A Handbook of the English Language — Context and Discussion

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Authors: Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon), 1812-1888 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2009 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: English language -- Grammar; English language -- History Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Reading time 435 min

Text sections 16

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R. G. Latham's 1864 handbook traces English from its Germanic origins through Celtic, Latin, and Norman influences, using historical linguistics and genealogical tables. The work examines sound changes, inflection, and the logical relation between nouns and verbs, with a focus on the Angles and Frisians.

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GERMANIC ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.--DATE.

1. English language not British 1 2. Real origin German 1 3. Accredited immigrations and settlements 2 4, 5. Criticism 4, 5

GERMANIC ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.--THE GERMANIC AREA OF THE PARTICULAR GERMANS WHO INTRODUCED IT.--EXTRACT FROM BEDA.

6, 7. Jutes, Angles, and Saxons 6 8, 9. Extract from Beda 6, 7 10-13. Criticism 8-11 14, 15. Angles 11, 12 16. Saxons of Beda 12, 13 17. Anglo-Saxon area 13 18, 19. The Frisians 13, 14 20. Anglo-Saxon area 14

OF THE DIALECTS OF THE SAXON AREA, AND OF THE SO-CALLED OLD SAXON.

21-29. Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon 16, 17

AFFINITIES OF THE ENGLISH WITH THE LANGUAGES OF GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIA.

30, 31. Gothic languages 18 32-34. Divisions of the Gothic stock 18 35. Mœso-Gothic 19 36. Old High German 19 37. Low German 19 38. Frisian and Dutch 19 39. Platt-Deutsch 20 40, 41. Comparison 21-23

ANALYSIS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.--GERMANIC ELEMENTS.--THE ANGLES.

42. Analysis 24 43-54. Angles--their relations 24-28 55, 56. The Frisians 29, 30

THE CELTIC STOCK OF LANGUAGES AND THEIR RELATIONS TO THE ENGLISH.

57. Branches of the Celtic stock 31 58-60. Structure of Celtic tongues 31-33 61-63. The Picts 33-35

THE ANGLO-NORMAN, AND THE LANGUAGE OF THE CLASSICAL STOCK.

64. The classical languages 36 65-67. Latin branch 36-40 68, 69. Norman French 40, 41

HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

HISTORICAL AND LOGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

70. Celtic elements 45 71. Latin of first period 46 72. Anglo-Saxon 47 73. Danish or Norse 47 74. Roman of second period 49 75. Anglo-Norman element 49 76. Indirect Scandinavian elements 50 77. Latin of third period 51 78. Latin of fourth period 51 79. Greek 52 80-82. Tables 53-55 83-90. Miscellaneous elements 55-60 91-94. Hybridism and new words 60-62 95. Historical and logical analysis 63

THE RELATION OF THE ENGLISH TO THE ANGLO-SAXON, AND THE STAGES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

96. Ancient and modern tongues 64 97. Details 65-68 98. Stages of the English language 68 99. Semi-Saxon 69 100-103. _Old_ English, &c. 70-72 104. Present tendencies 73

SOUNDS, LETTERS, PRONUNCIATION, SPELLING.

GENERAL NATURE AND CERTAIN PROPERTIES OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS.

105. Spelling and speaking 77 106. Sounds and syllables 79 107. Vowels 79 108. Divisions 80 109. Sharp and flat sounds 80 110. Continuous and explosive 80 111. General statements 81 112. The sound of h 81

SYSTEM OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS.

113. Certain foreign sounds 82 114. System of mutes 82 115. Lenes and aspirates 83 116. Fourfold character of mutes 84 117. Y and w 84 118, 119. Diphthongs 84 120. Compound sounds 85 121. Ng 85 122, 123. Broad, slender; long, short; dependent, independent vowels 85, 86 124-126. System of sounds 86, 87

OF CERTAIN COMBINATIONS OF ARTICULATE SOUNDS.

127. Sharp and flat mutes 88 128. Unstable combinations 89 129. Effect of y 89 130, 131. Double consonants rare 89 132. True aspirates rare 90

EUPHONY AND THE PERMUTATION OF LETTERS.

133. Euphony 92 134. Permutation 93

ON THE FORMATION OF SYLLABLES.

135. Syllabification 95-97

136. Long and short sounds 98 137. Quantity of vowels--of syllables 98 138. Classical and English measurements 99

139. Place of accents 101 140. Distinctive accents 101 141. Emphasis 102

142. Orthoepy 103 143-146. Principle of an alphabet 103-105 147. Violations of it 105 148. Rules 107 149-151. Details of English 107-109 152. Insufficiency 109 153. Inconsistency 109 154. Erroneousness 110 155. Redundancy 110 156. Unsteadiness 110 157. Other defects 111 158. Historical propriety 113 159. Conventional spelling 113

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ENGLISH ALPHABET.

160-166. Phœnician, Greek, Roman stages 116-124 166-172. Anglo-Saxon alphabet 124-126 173. Anglo-Norman alphabet 126 174. Extract from _Ormulum_ 127 175. Order of alphabet 128

ON THE PROVINCE OF ETYMOLOGY.

176-179. Meaning of term 131-133

180. _Boy_ and _girl_ 134 181. _Man-servant_ and _maid-servant_ 134 182, 183. Forms like _genitrix_ 135 184. Forms like _domina_ 136 185-189. Genders in English 136, 137 190-192. _The sun in _his_ glory; the moon in _her_ wane_ 138 193. Miscellaneous forms 139-142

194-197. Numbers in English 143, 144 198. Rule 145 199. Remarks 145 200. Addition of -es 146 _Pence_, _alms_, &c. 147 _Mathematics_ 147 201. _Children_ 149 202. Form in -en 150 203. _Men_, _feet_, &c. 150 204. _Brethren_, &c. 150 205. _Houses_ 152 206. _Wives_, &c. 152

207-211. Nature of cases 154-156 212. Accusatives 156 213. Datives 157 214. Genitives 157 215. Instrumental 158 _All the better_ 158, 159 216. Determination of cases 159 217. Analysis of cases 160 218. Form in -s 160

THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

219, 220. _I_, _we_, _us_, &c. 162 221. _You_ 162 222. _Me_ 163 223-225. Cautions 163, 164

ON THE TRUE REFLECTIVE PRONOUN IN THE GOTHIC LANGUAGES, AND ON ITS ABSENCE IN ENGLISH.

226. How far found in English 165

THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS, ETC.

227. _He_, _she_, _it_ 166 228. _She_ 166 229. _Her_, _him_, _his_, _its_, &c. 167 230. _Theirs_ 167 231. Table 168 232. _These_ 169 233. _Those_ 171

THE RELATIVE, INTERROGATIVE, AND CERTAIN OTHER PRONOUNS.

234. _Who_, _what_, &c. 173 235. _Same_, &c. 173 236. _Other_, _whether_ 177

ON CERTAIN FORMS IN -ER.

237-239. Idea expressed by -er 179-181

THE COMPARATIVE DEGREE.

240. Form in -s 182 241. _Elder_, &c. 183 242. _Rather_ 183 243, 244. Excess of expression 183 245-247. _Better_ 183-185 248. _Worse_ 185 249. _More_ 185 250. _Less_ 185 251-253. _Near_, &c. 186 254. Origin of superlative 186

THE SUPERLATIVE DEGREE.

255, 256. _Former_ 188 257. _Nearest_ 188 258. _Next_ 188 259, 260. _Upmost_, &c. 189, 190

THE CARDINAL NUMBERS.

261. How far undeclined 191

262-264. _Seven_, _nine_, _ten_ 192 265, 266. _Thirteen_, _thirty_ 193

267. _A_, _an_, _the_ 194

DIMINUTIVES, AUGMENTATIVES, AND PATRONYMICS.

268-270. Diminutives 197-199 271. Augmentatives 200 272. Patronymics 200, 201

ON THE CONNEXION BETWEEN THE NOUN AND VERB, AND ON THE INFLECTION OF THE INFINITIVE MOOD.

274-281. The verb, how far a noun 203-206

282. Divisions of verbs 207 282. Derivation 208, 209

283. Persons in English 210 284, 285. Historical view 211 286. Form in -t 212 287. _Thou spakest_, &c. 212 288. _We loves_ 213

ON THE NUMBERS OF VERBS.

289. Numbers in English 214 290. _Ran_, _run_, &c. 215

291-292. Moods in English 216

ON TENSES IN GENERAL.

293. _Strike_, _struck_ 217 294-296. Ἔτυπτον, &c. 217, 218 297. Reduplication 219 298. _Weak_ or _strong_ 220

299. _Sing_, _sang_, _sung_ 221 300-303. Tables 222-225

304. _Stabbed_, &c. 226 305-307. Divisions 227, 228 309. _Bought_, _sought_ 228 309. Forms in -te and -ode 229 310-312. _Bred_, _beat_, &c. 230 313. _Leave_, _left_ 231 314. _Made_, _had_ 231 314. _Would_, _should_, _could_ 231 315. _Aught_ 231 316. _Durst_, _must_, &c. 232 317. _This will do_ 233 318. _Mind_ 234 319. _Yode_ 234 320. _Did_ 234

321, 322. Weak and strong conjugations natural 235-237

DEFECTIVENESS AND IRREGULARITY.

323-325. Irregularity 238 326. Vital and obsolete processes 240 327. Processes of necessity, &c. 241 328. Ordinary processes 241 329. Positive 242 330. Normal 242 331. _Could_ 243 332. _Quoth_ 244 333. Real irregular verbs few 244

THE IMPERSONAL VERBS.

334, 335. _Me-seems_, _me-listeth_ 246

THE VERB SUBSTANTIVE.

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R. G. Latham's A Handbook of the English Language (1864) opens by asserting that English is not British but German in origin, immediately grounding the reader in a contentious philological stance. The book's structure—moving from general ethnological relations to detailed historical analysis—reflects a systematic approach typical of mid-nineteenth-century comparative linguistics. Latham repeatedly invokes the authority of Bede, citing the Ecclesiastical History to trace the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons, yet he also subjects that source to critical scrutiny, noting discrepancies in the traditional account. This tension between received tradition and empirical evidence pervades the work.

Genealogical Tables and Gentile Forms

Latham includes elaborate genealogical tables, such as the lineage of Ida from Woden, rendered in both Anglo-Saxon and Greek transliteration: Ida was the son of Eoppa, Eoppa of Esa, and so on. These tables serve not merely as historical curiosities but as evidence for the formation of gentile names. In Chapter XVI, he explains that the suffix -ing (as in Scyldingas) denotes race or descent, and he applies this analysis to the word Wales, which he derives from Anglo-Saxon wealhas meaning 'foreigners.' The plural form Wales, he argues, parallels the plural in fathers, and the adjective Welsh originally meant 'foreign,' as in wal-nuts (foreign nuts). This etymological reasoning illustrates Latham's method of linking linguistic forms to historical migrations and cultural contact.

The Logical and Grammatical Distinction Between Noun and Verb

In Chapter XVII, Latham draws a sharp contrast between logical and grammatical categories. Grammatically, nouns and verbs differ markedly: nouns express gender and case, while verbs express person, tense, and mood. Logically, however, the difference is slight: a verb like to move is equivalent to the noun motion, and both denote objects of sense or intellect. The only logical distinction is that verbs express action, which superadds the phenomena of conjugation. Latham insists that the infinitive mood is substantival in character, citing Greek examples such as τὸ φθονεῖν (envy) declined through cases. This argument reveals his commitment to a rationalist framework that prioritizes logical analysis over surface grammar, a recurring pattern in the handbook.

Layered Historical Elements and Hybridism

Part II catalogs the historical strata of English: Celtic, Latin of four periods, Anglo-Saxon, Danish, Anglo-Norman, and Greek. Latham provides tables of these elements and discusses hybridism—the creation of new words from mixed origins. He notes that the Latin element entered English in distinct waves, from early Roman contact through the Norman Conquest to Renaissance scholarship. The section on 'Present tendencies' (Section 104) speculates on ongoing changes, though the excerpts do not reveal his conclusions. This layered analysis underscores the book's central tension: English is a composite language whose history can be dissected, but whose living form resists neat classification. Latham's method is both taxonomic and historical, aiming to show how disparate sources coalesce into a single system.

Latham's handbook rewards readers who attend to its genealogical tables and logical distinctions, as these reveal the author's underlying assumptions about language as a historical and rational system. The work is best approached as a period piece of philological method, where evidence from Bede, Gothic cognates, and inflectional patterns is weighed with care. Readers interested in the development of English historical linguistics will find here a rigorous, if occasionally dense, precursor to modern studies.

I have spent many evenings with Latham’s handbook, tracing how our English tongue leaned into its Germanic bones. There is a quiet satisfaction in watching those sound-shifts and inflections settle. It makes me think of another weathered volume, A Finnish Grammar — Themes and Context, where a different, older kinship of roots and cases waits patiently, much like an old friend nodding across the reading room.