Genre:

Review

Publications reviewed:

Ellis 1869

Subjects:

Comparative Philology, Physiology, Sound

    Describes the 'Two methods of remedying the evil' of the want of a 'definite system of notation' for 'speech-sounds', 'which we may distinguish as the traditional and the physiological' (294). Commends the use of 'a physiological alphabet such as the "Visible Speech" of Mr. Bell', in which 'the traditional letters are entirely rejected, and a regular system of symbolizing the physiological formation of each sound is employed; the reader only has to follow the directions given by the shape of the letter itself, and he will accurately reproduce the sound, even if it be one he has never heard before' (294–95). Concludes that 'We have little doubt that the real alphabet of the future is Mr. Bell's "Visible Speech"', and even 'the want of means for printing it' is 'a difficulty which is a temporary one, and could soon be remedied' (296).