పుట:A grammar of the Telugu language.pdf/328

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ఈ పుట ఆమోదించబడ్డది

Even in the simplest chapters, every difficulty is conjured up: we are assured that there are fifty species of feet, forty five modes of rhyme, and more than a thousand sorts of metre: besides the art of composing verses in fanciful shapes (as that of a chessboard, a sword or a serpent) and writing so that a stanza may be scanned two different ways. I mention these follies because native assistants are fond of pressing them on our notice to magnify the difficulty of their favourite art. Yet the mode of suiting the sound to the sense, so common in other languages has been totally neglected.

The few rules that are requisite may be easily acquired as soon as we have learnt the alphabet: and the beginner should accordingly devote some attention to prosody.

The first part of the Prosody is borrowed from Sanskrit : the second (on changing metres) is entirely foreign to that language.

ON THE DRAWING STYLE OF EEADING.

It is the custom to read verse in a loud tone with strong intonation: and regardless of the subject: for every thing is read alike. This is also the custom in Italy. Made, de Stael, in Corinna chap III. says regarding Improvisation. 'In reading verse, most Italians use a monotonous chant called cantilena which destroys every emotion. No matter how different the words are, the accent never changes.'

Suiting sound to sense so fondly described in Rambler 92 is unknown.

SECTION FIRST. ON FEET.

Every syllable is distinctly either long or short as it appears to the eye: none are doubtful: every vowel is pronounced as it is in the alphabet. s$, a, I, u, &c. being short, and -e\ s* a, I, u, &c. being invariably long.

A vowel that is short becomes long, if followed by two commnants (just as in Latin): thus accada, there, has the first vowel long by position though short by nature.