'The question of _principal_ and _principle_ is different. When I was
young, educated people in my circle always, I believe, distinguished
them; so to this day when I hear principal pronounced as principle it
gives me a squirm, tho' I am afraid nearly everybody does it now. That
the words are etymologically distinct does not greatly matter; it is
of more importance that I have sometimes been puzzled to know which
word a speaker meant; if I remember right, I once had to ask.
'It would be worth while to distinguish _flower_ and _flour_ (which
originally, like _metal_ and _mettle_, were the same word); yet in
practice it is not easy to make the difference audible. The homophony
is sometimes inconvenient.'
CORRECTION TO TRACT II
On p. 37 of TRACT II the words 'the Anglo-prussian society which Mr.
Jones represents' have given offence and appear to be inaccurate. The
German title of the series in which Jones's Dictionary is one has the
following arrangement of words facing the English title:
HERAUSGEGEBEN
UND
DER "ASSOCIATION PHON['E]TIQUE INTERNATIONALE" GEWIDMET
VON
H. MICHAELIS,
and this misled me. I am assured that, though the dictionary may
be rightly described as Anglo-Prussian, the Phonetic Association is
Gallo-Scandinavian. In behalf of the S.P.E. I apologize to the A.
Ph. I. for my mistake which has led one of its eminent associates to
accuse me of bearing illwill towards the Germans.
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