January 20, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



1J3 



apart from a few special sounds, would be the 

 same as in his own language. It is easy to 

 see how this would promote pleasant inter- 

 course and mutual understanding among the 

 nations, by facilitating the acquisition of for- 

 eign languages. All the leading languages 

 would thus tend to expand and to become cos- 

 mopolitan; but most of all would this be true 

 of English, which is more hindered in its ex- 

 pansion by its spelling than any other lan- 

 guage. It is, perhaps, not too much to say 

 that the universal alphabet will confer on the 

 English language the patent of universality. 



To prepare such an alphabet is a compara- 

 tively easy task. The real problem is how to 

 get it accepted by the public. Scores of such 

 alphabets exist already, but not one of them 

 possesses sufficient authority to compel its 

 universal use. How shall such authority be 

 secured ? 



To this question the circular recently issued 

 by Boston University seeks to obtain an an- 

 swer. It invites opinions on the plan to hold 

 an international conference for the purpose 

 of adopting a universal alphabet to be used 

 first of all as a key to pronunciation in all 

 dictionaries of the leading languages. I may 

 state at once that the replies received from 

 the editors and publishers of the great Amer- 

 ican dictionaries are highly encouraging. 

 They state with practical imanimity that, if 

 a universal alphabet were drawn up by a com- 

 mission composed of the foremost experts, 

 and invested with the requisite authority by 

 scientific bodies of high standing, they would 

 introduce that alphabet as a key to pronun- 

 ciation in future editions of dictionaries, 

 primers, readers, grammars and language 

 manuals as fast as practicable. 



It is evident that, if the dictionaries adopt 

 this universal alphabet, a large part of the 

 rising generation will become familiar with it. 

 It will be used by everybody who wishes to 

 indicate pronunciation. It is even probable 

 that the entire rising generation will soon 

 grow accustomed to it, for the following rea- 

 sons: Experiment has proved that children 

 beginning with a phonetic alphabet learn to 

 read in a few weeks and master even the or- 

 dinary spelling more rapidly than by the 



present method. The reason is evident. The 

 essential part of the art of reading consists 

 in the ability to recognize the outline of a 

 word at a glance, without having to spell out 

 the letters. Having in a few weeks acquired 

 the ability to recognize words in the phonetic 

 spelling, children will recognize them also in 

 the traditional spelling, because the difference 

 in the outline will in most cases not be great. 

 We see this daily illustrated by the ease with 

 which school-bred immigrants learn to read 

 English, though accustomed at home to a 

 totally different spelling. Having acquired in 

 their own language the ability to recognize 

 whole words at a glance, they soon begin to 

 recognize also English words whose meaning 

 they have learned from conversation. 



When the universal alphabet has been 

 adopted in the dictionaries, it is certain that 

 the experiment of beginning with it in the 

 primary schools will be made in many parts 

 of the country, for the movement has many 

 friends among educators. When the results 

 of these experiments become generally known, 

 it will not be long before all the schools begin 

 with the universal alphabet. For some time 

 they will doubtless use it merely as an easier 

 method to teach the traditional spelling; but 

 when it is found that children, after two 

 months of schooling, are able to read any 

 book printed in the phonetic spelling, tlie 

 question will soon be raised why they should 

 be forced to spend another year or more in 

 learning another spelling. 



It will be noted that the acceptance of the 

 universal alphabet by the dictionaries was 

 made subject to an if. They are willing to 

 use this alphabet if it is presented to them 

 invested with a sufficient degree of authority. 

 Nothing should be neglected that can add to 

 this authority. Hence the commission which 

 is to prepare the universal alphabet must ful- 

 fil four conditions : 



1. It should be composed of the foremost 

 experts in phonetics. 



2. They should be invested with representa- 

 tive power by learned bodies of the highest 

 standing. 



3. They should receive their final commis- 

 sions from the various governments. 



