THE SCOLE OF LATIN-ATTE-BOWE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR...I Sin,—You do well to emphasise the fact that the adoption of a reformed, or Philological-Society, or approximately true pro- nunciation of Latin "adds an initial difficulty to the learning of the language by the boy. It is undoubtedly harder in the case of boys beginning Latin to teach a new pronunciation of well-known consonants and vowels and diphthongs, than to tell the boy to read every syllable as if he were reading English" (Spectator, April 6th). Undoubtedly harder, much harder ; the difficulty may be illuminated by a parallel case. In teaching a boy French, for example, how infinitely easier it would be to tell him "to read every syllable as if he were reading English," and go ahead. Vogue la galere ! Now to take one or two words from Id. Pobedonostzeff's letter in French in the same issue of the Spectator, how vastly more agreeable it would be for the English boy to pronounce appartient, parea, Tuifs [Joo-xfs], puisgue, plainte, emeute, ease-age, as the spelling suggests to him at first sight, and gouvernement civil, innombrable, mesure, tumulte, diplerable, population, as if it were so much English a little oddly spelt. And how much more fully would the etymological connexion thus be brought home to the juvenile mind! Furthermore, whereas it is as easy for the English boy, once he knows, to pronounce Caesar "Kizar (or "Kicar ") as " Seezer," to say " waynee weedee weekee" as to utter the usual sounds attached to seni rid% vici, it may be argued that five years' school- teaching will never succeed in inducing the ordinary English boy to pronounce population, terrible, plainte, or enteute as Frenchmen do. But he would utter with alacrity : Collet-Rent vows pauten vows? Enn.tenn-clezz vows, Mes-shoo.ers /—I am,
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