104 



ON THE CLASSIFICATION 



CHAPTER X. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM. 

 CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. 



The classification of languages, which we propose, will be 

 as follows. 



We arrange all languages in two great divisions, which 

 we call concrete and abstract. 



Both the concrete and the abstract divisions are each sub- 

 divided into two classes. 



The concrete classes are called heterologous and homologous, 

 because, as we have explained previously (on page 56), hetero- 

 geneous persons when speaking to each other use in the 

 former class different expressions, from those they use when 

 speaking to persons of their own sex ; while heterogeneous 

 persons use in the latter class the same expressions as when 

 they address homogeneous persons. 



The classes of the abstract division are called digeneous and 

 trigeneous, because in the one class are acknowledged two 

 genders, the masculine and feminine, in the other are acknow- 

 ledged three genders, a masculine, feminine and neuter. 



Both the heterologous and homologous classes contain three 

 groups : I., the first marks the difference existing between 

 elder and younger consanguinity by adopting special terms 

 for each, and the difference of sex, by adding either the words 

 male and female, or by modulation of sound ; II. , the second 

 possesses special terms for elder brother and elder sister, 

 but one in common for younger brother and younger sister ; 

 III., the third has four distinct terms for each of these varie- 

 ties of kinship (see page 56). 



If we represent concrete and abstract languages by C and 

 A respectively, their classes by a and /3, and the groups by 

 1, 2 and 3, we obtain the following symbols Ca l , GV , Go? ; 

 , CP , CP ; Aa and A$. 



