ABRAitAjM. — Oil the Orlf/in of English Voioel Sounds. 



73 



142. Dysporus serrator, Banks. 



143. piscator, Linn. 



144. Eregata aquila, Linn. 



Art. VII. — On the Celtic Origin of the English Vowel Sounds. By tlie 

 Eight Eeverend C. J. Abraham, Bistop of "Wellington, Vice-President. 

 \_Reacl before the Wellington Pldlosopldoal Societi/, 15l7i September, 1868.] 



The Englisli pronunciation of the vowels is unique. The English language 

 mainly consists of Saxon Avords, and yet our pronunciation of those words 

 does not accord with that of our Teutonic kinsfolk.' Evidently we did not 

 get our vov.' el sounds from the Grerman. I believe that we derived them from 

 the Celt, and I arrive at this conclusion through the French mode of pro- 

 nouncing Latin words. 



I take the vowels in order, and observe — (1.) That our vowel sound of 

 a in "table''' corresponds with the Erench mode of pronouncing the follow- 

 ing words, which I give as specimens merely, e.g. : — 



Latin. 



FliENCH 



Pater 



Pere 



Mater 



Mere 



Erater 



Ei-ere 



Talis 



Tel 



Qualis 



Quel 



Pavor 



Peur 



Labrum . . . 



Levre 



Castanea ... 



Chene 



(2.) The English sound of e in " tve 



Latin. Feench. 



Decern . . . Dix 

 Bene 

 Teue 



Veni 

 Pejor 

 Melior 



isien 



Tiens 



Viens 



Pire 



Mieux 



Latin. 



Feench. 



Pagus 



Pacare 



Placere 



Pays 



Payer 



Plaire 



Tacere 



Taire 



Carus 



Cher 



Lana 



Laine 



Cab alius 



Cheval 



Caminus 



Cheminee 



ve : — 



Latin. 



Feench. 



Deus 



Dieu 



Vetus 



Vieux 



Legere 



Lire 



Senior 



Sire 



Lepus 



Mens 



Lievre 

 Mien 



This head admits of a remarkable illustration from the lately-discovered 

 " Codex Sinaiticus," which gives the original Grreek of a Latin translation of 

 a letter of Barnabas, in which Latin version he is made to quote a text of 

 Scripture, and to add the words "ut Filius Dei dicitr It now is seen from 

 the original Greek that the reader was probably a Celt, who said as we do, 

 " ut filios Lei decet," which the copyist, being an Italian, understood to be 

 dieit^ and so he altered the word filios to filius. 



(3.) Our sound of i in " lite " is a modification of the Erench corruption. 

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