no law but that of arbitrary or accidental arrangement; they are, of course, in various stages of development, and are commonly studied only from motives of curiosity or public interest. This refers especially to the slang, "flash," or technical language of thieves; and as no other instance shows with equal clearness and precision, how little men can arbitrarily create a language or alter its organic nature, a few remarks on these peculiar idioms may be added. The principal purpose of those who form them, mostly men who live by breaking the laws of their country, is to obtain a particular dialect or jargon, which may differ sufficiently from the vernacular to secure those who use it against detection. Words of other dialects are chosen; those of the vernacular mutilated, inverted, or used in an ancient form, and a meaning differing from the usual, and mostly in a metaphorical sense. New forms, also, are sometimes created, but the true essence of language, its grammar, has in no case been altered. All these artificial idioms follow, to the minutest detail, the grammar of the language with which they compete. Most of the larger portions of Europe have some such jargon, formed for the specific purpose of being unintelligible to the other inhabitants of the country. Germany has its Roswalsch (Rothwelsch) or beggar's Welsh; and England its thieves' Latin, in their own dialect called slang, and often quoted in the days of Elizabeth. The Slavic provinces have their Hantyrka or German words, and the works of Eugene Sue has made us familiar with the Argot of France. Italy knows a Gergo (jargon), and Spain the Germania. Besides some Gypsy words, almost all these artificial idioms contain a large proportion of Hebrew. Passing through the fiery furnace of the language of LIST OF WORKS OF REFERENCE. 375 Jews of all nations, the original words are, of course, much changed; they may, however, easily be recognized by the philologist. German Jews have, moreover, a mixed dialect of their own, used mainly for purposes of traffic and secrecy. The large number of so-called technical terms used by certain professions, as sportsmen, miners, &c., are, to a great extent, formed in a similar manner; and would, if more largely extended, result in the formation of similar dialects. In all instances, however, the lexicon alone has been altered; grammar and syntax remain invariably the same as those of the vernacular. As some of the languages of Europe, mentioned in the preceding sketch, are comparatively little known, we add a list of some recent and easily accessible works, which treat of them, omitting older works and such as are familiar to every student of the most important modern languages, as French or German. We give them in the order in which the languages themselves have been mentioned. CHINESE-Gützlaff's well-known Grammar. Morrison. A Dictionary of the Chinese Language. Macao, 1823. De Guignes. Dictionnaire Chinois, &c. Paris. To which belongs Abel Rémusat. Essai sur la Langue et la Littérature Chinoise. Meng Tseu, vel Mencium, edd. latina interpretatione, &c. St. TATARIC LANGUAGES.-Gyarmathi, affinitas linguae hungaricae cum linguis finnicae originis, grammatice demonstrata. 1799. Old, but excellent, and still very useful. Schott. Versuch über die Tatarischen Sprachen. Berlin, 1836. Ueber das Altaische oder Finnish-Tatarische Sprachengeschlecht. Berlin, 1839. Mongolian. Schmidt. Grammatik der Mongolischen Sprache. Petersburg, 1831. Schmidt. Mongolish-Deutsch-Russisches Worterbuch. Petersburg, 1835. Kovalevski. Grammaire abrégé de la langue savante des Mongholes. Kasan, 1835. Dictionnaire Mongol-Russe-Français. Kasan, 1834. Abel Rémusat. Recherches sur les Langues Tatares. Turkish. Redhouse. Grammaire raisonnée de la langue ottomane. Paris, 1846. Mirza A. Kasem-beg. Allgemeine Grammatik der TürkishTatarischen Sprache. Leipzig, 1848. (Translated from the Russian.) Kieffer et Bianchi. Dictionnaire Turc-Français. Paris, 1837. Hindoglu. Dictionnaire Français-Turc. Vienna, 1831. Schott. De lingua Tschuwaschorum. Berolini, 1841. Finnish. Vater's, Pallas', and Erman's Collections. Castrén. Elementa grammatices Syrjaenae, &c. Helsingfors, 1844. Wiedemann. Versuch einer Grammatik der Syrjaenischen Sprache. Reval, 1847. Von der Gabelentz. Grundzüge der Syrjaenischen Sprache. Altenburg, 1841. Castrén. Elementa grammatices Tscheremissae. 1845. Wiedemann. Versuch einer Grammatik der Tscheremissischen Sprache. Reval, 1847. Sjögren. Reports to the Academy at Petersburg, &c. Rask. Raesonneret Lappisk Sproglaere. Copenhagen, 1832. Lindahl et Oerling. Lexicon Lapponicum, &c. Holm, 1780. Possart. Kleine Lappische Sprachlehre, &c. Stuttgart, 1840. Kellgren. Die Grundzüge der Finnischen Sprache, &c. Berlin, 1847. Toepler. Grammatik der Magyarischen Sprache. Pesth, 1842. Bloch. Magyar Dictionary. Pesth, 1844. CAUCASIAN LANGUAGES.-Rosen. Ueber die Sprachen der Lazen. In the Memoirs of the Academy at Berlin, 1843. Rosen. Ueber das Mingrelische, Suanische, und Abschasische. Bopp. Ueber das Georgische. Berlin, 1847. Klaproth. Reise in den Kaukasus und nach Georgien. Berlin, 1818. BASQUE.-W. Von Humboldt's famous work on the Basque. De Larramendi. El Imposible vencido. 1826. Salamanca, 1729. G. Waldo Erving. The Alphabet of the Primitive Language of Spain. Boston, 1829. SHEMITIC LANGUAGES.-W. Von Humboldt's Preface to his work on the Kawi Language. Gesenius. Versuch über die Maltesische Sprache. Leipzig, 1817. INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. Indian. Bopp. Sanscrit Grammar. Bopp. Conjugations-System des Sanscrit, Latein, &c. Frankfurt, 1816. Vergleichende Grammatik, &c. Berlin. Pott. Etymologische Forschungen auf dem Gebiete der Indo- Lassen. Institt. Ling. Pracrit Excurs., &c. Pott, die Zigeuner in Europa und Asien. Halle, 1845. Iranic. Sjögren. Ossetische Grammatik, &c. Petersburg, 1844. Rosen. Ossetische Sprachlehre. Detmold, 1846. Schleicher. Vergleichende Sprachkunde. Petermann. Grammatica linguae Armenicae. Berlin, 1837. Aucher. English-Armenian Dictionary. Venice, 1821. Mekhitar. Armenian Dictionary. Venice, 1834. Pelasgic. Minas. Calliopé, ou traité, sur la véritable prononciation de la langue Grecque. Paris, 1825. Russiadis. Greek Grammar. Vienna, 1834. Xylander. Die Sprache der Albanesen oder Schkipetaren. Frankfurt, 1838. Raynouard and Lewis, on the Romance Languages. Diez. Die Romanischen Sprachen. Berlin, 1835. Barboza. Gramatica philosophica da Ling. Portug. Lisbon, 1830. Cabrić. Le Troubadour Moderne. Paris, 1844. Fauriel. Histoire de la Poésie Provençale. Paris, 1846. Ampère. Histoire de la Réformation de la Langue Française. Paris, 1841. Lettic-Slavic. Talvj. The Languages and Literature of the Slavic Nations. New-York, 1850. Mielcke. Anfangsgründe einer Littanischen Sprachlehre. Königsberg, 1800. Nesselmann. Die Sprache der alten Preussen. Berlin, 1845. Stender. Lettische Grammatik. Mitau. Schaffarik. Geschichte der Slawischen Sprache, &c. Ofen, 1826. Slowansky narodopis-Slavic Antiquities. Prague, 1849. Heard. Practical Grammar of the Russian. Petersburg, 1827. Wostuhow. Russian Grammar. (In Russian.) Gretsch. Grammaire Russe. Petersburg, 1832. Reiff. Diction. Etymologique de la Langue Russe. Petersburg, 1835. Dobrovsky. Institutiones linguae Slavicae dialecti veteris. Vienna, 1822. Kopitar. Glagolita Clozianes, &c. Babukisch. Illyrische Grammatik. Wien, 1839. Miklosich. Radices Linguae Slovenicae, &c. Leipzig, 1845. Wuk Stephanowitsch. Kleine Serbische Grammatik. Translated by J. Grimm. Vienna, 1824. Kristianowitsch. Croatian Grammar. 1837. Rukovina von Liebgradt. Kroatische Sprachformen. Triest, 1843. |