Grammar Books

The language which I have endeavoured to illustrate in the following pages is the Malay of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca, some knowledge of which I have had the opportunity of acquiring during sixteen years’ service in Penang, Province Wellesley, Malacca, Singapore, and Perak. Dialectical peculiarities are so abundant in Malay that it is impossible to teach the colloquial language... more...

ADVERTISEMENT. The following pages were written as an exercise for my leisure hours, while attending the Oneida Conference Seminary during the past winter. As it is the first attempt that, to my knowledge, has ever been made to reduce the Chippeway language to any system, it cannot be expected to be otherwise than imperfect, and perhaps may hereafter be found to be, in some respects, erroneous. It is,... more...

FOR IMPLORATION OF GRACE. Grace of God that I love so mocheG race de Dieu que jayme tant I your requier ryght humblyI e uous requier treshumblement the gift of love without any furtherL e don damour sans plus auant of it to make any refuceE n faire aulcun refusement If ye do fynde in any wiseS e uous trouués aulcunement of me service, but in trouthD e moy seruice quen loyaulté I gyve you leve... more...

LECTURE I. GENERAL VIEW OF LANGUAGE. Study of Language long considered difficult. — Its importance. — Errors in teaching. — Not understood by Teachers. — Attachment to old systems. — Improvement preferable. — The subject important. — Its advantages. — Principles laid down. — Orthography. — Etymology. — Syntax. — Prosody. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is proposed to commence, this... more...

INTRODUCTION. The utility of a Grammar of the Scottish Gaelic will be variously appreciated. Some will be disposed to deride the vain endeavour to restore vigour to a decaying superannuated language. Those who reckon the extirpation of the Gaelic a necessary step toward that general extension of the English which they deem essential to the political interest of the Highlands, will condemn every project... more...

Word study and English grammar are important to the young printer for several reasons. In the first place, disregard of the correct use and combination of words is a distinct mark of inferiority and a serious bar to business and social advancement. A man's use of words is commonly taken as a measure of his knowledge and even of his intelligence. Carelessness in this regard often causes a man to be... more...

INTRODUCTION. So many slighting remarks have been made of late on the use of teaching grammar as compared with teaching science, that it is plain the fact has been lost sight of that grammar is itself a science. The object we have, or should have, in teaching science, is not to fill a child's mind with a vast number of facts that may or may not prove useful to him hereafter, but to draw out and... more...

INTRODUCTION Punctuation is a device by which we aid words to tell their story. Words have done this at times without such aid, and may now do so, but at constant risk of serious misunderstanding. This can be easily seen by reading the following lines printed as they would have been written in an ancient manuscript.... more...

PART I. SOUNDS, ACCENT, QUANTITY. THE ALPHABET. 1. The Latin Alphabet is the same as the English, except that the Latin has no w. 1. K occurs only in Kalendae and a few other words; y and z were introduced from the Greek about 50 B.C., and occur only in foreign words—chiefly Greek. 2. With the Romans, who regularly employed only capitals, I served both as vowel and consonant; so also V. For us,... more...

The Author of this little work cannot allow a second edition of it to go forth to the world, unaccompanied by a few words of apology, he being desirous of imitating, in every respect, the example of distinguished writers. He begs that so much as the consciousness of being answerable for a great deal of nonsense, usually prompts a man to say, in the hope of disarming criticism, may be considered to have... more...