WRITING  deals, chiefly from the anthropological standpoint, with

primitive attempts to record ideas in an intelligible form, e.g. with " knot-signs," " message-sticks," picture-writing and the like . PHONETICS covers the whole subject of speech sounds and pronunciation, the organs of speech and national sound systems . Supplementary, from another-point of view, to the article ALPHABET is a complete series of articles on the letters of the English alphabet . In these articles the history of the individual letters is traced from the Phoenician through Aramaic, Greek and Roman to modern times . All these articles may be read in connexion with a comparative table in the article ALPHABET (ad fin.), which shows in parallel columns the earliest equivalents of the modern English letters, i.e . Brahmi, Kharosthi, oldest 'Ethiopic, SabHan, Nashki, Tema,-Sindjirli, the Moabite stone, Phoenician, Greek, Latin, Cyrillic and Glagolitic . Another important comparative table of written signs is contained in the article SLAVS, showing the various Cyrillic, Glagolitic and Latin letters used by the Slav peoples . Passing from articles dealing with the method and general subject-matter of philology, the student will find articles on the great families of languages, each with its subordinate articles on special languages and dialects . r . Indo-European Languages.—Of articles on language-families, the most important is that under the heading INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES . This great division, which is dealt with from the comparative standpoint in the second part of the article PHILOLOGY, is under its own heading treated in detail . The article begins with a sub-classification into two main groups—the so-called (A) centum and (B) satem groups—each of which is further divided into four sections .

In accordance with this classification there are

separate articles on the individual ancient and modern languages and dialects . A . (1) GREEK LANGUAGE (supplemented by sections under HOMER, DORIANS, &C.); (2) LATIN LANGUAGE (with OSCA LINGUA, IGUVIUM, &c., and articles on the Italic tribes and places, e.g . VENETI, CAERE); (3)Celtic, s.v . CELT (with subsidiary articles); and (4) Teutonic, S.D . TEUTONIC LANGUAGES, SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES, and the like . The modern descendants of these languages are all further treated separately . Thus following LATIN LANGUAGE iS the article ROMANCE LANGUAGES, which traces the development of the Latin tongue during its gradual differentiation into Italian, French, Spanish, Rumanian, &c.; while a more detailed account of these will be found under ITALIAN LANGUAGE; FRENCH LANGUAGE; SPAIN: Language; RUMANIA: Language . There is also a special article PROVENCAL LANGUAGE, dealing with the Romanic speech of southern France . The Teutonic languages are similarly dealt with in detail under ENGLISH LANGUAGE (including Anglo-Saxon); DUTCH LANGUAGE; GERMAN LANGUAGE . SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGE itself includes Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish. a B . In the satem group of the Indo-European family the four divisions are as follows: (I) Indo-Iranian or Aryan .

This division may be sub-divided into (a) Indo-Iranian, treated mainly in the article

PERSIA: Language and Literature (including Zend, Old, Middle and New Persian, and the modern dialects), and (b) Indian . The Indian languages ,are discussed primarily under INDOARYAN LANGUAGES, which describes the relations of Pisaca, Sanskrit, Prakrit, and gives a paradigm of the various languages of.the three great divisions of India . This central article refers to the separate articles PISACA, SANSKRIT and PRAKRIT, which in turn are supplemented by a number of articles on particular languages . Of these reference may be made to BENGALI; BIHARI; GUJARATI AND RAJASTHANI; HINDOSTANI; KASHMIRI; MARATHI; PALI . The gipsy languages, which may probably be assigned to the Indo-Iranian division, are described under Gums . (2) The account of Armenian will be found under ARMENIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE . (3) The, Balto-Slavonic Languages . Of these the three comprised in the Baltic group, viz . Lithuanian, Lettic and Old Prussian, are described under the heading LITHUANIANS AND LETTS . For the Slavonic group, the chief article is SLAVS: Language, which deals with the elements common to all the Slavonic tongues, with their early history and differentiation . It contains a comparative table of alphabets . It is supplemented by an article OLD SLAVONIC, and by further information under the headings RUSSIA, BULGARIA, SERVIA, POLAND, BOHEMIA, CROATIA-SLAVONIA, SLOVAKS, SLOVENES, SORBS, KASHUBES, POLABS .

(4) The Albanian dialects are treated under

ALBANIA . 2 . Semitic Languages.—At the heading of this section stands the article SEMITIC LANGUAGES, supplemented by HEBREW LANGUAGE, ARAMAIC LANGUAGES, and linguistic sections under PHOENICIA, ETHIOPIA, and the like . 3 . Hamitic Languages.—The central article in this family is HAMITIC LANGUAGES, which is supplemented, so far as the Cushitic or Ethiopian group is concerned, by further information in the articles EGYPT; ETHIOPIA; ABYSSINIA; SOMALILAND; and, so far as the Libyan group is concerned, by the articles BERBERS and KABYLES . 4 . The chief feature of the Monosyllabic family is the section Language under CHINA, supplemented again by similar sections in articles on other countries of south-eastern Asia, and by the article TIBETO-BURMAN LANGUAGES . There is also a language section under Japan which discusses the affinities between Chinese, Korean and Japanese . 5 . The Ural-Altaic family is described in outline in the article URAL-ALTAIC, which gives the general relationships of Turkish, Finno-Ugrian, Mongol and Manchu, and of minor sub-divisions such as Syryenian, Mordvinian and Votyak . Turkish is discussed in the article TURKS: Language, which deals with Osmanli proper and the Tatar-Turkish languages generally . The article FINNO-UGRIAN is a comparative survey dealing with the language of the Finns, Lapps, Samoyedes, &c.; while Magyar is treated separately in HUNGARY: Language .

Under

MONGOLS there is a special section Language, discussing the three groups of East Mongol, West Mongol (including Kalmuck) and Buriat . 6 . The principal languages of southern India, e.g . Tamil, Malayalam, Kanarese, Telugu, &c., are dealt with generally under the heading DRAVIDIAN; while there is a separate article TAMILS, containing a section on their language; and brief notes under the headings BRAHUI, TELUGU, MALAYALAM, &c . y and 8 . The scattered languages of the Malay-Polynesian family and other Oceanic peoples are treated principally in the article MALAYS, which further information is given under the headings POLYNESIA; SAMOA; JAVA; NEGRITOS, BATTAS, &C . q . The Caucasian family is described chiefly in the article GEORGIA: Ethnology . Further information will be found in CAUCASIA: Ethnology . to . Of the remaining European languages only two need special. mention: Basque, which is treated in a special section under the heading BASQUES; and the lost Etruscan, which is treated under ETRURIA and LATIN LANGUAGE . Ir .

The principal languages of southern and central

Africa are treated fully under BANTU LANGUAGES . There is a brief account of the Bushman language under BUSHMEN, and of the Hottentot languages under HOTTENTOTS . 12 . Intermediate African Languages.—Among the numerous languages spoken by the people of the great central belt of the African continent, the most important is the Hausa, described under that heading . 13 . America.—The whole question of the languages of the North American Indians is dealt with in the article INDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN, which contains an elaborate linguistic paradigm . Bibliographical information will be found in practically all the above headings . In addition to the most modern authorities there quoted, there will be found in the article DICTIONARY a very full list of older lexicographical works . The above summary does not purport to present dogmatically a rigid philological classification . It disregards many problems, and is intended solely to enable the student readily to find the material of which he may be in search .