Het groot woorden-boeck: gestelt in 't Nederduytsch, ende in 't Engelsch

(2010)–Henry Hexham– rechtenstatus

Of PROSODIE.

PROSODIE, is a part of Grammar, which giveth the true Tone and Accent to Wordes and Syllables, and first of pointing.

They are in Number, to wit, a Comma, a Colon, a full Point, or a Period, an Interrogation, an Admiration, a Parenthesis, a Copulation, and a Division.

A Comma is a note of breathing in a sentence marked betweene or at the foot of a word, either thus (/) or thus (,) As in these Substantives; De Vorsten, Veldt-overste, Hooft-lieden, ende Bevel-hebbers, waren de voornaemste oorsake van de overwinninge, The Princes, the Generall, Commanders, and Captaines, vvere the principall cause of the victorie.

Of Adjectives; Want sy waren kloeck, couragieus, wel-sprekende, ende vlijtigh, For they were valiant, couragious, eloquent, and diligent.

Of Verbes; Beschicken, Moedt geven, Aenvoeren, ende Volherden den strijdt, To Order, To give Courage, To Lead on, and to Continue the battle.

Of Adverbs; Ende hielden het voor, achter, midden, ter zijden, ende over al in goede ordeninge, And held in the front, reere, middle, the flanks, and every where good order.

Adjectives with Substantives; Als verstandige Krijghs-oversten, stoute Voor-vechters, naerstige Besorgers, ende getrouwe Volvoerders der saken, As understanding Chieftaines, able or stout Combatants, diligent Takers of care, and faithfull Performers of businesse.

Moreover to divide and distinguish firme reasons and speeches; As thus, Veel eer soude men vermorselen, dan vermorwen ofte bekeerern, de gene, die gantsch verstockt ende verhardt zijn in het quaedt; One might rather breake in peeces, then to soften or turne those, which are wholly obdurated and hardned in evill.

Or thus: Als een vrouwe hare schaemte ende eere verloren heeft, al hadde sy nog eenige deught by haer, die wordt haer weynigh tot lof na-geseyt; When a woman hath lost her modestie and honestie, though shee may have some other vertue in her, yet it will serve but little to her praise.

Of a Colon.

A Colon is a Note of longer breathing then a Comma, and is marked thus (:) As; Soo yemandt u komt aendienen, dat een ander eenigh quaedt van u seydt, en ontschuldight u niet te seer van het gene datter geseyt is: maer antwoordt alleenlick also: Hem moeten noch veel andere van mijne ghebreecken ende onvolkomentheden onbekent zijn: want anders en soude hy dit niet alleen geseyt hebben; If any body comes to tell thee, that one hath spoken evill of thee, doe not excuse thy self too much of that there is said: but answere onely thus: There are many other of my weaknesse and infirmities unknowne to him: otherwise he would not have spoken this alone.

Hereby thou shalt show thy self a meeke man, and himselfe a spitefull body, and none can truely reprove thee for it. In vvhich sentence there are three Colons.

Of a full Point, or a Period.

A Period is a full distinction, and a Note of longest breathing, vvhich after a full sentence and speech is thus noted (.) and the next sentence beginneth vvith a Capitall or a great Letter.

Of an Interrogation or asking of a question.

An Interrogation is marked thus (?) at the end of a reason: As, Wanneer sullen wy ten eynde komen? When shall vvee come to an end? &c.

Of an Admiration.

A Note of Admiration, or Wondring, is used upon the end of a vvord, vvhich betokeneth Admiration, as; Ey wat dingh is dat! O what thing is that!

Some of Invocation marked thus (!) As, O Godt bewaert my! O God keepe me!

Some of Rejoicing! As, O wat een soet vermaeck! O what a sweete delight!

Some of Greefe or Complaint; As, O wee my ellendige! O woe me miserable wretch!

Of a Parenthesis.

A Parenthesis is made vvith tvvo halfe Moones, a clause coming betweene, marked thus ( ); As, Die is een Heerscher over een ander, dewelcke (of sy willen ofte niet) hun dwingen kan sijn bevel na te komen; Hee is a Ruler over an other, the which (whether they will or noe) can constraine them to followe his command.

A Note of Insertion marked thus [ ] is a Clause out of an other Authour interceding, or is that which cometh betwixt, as an addition of the Translater, for the better expression of the writters meaning; As, [Ick voege by, I add or joyne to it.]

Of Hyphen or Copulation.

Hyphen is a Note of Sub-union, either of two words; As, Over-vloedigh, Super-abundant or; of the Connextion of two or more Syllables together; As, On-her-boren, Un-re-generate, Groot-vader, Grand-father, &c.

Of a Division.

The token of a Division is market thus - at the end of a line, when as the syllable of a word is parted, an can not stand in one line, but beginneth an other line.

Likewise in speaking (by melting or skipping of Vowels or otherwise) when speeches are uttered with a lesse number of syllables then they should, which is used likewise in writing, by putting in the place of the letters left out this marke ' which is a Note of abbreviation: so that in stead of these particles, de, des, het, ick, is, te, sy, one writs d', 's, 't, 'k, 's, 't, s', as in d' ander, the other, 's mans, the mans, 't sal, it shall, 'k hebbe, I have, dat 's, that is, t' aensien, to behold, s' is, shee is.

Observations upon each of these Inparticular.

Whereas the Particle De commeth before Nounes Substantives or Adjectives, which begin with a Vowell, then wee put in stead of De, The, D'; As, D'achterste, The hindmost, D'esels, The asses, D'inwendige, The inward, D'onderste, The undermost, &c.

's in stead of the Particle des, of the, when as vvords begin vvith a Consonant; As, 's Hemels, Of the Heavens, 's jaers, Of or for the yeare, 's moeders, Of my mothers, &c. but very fewe of them come before a Vowell, unlesse, 's anderen daeghs, Of the next day, 's avonts, Of the evening; & some few more.

't, stands for the Particle het, and is much in use, and that before or upon the end of a vvord, either beginning vvith a Vowell or a Consonant; As, 't armste, the poorest, 't begin, The beginning, verhoogt 't, raise it, op 't, upon it, van 't, of it, or of the, in 't, in it, or, in the; and of such like.

'k, When the Pronoune ick, I, cometh before Verbes, in stead thereof wee use 'k, As, 'k achte, I account, 'k eyssche, I require, 'k wil, I vvill, 'k sal, I shall.

's, When as after dat, dit, wat, the Verbes is commeth, in place vvhereof vvee use 's; dat 's, that is, dit 's, this is, wat 's, vvhat is.

t', When the Praeposition te or tot come before Nounes, vvhich begin with a Vowell, this Note t' will serve in stead of them; As, t' avont, at evening, t' Amsterdam, At Amsterdam, t' eten, to eate, t' onsent, at our house.

s', In the place of the Pronoune sy, they, wee use s'; As, Doens' acker-werck, Doe they husbandrie or tillage? S' eten wel, They eat vvell. And this for the abbreviation of vvords, and the cutting off of letters.

Of Prothesis.

Prothesis, vve call a Proposition, that is, vvhen one putteth before a name or a word a letter for a syllable, with this note ' in the place of the letter left out, as in these examples; D' ouders, The elders, 't Hooghste, The highest, T' eerlick, Too honest, S' openpaerde, They revealed, &c. in stead of, De ouders, Het hooghste, Te eerlick, Sy openbaerde, &c.

And to shewe it more plainely, that these Notes of abbreviation are used in the place

of letters left out, I will give you some more examples in these following; As,

T' aenschouwen, To behold, for, Te aenschouwen; T' eygen, To owne, for, Te eygen; T' ydel, Too idle, for, Te ydel; T' overschatten, to overtaxe, for, Te overschatten, &c.

As likewise in this Particle Het, when Verbes become Nounes; As, 't Aenschouwen, The beholding, for, Het aenschouwen; 't Eygen, It owne, for, Het eygen; 't Ydel, The vaine, for, Het ydel; 't Overschatten, The overtaxing, for Het overschatten, &c.

Of Paragoge.

Paragoge is the adding of a letter or a syllable to the end of a word, with this Note ' of abbreviation; As, Ben's, Am therefore, for, Ben dies; Hebbe's, Have therefore, for Hebbe dies; Dit's, This is, for, Dit is; Wat's, What is, for, Wat is; Sal 't, Shall it, for Sal het; Van 't, Of it, for, Van het, &c.

These two above said, are the chiefest, which are used both in speaking and writing, especially among Poëts for the composing of their Verses.

Of Synaeresis.

Synaeresis is called a drawing together, that is, of two syllables into one, and in Netherdutch it is the leaving out of a Vowell in the middle of a word, and for the shortning of a syllable, putting in the place thereof this Note of abbreviation ' ; As, Verdraeg'lick, Tolerably, for, Verdragelick; Gevoeg'lick; Accomodiously, for, Gevoegelick; Kloeck'lick, Ably, or Couragiously, for, Kloeckelick; Gevang'nis, Improsonment, for, Gevangenis; Bederff'nis, Destruction, for, Bederffenis.

Of Syncope.

Syncope is the cutting or sniping away of a letter, or a syllable, from the middle of a word, to make it the shorter; As, Belae'n, Beladen, for, Beladen; Geva'en, Imprisonned, for, Gevangen, De'en, Did, for, Deden; He'en, Away, for, Henen; Spoe'n, To make speed, for Spoeden; Sta'igh, Firme, or Stable, for Stadigh; Die'r, That there, for, Die daer.

Of Apocope.

Apocope is the cutting of a letter or syllable, from the end of a word: as if one should write, Dick', Oftentimes, for, Dickwils; Nau', Scarcely, for, Nauwelicks.

Or also, when as a word endeth in e, and that the next word following beginneth with a Consonant, then in the place of e which endeth the word, wee use this abbreviation; As, Woud' hy, Would hee, for, Woude hy; Seyd' sy, Said shee, for Seyde sy; Bereyding', Preparation, for, Bereydinge; Klaging', Complaining, for, Klaginge; Eer', Honour, for, Eere; Heer', Lord, or Sir, for, Heere.

Of an Apostrophe.

An Apostrophe is a note of cutting off of a Vowell in the end of a word, especially the Vowell e, and is marked the top thereof thus '; As, Onz' oeffening' end' uw' is al even eens, Our practise and yours is all one.

Here have I showne you the use of six severall Notes of the Abbreviating of words used in the Netherdutch speech, though the Notes and Markes are alike in all these Examples.

Of Synalaephe.

Ye must take notice besides all this, that when a word endeth in e, and that the next word beginneth with a Vowell, though the Note of Abbreviation, be not taken away from the end of the word: yet notwithstanding the same e melteth away in the next Vovvell vvhich begins the vvord follovving, and this note is called Synalaephe, vvhich vve name a Waxing together, or a Melting one into an other; Example,

De eerste Onder-richtinge, The first Instruction, and so of many more.

Of Aphaeresis

Aphaeresis, is the taking avvay of a letter or syllable from the beginning of a vvord; as Voegelick, Conveniently, for, Ghevoegelick; Hoeft, Behoofe, for, Behoeft; Wis, Sure, for, Gewis; Wondert, Wondred, for, Verwondert; Mercken, To Marke, for, Aenmercken.

Of Epenthesis.

Epenthesis is the Interposition of a letter, or a syllable in the middle of a vvord; As, Vlijlick, Speedie, for, Vlijtigh; Overigheydt, Superiour, for, Overheyt; Vervarelick, Fearefull, for, Vervaerlick; Vryigheydt, Freedome; for Vryheyt; Voor-sichtelick, Provident, for Voorsichtigh; Kleyachtigh, Clayie, for, Kleyigh.

And thus much of points and the diverse notes and marks of abbreviating and lenghtning of vvords.

Of the quantitie and measure of Syllables, either short or long.

FIrst, In all Monosillables, that is, words consisting of one Syllable, there is noe certaine measure in the Pronounciation of these in the tone: for some fall short, and others long in Rhime. But Hem, Den, Der, De, and En, are alwayes commonly short, as also these annexed words; as, Doet-se, Doe they, Gaen-se, Goe they, Sien-we, See wee, Is-ser, Is there, Heef-ter, Hath there, Loopt-men, Runs one, Hieldt-men, Holds one, Soud het, ofte Soud-et; all which last syllables are pronounced short.

Secondly, In all words ye need not tot take notice, but of the two last syllables in the pronouncing of them.

Thirdly, In all words, ye have a long syllable.

Fourthly, In the Netherdutch tongue there comes not two long syllables together in a word, vvhich follovve one an other, so that in vvords of tvvo syllables, ye have both a short and a long syllable.

Fiftly, When a long Syllable comes in a vvord, that the Syllable, vvhich cometh before the long Syllable is short, as in Kasteelen, Castles, Iuweelen, Juvvels, the middle Syllable is long, and the first Syllable short, because tvvo long Syllables cannot follovve one an other in a vvord.

Sixtly, All vvords vvhich end in heyt, igh, lick, e and er, igheyt, inge, ickheyt, ie, have all their last Syllables short; as, Goetheyt, Goodnesse, Schoonheydt, Fairenesse, Goedigh, Good, Aerdigh, Subtile, Vriendelick, Frendly, Aerdtrijck, The Earth, Vrouwe, Woman, Name, Name, Wercker, Worker, Goedigheyt, Goodnesse, Soetigheydt, Svveetnesse, Gevinge, Giving, Lijdinge, Suffrance, Cierlickheyt, Adorning, Blamatie, Blamation, Executie, Execution, all vvhich last syllables are uttered short.

Saving Majesteyt, Majesty, Graviteyt, Gravity, Gelijck, Right, Ongelijck, Wrong.

Sevently, The vvords vvhich end in ment, vvhereof the last Syllable is long; as, Testament, Clement.

All Syllables, vvhich have a Single i, in the midst of a vvord are long; as, Eenige, Any, or Some, Heylige, Holy.

The Participles of the Present tense ending in ende, have the tvvo last Syllables short; as, Minnende, Loving, Leerende, Teaching, Loopende, Running.

Eightly, All double Syllables vvhich begin vvith Ge, Be, and Ver, Have the last Syllable long; as, Gevoel, Opinion, Geloof, Faith, Ghequel, Vexation, Belangh, Belonging, Bequaem, Meete, Verdragh, Agreement, Verlof, Leave.

Note, that the length or shortnesse of the last Syllables are clearely observed in vvords vvhich encrease a syllable in the Plurall number; For in Tafelen, Tables, Wortelen, Rootes, Mantelen, Cloaks, Wagenen, Wagons, one may easely perceive the last Syllables of Tafel, Wortel, Mantel, and Wagen, to be short.

Also vvee find there is a difference in the Pronounciation of these vvords, Metalen, Mettels, Tafereelen, Tablets, Iuweelen, Jewels, Geheelen, Wholes, Gesellen, Fellovves, for the middle Syllables are all long.

Note also, there are some vvords, vvhich end vvith three short Syllables; as Vriendelickheydt, Frendlinesse, Goddelickheydt, Divinitie, Graeffelickheydt, Earledome; and thus much of Prosodie.

FINIS.