The English Language Part 48

The statement concerning the absence of the true reflective in English, although negative, has an important philological bearing on more points than one.

1. It renders the use of the word _self_ much more necessary than it would be otherwise.

2. It renders us unable to draw a distinction between the meanings of the Latin words _suus_ and _ejus_.

3. It precludes the possibility of the evolution of a middle voice like that of the Old Norse, where _kalla-sc_=_kalla-sik_.

{249}

CHAPTER VII.

THE DEMONSTRATIVE p.r.o.nOUNS, &c.

-- 300. The demonstrative p.r.o.nouns are, 1. _He_, _it_. 2. _She_. 3. _This_, _that_. 4. _The_.

_He_, _she_, and _it_, generally looked on as personal, are here treated as demonstrative p.r.o.nouns, for the following reasons.

1. The personal p.r.o.nouns form an extremely natural cla.s.s, if the p.r.o.nouns of the two first persons (and _se_ when found in the language) be taken by themselves. This is not the case if they be taken along with _he_, _it_, and _she_. The absence of gender, the peculiarity in their declension, and their defectiveness are marked characters wherein they agree with each other, but not with any other words.

2. The idea expressed by _he_, _it_, and _she_ is naturally that of demonstrativeness. In the Latin language _is_, _ea_, _id_; _ille_, _illa_, _illud_; _hic_, _haec_, _hoc_, are demonstrative p.r.o.nouns in sense, as well as in declension.

3. The plural forms _they_, _them_, in the present English, are the plural forms of the root of _that_, a true demonstrative p.r.o.noun; so that even if _he_, _she_, and _it_ could be treated as personal p.r.o.nouns, it could only be in their so-called singular number.

4. The word _she_ has grown out of the Anglo-Saxon _seo_. Now _seo_ was in Anglo-Saxon the feminine form of the definite article; the definite article being a demonstrative p.r.o.noun.

Compared with the Anglo-Saxon the present English stands as follows:--

_She._--The Anglo-Saxon form _heo_, being lost to the language, is replaced by the feminine article _seo_.

_Her._--This is a case, not of the present _she_, but of the Anglo-Saxon _heo_: so that _she_ may be said to be defective in {250} the oblique cases and _her_ to be defective in the nominative.

_Him._--A true dative form, which has replaced the Anglo-Saxon _hine_. When used as a dative, it was neuter as well as masculine.

_His._--Originally neuter as well as masculine. Now as a neuter, replaced by _its_--"et quidem ipsa vox _his_, ut et interrogativum _whose_, nihil aliud sunt quam _hee's_, _who's_, ubi _s_ omnino idem praestat quod in aliis possessivis. Similiter autem _his_ pro _hee's_ eodem errore quo nonnunquam _bin_ pro _been_; item _whose_ pro _who's_ eodem errore quo _done_, _gone_, _knowne_, _growne_, &c., pro _doen_, _goen_, _knowen_, vel _do'n_, _go'n_, _know'n_, _grow'n_; utrobique contra a.n.a.logiam linguae; sed usu defenditur."--Wallis, c. v.

_It._--Changed from the Anglo-Saxon _hit_, by the ejection of _h_. The _t_ is no part of the original word, but a sign of the neuter gender, forming it regularly from _he_. The same neuter sign is preserved in the Latin _id_ and _illud_.

_Its._--In the course of time the nature of the neuter sign _t_, in _it_, the form being found in but a few words, became misunderstood. Instead of being looked on as an affix, it pa.s.sed for part of the original word. Hence was formed from _it_ the anomalous genitive _its_, superseding the Saxon _his_. The same was the case with--

_Hers._--The _r_ is no part of the original word, but the sign of the dative case. These formations are of value in the history of cases.

_They_, _their_, _them_.--When _hit_ had been changed into _it_, when _heo_ had been replaced by _she_, and when the single form _the_, as an article, had come to serve for all the cases of all the genders, two circ.u.mstances took place: 1. The forms _am_ and _ara_ as definite articles became superfluous; and, 2. The connexion between the plural forms _hi_, _heom_, _heora_, and the singular forms _he_ and _it_, grew indistinct. These were conditions favourable to the use of the forms _they_, _them_, and _their_, instead of _hi_, _heom_, _heora_.

_Theirs._--In the same predicament with _hers_ and _its_; either the case of an adjective, or a case formed from a case. {251}

_Than_ or _then_, and _there_.--Although now adverbs, they were once demonstrative p.r.o.nouns, in a certain case and in a certain gender.--_Than_ and _then_ masculine accusative and singular, _there_ feminine dative and singular.

An exhibition of the Anglo-Saxon declension is the best explanation of the English. Be it observed, that the cases marked in italics are found in the present language.

I.

Se, _seo_.

Of this word we meet two forms only, both of the singular number, and both in the nominative case; _viz._ masc. _se_; fem. _seo_ (the). The neuter gender and the other cases of the article were taken from the p.r.o.noun _aet_ (that).

II.

_aet_ (that, the), and _is_ (this).

_Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ _Neut._ _Masc._ _Fem._ Sing. Nom. _aet_ -- -- _is_ es eos.

Acc. _aet_ _one_ a. is isne as.

Abl. _y_ _y_ _['ae]re_. _ise_ ise isse.

Dat. am am _['ae]re_. isum isum isse.

Gen. aes aes _['ae]re_. ises ises isse.

----------/----------/ ---------/---------/ Plur. Nom. Acc. _a_. _as_.

Abl. Dat. _am_. isum.

Gen. _ara_. issa.

III.

_Hit_ (it), _he_ (he), _heo_ (she).

Sing. Nom. _hit_ _he_ heo.

Acc. _hit_ hine hi.

Dat. _him_ _him_ _hire_.

Gen. _his_ _his_ _hire_.

--------/--------/ Plur. Nom. Acc. hi Dat. him (heom).

Gen. hira (heora).

IV.

_e_ (the)--Undeclined, and used for all cases and genders.

-- 301. _These._--Here observe-- {252}

1st. That the _s_ is no inflection, but a radical part of the word, like the _s_ in _geese_.

2nd. That the Anglo-Saxon form is _as_.

These facts create difficulties in respect to the word _these_. Mr. Guest's view is, perhaps, the best; _viz._ that the plural element of the word is the letter _e_, and that this _-e_ is the old English and Anglo-Saxon adjective plural; so that _thes-e_ is formed from _thes_, as _G.o.de_ (=_boni_) is formed from _G.o.d_ (=_bonus_).

The nominative plural in the Old English ended in _e_; as,

_Singular._ _Plural._ _M._ _F._ _N._ _M._ _F._ _N._ _G.o.d_, _G.o.d_, _G.o.d_, _G.o.de_.