficd ground. Tlieexwvire naiiownels of 

 the cntiance, however, thuujh it add* 

 greatly to the fccurity of the (h p])ing, has 

 alfo its inconveniences, by cauiing fir- 

 3 T 4ii«,nt 



