A Syllable is a non-significant sound, composed of
a mute and a vowel: for GR without A is a syllable,
as also with A,—GRA. But the investigation
of these differences belongs also to metrical science.
A Connecting word is a non-significant sound, which
neither causes nor hinders the union of many sounds
into one significant sound; it may be placed at either
end or in the middle of a sentence. Or, a non-significant
sound, which out of several sounds, each of them significant,
is capable of forming one significant sound,—as
{alpha mu theta iota}, {pi epsilon rho iota}, and
the like. Or, a non-significant sound, which
marks the beginning, end, or division of a sentence;
such, however, that it cannot correctly stand by itself
at the beginning of a sentence, as {mu epsilon nu},
{eta tau omicron iota}, {delta epsilon}.
A Noun is a composite significant sound, not marking
time, of which no part is in itself significant:
for in double or compound words we do not employ the
separate parts as if each were in itself significant.
Thus in Theodorus, ‘god-given,’ the {delta
omega rho omicron nu} or ‘gift’ is not
in itself significant.
A Verb is a composite significant sound, marking time,
in which, as in the noun, no part is in itself significant.
For ‘man,’ or ‘white’ does
not express the idea of ‘when’; but ‘he
walks,’ or ‘he has walked’ does
connote time, present or past.
Inflexion belongs both to the noun and verb, and expresses
either the relation ‘of,’ ‘to,’
or the like; or that of number, whether one or many,
as ‘man’ or ’men ’; or the
modes or tones in actual delivery, e.g. a question
or a command. ‘Did he go?’ and ‘go’
are verbal inflexions of this kind.
A Sentence or Phrase is a composite significant sound,
some at least of whose parts are in themselves significant;
for not every such group of words consists of verbs
and nouns—’the definition of man,’
for example — -but it may dispense even with
the verb. Still it will always have some significant
part, as ‘in walking,’ or ‘Cleon
son of Cleon.’ A sentence or phrase may
form a unity in two ways,—either as signifying
one thing, or as consisting of several parts linked
together. Thus the Iliad is one by the linking
together of parts, the definition of man by the unity
of the thing signified.]
Words are of two kinds, simple and double. By
simple I mean those composed of non-significant elements,
such as {gamma eta}. By double or compound, those
composed either of a significant and non-significant
element (though within the whole word no element is
significant), or of elements that are both significant.
A word may likewise be triple, quadruple, or multiple
in form, like so many Massilian expressions, e.g.
‘Hermo-caico-xanthus who prayed to Father Zeus>.’
Every word is either current, or strange, or metaphorical,
or ornamental, or newly-coined, or lengthened, or
contracted, or altered.
