VOICE ARTICULATE LANGUAGE. 



487 



That this physiological arrangement has had much to do with the 

 formation of congenerous tongues more especially is exhibited by 

 facts connected with the permutation or change of letters; when a 

 word passes, for example, from one of the Teutonic or Romanic lan- 

 guages to another. u The changes of vowels," says Mr. Lhuyd, 1 

 "whether by chance or affectation, are so very easy and so common in 

 all languages, that in etymological observations, they need not, indeed, 

 be much regarded; the consonants being the sinews of words, and their 

 alterations therefore the most perceptible. The changes of consonants 

 also into others of the same class, (especially labials, palatals, and lin- 

 guals,} are such obvious mistakes, that there is no nation where the 

 common people in one part or other of their country do not fall into 

 some of them." A few examples will show to what extent this permu- 

 tation occurs between letters of the same class in different languages. 

 In this view, we may regard the labials and dento-labials as belonging 

 to the same. 



P into B. Greek, $\f 4,5 Latin, phlebs. . Latin, (and Greek,) episcopus English, bishop ; 

 Anglo Saxon, biscop German, b i s c h o f . 



P into F and V. Latin, pater ; German, vater; Dutch, vader ; English,/a//ier. 



T into S. German, b e s s e r ; English, belter. German, w a s s e r ; English, water. 



D into Th. German, das; Dutch, dat; English, that. 



T into Z. German, z u n g; Dutch, tong English, tongue. German, z w e i g; English, 

 twig. 



L into R. Spanish, Gil Bias ; Portuguese, Gil Bras. Latin, arbor ; Spanish, albero. 



C or K into G. Latin, hemicranium ; French, migraine. Latin, cibarium ; French, gibier. 

 Latin, acer ; Italian, agro. Latin, alacer Italian, allegro. Greek, xuxvc? ; Latin, cygnus. 



The most harmonious languages are such as have but few consonants 

 in their words, compared with the number of vowels; hence the musical 

 superiority of the Greek and Italian, over the English, German, &c. 

 "Among certain northern nations," says M. Richerand, 2 "all articu- 

 lated sounds appear to issue from the nose or the throat, and make a 

 disagreeable pronunciation, doubtless because it requires greater effort ; 

 and he who listens, sympathizes in the difficulty, which seems to be 

 felt by him that speaks;" and he adds: "would it not seem that the 

 inhabitants of cold countries have been led to use consonants rather 

 than vowels, because as the pronunciation does not require the same 

 opening of the mouth, it does not afford the same space for the continual 

 admission of cold air into the lungs?"! The whole of Richerand's re- 

 marks on this topic are singularly fantastic and feeble, and unworthy 

 of serious discussion. 



In regard to consonants, it has been presumed, that some common 

 imitative principle must have existed with all nations, so as to cause 

 them to conform in adopting such as produce a certain sound to convey 



1 Archseologia Britannica, Oxford, 1707. 

 a Elernens de Physiologie, edit, cit., p. 298. 



