CHAP. IX. How Deaf and Dumb Scholars give an Account of all the foregoing Explications. THAT persons who are deaf and dumb, should seize all the grammatical differences we have expounded, and retain with exactness the multiplicity of corresponsive signs, is not easily credited: nay, it is asked, whether the thing be even possible? Yes; doubtless it is so; and when a thing is done, the possibility of it is no longer a question. Now thousands of every rank and profession who have attended our public exercises or our ordinary lessons, have been, and others daily are, eye witnesses of the fact. We have a large sheet of pasteboard, which contains on one side the following:First Table. Expressing to what part of speech any particular word belongs. The other side of the board contains the following:Second Table.-Expressing why any particular word belongs to such a part of speech. We here present a copy of the Tables. FIRST TABLE. Expressing to what Part of Speech any particular word belongs. No. 1. It is (this word) in the.... First 2. . 3.. 4. 5. 6. Second Person. of the Singular Number. Plural ...of the Indicative..of the Imperative. .....of the Subjunctive. of......which is a Verb Active. .Passive....Neuter (that is to say) neither active nor Passive. of Regular....of Irregular Conjugation. 7. It is the Present..the Perfect of the Infinitive. Passive }of..which is a Verb, &c. 8. It is the Present..the Perfect of the Participle Active of...which is a Verb, &c. No. 6. 9. It is the Present.. the Perfect of the Participle Passive of...which is a Verb, &c. No. 6. 10. It is in the Nominative, the Genitive, S Singular. the Dative, the Accusative, the 11. Of.... which is a Noun Substantive Plural. No. 12. It is the Nominative, Geni tive, Dative, Accusative, Singular Masculine. 13. Of......which is a Noun Adjective. 14. It is the Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Singular. Accusative, Vocative, Ablative,Plural. Interrogative. 15. Of...which is a Pronoun Personal Relative. Demonstrative. 16. It is a Particle or a little word that connects Phrases. 17. It is in the Comparative of.... Ja Noun Adjective. which is an Adverb. 18. It is the Superlative of..... Sa Noun Adjective. which is an Adverb. 19. It is an Adverb, that is to say, an Adjective which is joined to a Verb, and which has no Case, Gender nor Number. 20. It is a Conjunction, that is to say, an indeclinable Particle which serves to connect the different parts of the Phrase. 21. It is a Preposition, that is to say, an indeclinable Particle which stands before the words it governs. Suppose the words "We had understood" are presented to a Deaf and Dumb Scholar to be resolved by this Table, he will point out in No. 1, First Person; in No. 2, Plural; in No. 3, Past Perfect; in No. 4, Indicative; in No. 5, Verb Active; and in No. 6, Irregular Conjugation. He will then turn to the following Table which expresses why such a word belongs to such a part of speech. SECOND TABLE. Expressing why any particular word belongs to such a Part of Speech. No. 1. It is (this word) in the First Person.. Because it is myself that I speak of. 2. It is the Second Person.... Because it is to him or her that I speak. 3. It is the Third Person.....Because it is of him or her that I speak. 4. It is in the Singular...... Because I speak of a 5. It is in the Plural.. single person or of a single thing. . Because I speak of persons or of seve several 6. It is in the Present Tense.. Because I speak of a 7. thing present. It is in the Imperfect. . . . . Because I speak of a 1 8. It is in the Perfect.. thing recently past, or represented as such by the arrangement of the discourse. Because I speak of a thing past, 9. It is in the Past Perfect... Because I speak of a 10. It is in the Future. thing which is past ante cedently to another thing which is also past. Because I speak of a future thing. 11. It is in the Indicative.... Because I speak di rectly, and without the connection of one Verb with another. 12. It is in the Imperative.... Because I speak of a command or a prayer. 13. It is in the Subjunctive. . . . Because I speak in directly, and join one Verb with another Verb. |