ANALYTIC ORTHOGRAPHY. 265 
20. It is admitted by Mr. Ellis, (Plea, 2d ed., 1848, p. 130,) that his English alphabet 
of 1848 would injure the visible etymological connection between Italian and Latin; “ but 
we should as much wyure the visible etymological relation between English and Latin by any 
other mode of spelling.’ But as Italian 2s nearer to Latin than English is, a proper or- 
thography would show it. nglish has no right to seem to have a certain resemblance to 
Latin which it has not—to pretend, by spelling secwre with an e-character, that it is nearer 
to the Latin séctrtis than is the Italian stewro. § 256—8. 
21. The English consonant th, and the vowels in aé, up, not being Latin sounds, should 
not be represented by Latin letters, but by new or modified forms, so that the eye could 
detect strange or unlatin elements in an unlatin language, as readily as the eye detects 
Polish by its crossed 7, and distinguishes Portuguese from Spanish by a nasal sign, which 
also separates Polish from Bohemian, as it should separate French from Italian, to exhibit 
its affinity with Portuguese. 
22. German should not exhibit a seeming resemblance to English in th for ¢ in theil, (a 
part,) a cognate of deal, because English th is not wanted in German; nor should French 
have th (for Greek theta) in théme, where the English are entitled to it. The Welsh, 
having the fsound, should not write /# for / of the twelfth century, and having English v 
(for which ‘w’ was used in the twelfth century, and ‘u’ in the thirteenth) they should 
“not write it with the / character—although this is a trifling error compared to that of 
using the Latin V (way, § 106) character for the English vee sound. In short, Welsh, 
German, Latin, English &c. writing should resemble when the words are alike—when 
different, it should dissemble. 
23. If we can pronounce French and Polish, we can appreciate the relations between the 
following pairs, in which the Poles have sought to secure an identity in the word rather 
than in the sign:—bécasse, bekas, (snipe;) paragraphe, paragraf; paralytique, paralityk; 
page, paz’; bagage, bagaz’; parasol, parasol; parapluie, parapluj, (umbrella;) Triest, 7’rst; 
German meister, Polish majster; English Mr., Bohemian mistr. 
24. A physiological basis has been advocated, and the alacrity with which the Standard 
Alphabet of Professor Lepsius, (London, 1855,) has been adopted by various missionary 
societies, seems to be an evidence in favour of such a basis. Unfortunately, the acknow- 
ledged merits of the learned author have caused this work to be adopted without due ex- 
amination. This “admirable treatise,” (p. III. of the preliminary recommendations,) 
wherein the author “clearly explains the scientific principles,’ (V.) the result of his 
“close and profound attention,” (VII.) and “ Fleiss,” (VIII.) or industry; “ principles 
which Professor Lepsius has so ably sketched,” (VII.) and which are to diminish “the 
