Causes the
Sound has fared in its literary precisely as in its musical relations. The instrument, whether as written sign or musical invention, has received all attention; while sound itself has never been resolved into to its elements, either as words or as tones. Vocal analysis has never reached an alphabet ; ^ though the words can hardly be called syllables in our sense, since they are not combinations of primary sounds. In what way they are associated with the meanings they bear, we as yet have little or no knowledge. The origination of words is far more obscure than that of written signs. Such primitive relations have been mainly effaced in the present language of the Chinese.^
signs com-
As in their speech the imitation of natural tones is no longer to be recognized, so in their writing the rude picture of the object has mainly vanished through successive changes of form. Yet the meaning of these " ideographs " remains fixed ; they stand not for mere sounds, though so extensively employed as phonetics, but for realities also ; and every new idea requires a new combination of strokes, or compound figure, as it would require a new alphabetic compound with us. While therefore every old type holds its identity, subject only to such changes as art or convenience may dictate, great numbers have been added from time to time.^ This is the secret of their immense quantity as compared with the deficiency of words. It is harder for a Chinese to make new words than to paint new characters, partly because of his special propensity to hand-work, partly because the play of his organs of speech is limited more narrowly than those of most other races, and partly because the rigidity of the signs began at an early period to check that fusion
The Buddhist alphabet for transcribing Sanscrit words is a special instrument for that purpose, and is not in general use. (De Rosny, Chinese Grammar, p. 45.) Edkins has made interesting researches in this direction. See his Introduction. Williams's great Dictionary (1874) contains 12,000 characters.
