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The English Language

R. G. Latham · Public domain text

192,867 words · about 13 h 30 min to read

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The text of The English Language comes from Project Gutenberg e-text #34595. It is in English and public domain in the United States. RedLectern sets the text out for reading on screen; no words of the book are rewritten or summarized. More formats (EPUB, Kindle) · How RedLectern is built

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About this book

Author
R. G. Latham (1812–1888)
Language
English
Subjects
English language › History
Length
192,867 words · about 13 h 30 min
Sections
178 reader sections · Table of contents

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Contents (178)
  1. Opening about 1 min
  2. Preface about 14 min
  3. I. GERMANIC ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE--DATE under 1 min
  4. Chapter II about 1 min
  5. Chapter III under 1 min
  6. Chapter IV about 1 min
  7. V. ANALYSIS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE--GERMANIC ELEMENTS about 1 min
  8. VII. THE ANGLO-NORMAN AND THE LANGUAGES OF THE CLASSICAL STOCK under 1 min
  9. VIII. THE POSITION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS INDO-EUROPEAN under 1 min
  10. I. HISTORICAL AND LOGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE under 1 min
  11. Chapter II under 1 min
  12. III. THE LOWLAND SCOTCH under 1 min
  13. Chapter IV under 1 min
  14. I. GENERAL NATURE OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS under 1 min
  15. II. SYSTEM OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS under 1 min
  16. III. ON CERTAIN COMBINATIONS OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS under 1 min
  17. IV. EUPHONY; THE PERMUTATION AND TRANSITION OF LETTERS under 1 min
  18. V. ON THE FORMATION OF SYLLABLES under 1 min
  19. VI. ON QUANTITY under 1 min
  20. VII. ON ACCENT under 1 min
  21. VIII. THE PRINCIPLES OF ORTHOEPY under 1 min
  22. IX. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF ORTHOGRAPHY under 1 min
  23. X. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET under 1 min
  24. I. ON THE PROVINCE OF ETYMOLOGY under 1 min
  25. III. THE NUMBERS under 1 min
  26. IV. ON THE CASES under 1 min
  27. V. THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS under 1 min
  28. Chapter VI under 1 min
  29. VIII. THE RELATIVE, INTERROGATIVE, AND CERTAIN OTHER PRONOUNS under 1 min
  30. IX. ON CERTAIN FORMS IN -ER under 1 min
  31. X. THE COMPARATIVE DEGREE under 1 min
  32. XI. ON THE SUPERLATIVE DEGREE under 1 min
  33. XIII. ON THE ORDINAL NUMBERS under 1 min
  34. XIV. THE ARTICLES under 1 min
  35. XV. DIMINUTIVES, AUGMENTATIVES, AND PATRONYMICS under 1 min
  36. XVI. GENTILE FORMS under 1 min
  37. Chapter XVII under 1 min
  38. XVIII. ON DERIVED VERBS under 1 min
  39. XX. ON THE NUMBERS OF VERBS under 1 min
  40. XXI. ON MOODS under 1 min
  41. XXII. OF TENSES IN GENERAL under 1 min
  42. XXIII. THE STRONG TENSES under 1 min
  43. XXIV. THE WEAK TENSES under 1 min
  44. XXV. ON CONJUGATIONS under 1 min
  45. XXVI. DEFECTIVENESS AND IRREGULARITY under 1 min
  46. XXVII. THE IMPERSONAL VERBS under 1 min
  47. XXIX. THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE under 1 min
  48. XXX. THE PAST PARTICIPLE under 1 min
  49. XXXI. ON COMPOSITION under 1 min
  50. XXXII. ON DERIVATION AND INFLECTION under 1 min
  51. XXXIII. ADVERBS under 1 min
  52. XXXIV. ON CERTAIN ADVERBS OF PLACE under 1 min
  53. XXXV. ON WHEN, THEN, AND THAN under 1 min
  54. XXXVI. ON PREPOSITIONS, ETC under 1 min
  55. XXXVII. ON THE GRAMMATICAL POSITION OF THE WORDS MINE AND THINE under 1 min
  56. XXXVIII. ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WEAK PRAETERITE under 1 min
  57. I. ON SYNTAX IN GENERAL under 1 min
  58. II. SYNTAX OF SUBSTANTIVES under 1 min
  59. III. SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES under 1 min
  60. IV. SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS under 1 min
  61. V. THE TRUE PERSONAL PRONOUNS under 1 min
  62. Chapter VI under 1 min
  63. VII. ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WORD SELF under 1 min
  64. VIII. ON THE POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS under 1 min
  65. IX. THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS under 1 min
  66. X. ON THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS under 1 min
  67. XI. THE RECIPROCAL CONSTRUCTION under 1 min
  68. XIII. THE ARTICLES under 1 min
  69. XIV. THE NUMERALS under 1 min
  70. XV. ON VERBS IN GENERAL under 1 min
  71. XVI. THE CONCORD OF VERBS under 1 min
  72. XVII. ON THE GOVERNMENT OF VERBS under 1 min
  73. XIX. ON THE MOODS under 1 min
  74. XX. ON THE TENSES under 1 min
  75. XXI. SYNTAX OF THE PERSONS OF VERBS under 1 min
  76. XXII. ON THE VOICES OF VERBS under 1 min
  77. XXIII. ON THE AUXILIARY VERBS under 1 min
  78. XXIV. THE SYNTAX OF ADVERBS under 1 min
  79. XXV. ON PREPOSITIONS under 1 min
  80. XXVII. THE SYNTAX OF THE NEGATIVE under 1 min
  81. XXVIII. OF THE CASE ABSOLUTE under 1 min
  82. VI. PROSODY about 1 min
  83. VII. THE DIALECTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE about 1 min
  84. I. GENERAL ETHNOLOGICAL RELATIONS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE under 1 min
  85. I. GERMANIC ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.--DATE about 12 min
  86. Chapter II about 18 min
  87. Chapter III about 6 min
  88. Chapter IV about 38 min
  89. V. ANALYSIS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE--GERMANIC ELEMENTS about 17 min
  90. Chapter VI about 17 min
  91. VII. THE ANGLO-NORMAN, AND THE LANGUAGES OF THE CLASSICAL STOCK about 10 min
  92. VIII. THE POSITION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS INDO-EUROPEAN about 5 min
  93. II. HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE under 1 min
  94. I. HISTORICAL AND LOGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE about 18 min
  95. Chapter II about 17 min
  96. III. ON THE LOWLAND SCOTCH about 10 min
  97. Chapter IV about 12 min
  98. III. SOUNDS, LETTERS, PRONUNCIATION, SPELLING under 1 min
  99. I. GENERAL NATURE OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS about 6 min
  100. II. SYSTEM OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS about 10 min
  101. III. OF CERTAIN COMBINATIONS OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS about 7 min
  102. IV. EUPHONY; THE PERMUTATION AND THE TRANSITION OF LETTERS about 5 min
  103. V. ON THE FORMATION OF SYLLABLES about 4 min
  104. VI. ON QUANTITY about 4 min
  105. VII. ON ACCENT about 7 min
  106. VIII. THE PRINCIPLES OF ORTHOEPY about 8 min
  107. IX. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF ORTHOGRAPHY about 35 min
  108. X. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET about 20 min
  109. IV. ETYMOLOGY under 1 min
  110. I. ON THE PROVINCE OF ETYMOLOGY about 3 min
  111. II. ON GENDER about 11 min
  112. III. THE NUMBERS about 13 min
  113. IV. ON THE CASES about 12 min
  114. V. THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS about 5 min
  115. Chapter VI about 2 min
  116. VII. THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS, &c about 7 min
  117. VIII. THE RELATIVE, INTERROGATIVE, AND CERTAIN OTHER PRONOUNS about 7 min
  118. IX. ON CERTAIN FORMS IN -ER about 3 min
  119. X. THE COMPARATIVE DEGREE about 11 min
  120. XI. THE SUPERLATIVE DEGREE about 2 min
  121. XII. OF THE CARDINAL NUMBERS about 4 min
  122. XIII. ON THE ORDINAL NUMBERS about 5 min
  123. XIV. THE ARTICLES about 3 min
  124. XV. DIMINUTIVES, AUGMENTATIVES, AND PATRONYMICS about 6 min
  125. XVI. GENTILE FORMS about 1 min
  126. Chapter XVII about 4 min
  127. XVIII. ON DERIVED VERBS about 2 min
  128. XIX. ON THE PERSONS about 7 min
  129. XX. ON THE NUMBERS OF VERBS about 2 min
  130. XXI. ON MOODS about 1 min
  131. XXII. ON TENSES IN GENERAL about 5 min
  132. XXIII. THE STRONG TENSES about 11 min
  133. XXIV. THE WEAK TENSES about 15 min
  134. XXV. ON CONJUGATION about 9 min
  135. XXVI. DEFECTIVENESS AND IRREGULARITY about 9 min
  136. XXVII. THE IMPERSONAL VERBS about 1 min
  137. XXVIII. THE VERB SUBSTANTIVE about 4 min
  138. XXIX. THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE about 2 min
  139. XXX. THE PAST PARTICIPLE about 4 min
  140. XXXI. COMPOSITION about 17 min
  141. XXXII. ON DERIVATION AND INFLECTION about 5 min
  142. XXXIII. ADVERBS about 3 min
  143. XXXIV. ON CERTAIN ADVERBS OF PLACE about 3 min
  144. XXXV. ON WHEN, THEN, AND THAN under 1 min
  145. XXXVI. PREPOSITIONS AND CONJUNCTIONS about 2 min
  146. XXXVII. ON THE GRAMMATICAL POSITION OF THE WORDS MINE AND THINE about 14 min
  147. XXXVIII. ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WEAK PRAETERITE about 3 min
  148. V. SYNTAX under 1 min
  149. I. ON SYNTAX IN GENERAL about 13 min
  150. II. SYNTAX OF SUBSTANTIVES about 2 min
  151. III. SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES about 3 min
  152. IV. SYNTAX OF PRONOUNS about 2 min
  153. V. THE TRUE PERSONAL PRONOUNS about 3 min
  154. Chapter VI about 5 min
  155. VII. ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WORD SELF about 4 min
  156. VIII. ON THE POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS about 3 min
  157. IX. THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS about 6 min
  158. X. ON THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN about 2 min
  159. XI. THE RECIPROCAL CONSTRUCTION about 2 min
  160. XII. THE INDETERMINATE PRONOUNS about 2 min
  161. XIII. THE ARTICLES about 1 min
  162. XIV. THE NUMERALS about 1 min
  163. XV. ON VERBS IN GENERAL about 2 min
  164. XVI. THE CONCORD OF VERBS about 6 min
  165. XVII. ON THE GOVERNMENT OF VERBS about 8 min
  166. XVIII. ON THE PARTICIPLES about 1 min
  167. XIX. ON THE MOODS about 2 min
  168. XX. ON THE TENSES under 1 min
  169. XXI. SYNTAX OF THE PERSONS OF VERBS about 2 min
  170. XXII. ON THE VOICES OF VERBS about 1 min
  171. XXIII. ON THE AUXILIARY VERBS about 22 min
  172. XXIV. THE SYNTAX OF ADVERBS about 2 min
  173. XXV. ON PREPOSITIONS about 4 min
  174. XXVI. ON CONJUNCTIONS about 17 min
  175. XXVII. THE SYNTAX OF THE NEGATIVE about 4 min
  176. XXVIII. ON THE CASE ABSOLUTE about 1 min
  177. VI. ON THE PROSODY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE about 35 min
  178. VII. THE DIALECTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE about 2 h 4 min

The opening of Preface

TO THE

SECOND EDITION.

* * * * *

The first edition of the present work was laid before the public, with the intention of representing in a form as systematic as the extent of the subject would allow, those views concerning the structure and relations of the English language, which amongst such scholars as had studied them with the proper means and opportunities, were then generally received; and which, so being received, might take their stand as established and recognized facts. With the results of modern criticism, as applied to his native tongue, it was conceived that an educated Englishman should be familiar. To this extent the special details of the language were exhibited; and to this extent the work was strictly a Grammar of the English Language.

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