THE AMERICAN SPELLING BOOK; CONTAINING, THE RUDIMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS ΙΝ ΤΗΣ UNITED STATES. Br NOAH WEBSTER, Esq. MINTIETH REVISED IMBRESHON. PHILADELPHIA: PUSHED BY JOHNSON WARNER Also sold by Robert Porter, Wilmingtm, Delaware PUBLIC LIBRARY 857059 A ·ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R 1936 I. District of Connecticut, 88. BE it remembered, that on the fourteenth day of March, in the twenty-eighth year of the Independ ence of the United States of America, NOAHWEBSTER jun. of said District, esquire, hath deposited in this Office, the Title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as Author, in the words following, vix. "The American Spelling Book, containing the Rdiments of the English Language, for the use of Schools in the United States," in conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by sesuring the copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned.” CHARLES DENISON, Clerk of the District of Connecticut, District} District of Connecticut, ss. District A true copy of Record. Teat. CHARLES DENIZON, Clerk. It THE AMERICAN SPELLING Book, or First Part of a Grammatical Institute of the English language, when first published, encountered an opposition, which few new publications have sustained with saccess. however maintained its ground, and its reputation has Deen gradually extended and established, until it has become the principal elementary book in the United States. In a great part of the northern States, it is the only book of the kind used; it is much used in the middle and southern States; and its annual sales indicate a large and increasing demand. Its merit is evinced not only by this general use, but by a remarkable fact, that, in the many attempts made to rival it, the compilers have all constructed their works on a similar plan; some of them have most unwarrantably and ille gally copied a considerable part of the tables, with little er no alteration; and others have altered them, by additions, mutilations and subdivisions, numerous and perplexing. In most instances, this species of injustice has been discounteranced by the citizens of the United States, and the public sentiment has protected the ori ginal work, more effectually than the penalties of the law.* * The sales of the American Spelling Book, since its first publi cation, amount to more than THREE MILLIONS of copies, and they are annually increasing. One great advantage experienced in using this work is the simplicity of the scheme of pronfinciation, which exhibits the sounds of the letters, with sufficient accuracy, without a mark over each vowel. The multitude of characters in Perry's scheme render it far too complex and perplexing to be useful to children, confusing the eye, without enlightening the understan Nor is there the least necessity for a figure over each vowel as in Walker, Sheridan, and other authors. In nine tenths of the words in our language, a correct pronunciation is.better taught by a natural division of the syllables, and a direction for placing the accent, than by a minute and endless repetition of char, acters. 19 Sextin Gratitude to the public, as well as a desire to furnish schools with a more complete and well digested system of elements, has induced me to embrace the opportunity when the first patent expires, to revise the work, and give it all the improvement which the experience of many teachers, and my own observations and reflections have suggested. In the execution of this design, care has been taken to preserve the scheme of pronunciation, and the substance of the former work. Most of the tables, having stood the test of experience, are considered as susceptible of little improvement or amendment-A few alterations are made, with a view to accommodate the work to the most accurate rules of pronunciation, and most general usage of speaking; as also to correct some errors which had crept into the work. A perfect standard of pronunciation, in a living language, is not to be expected; and when the best English Dictionaries differ from each other, in several hundred, probably a thousand words, where are we to seek for undisputed rules? and how can we arrive at perfect uniformity? The rules respecting accent, prefixed to the former work, are found to be too lengthy and complex, to answer any valuable purpose in a work intended for children; they are therefore omitted. The geographiral tables are thrown into a different form; and the abridgment of grammnar is omitted. Geography and Grammar are sciences that require distinct treatises, and schools are furnished with them in abundance. It is be. lieved to be more useful to confine this work to its proper objects, the teaching of the first elements of the language, spelling and reading On this subject, the opinion of many judicious persons concurs with my own. The improvements made in this work, chiefly consist in a great number of new tables. Some of them are intended to exhibit the manner in which derivative words' and the variations of nouns, adjectives and verbs, are formed. The examples of this sort cannot to be very useful; as children, who may be well acquainted with a word in the singular number, er positive degree, may be perplexed when they see it in the plural number, or comparative form. The example of derivation, will ac |