vii THE EXPRESSIVENESS OF SPEECH 133 



Summary of the Argument. 



I have now briefly sketched and illustrated the varied 

 ways in which many of the most familiar words of our 

 language are truly expressive of the meaning attached to 

 them, and have shown how far these carry us beyond the 

 range of inter jectional and imitative speech, as usually 

 understood. Besides the more or less direct imitation of 

 the varied sounds of nature, animate and inanimate, we 

 have form, indicated by the shape of the mouth ; direction, 

 by the motion of the lips ; such ideas as those of coming 

 and going, of inward and outward, of self and others, of up 

 and down, expressed by various breathings or by lip and 

 tongue- motions ; we find the distinct classes of abrupt or 

 continuous sounds, as well as the corresponding contrasted 

 motions, clearly indicated by the use of expressive terminal 

 letters; motion of almost every kind, whether human, 

 animal, or inorganic, we find to be naturally expressed by 

 corresponding motions of the organs of speech ; the 

 physical qualities of various kinds of matter are similarly 

 indicated; while even some of the mental and moral 

 qualities of man, as well as many of his actions and sensa- 

 tions, are more or less clearly expressed by means of the 

 various forms of speech-gesture. 



If we consider the enormous changes every language 

 has undergone; that words have often taken on new 

 meanings, or have been displaced by foreign words quite 

 distinct in derivation and original signification ; that 

 inflections have been altered or altogether dropped ; and 

 that, in various other ways, words have been undergoing a 

 continual process of growth and modification, the wonder 

 is that so much of the natural foundations of our language 

 can still be detected. Philologists give us innumerable 



among which are "advice," according to a person's judgment or 

 seeing ; "provide" and "prudent," to act with foresight ; " visit," to 

 go to see a person; "visage," the face or seeing part; "view," that 

 which is seen ; and many others. Hence it is easy to perceive that, 

 once given terms for the physical characteristics and qualities of 

 objects, and the whole range of language which refers to mental and 

 moral qualities can be easily developed. 



