Thomas Jefferson to Peter S. Du Ponceau, 7 November 1817
To Peter S. Du Ponceau
Monticello Nov. 7. 17.
Th: Jefferson presents his compliments to Mr Duponceau, & his thanks for his pamphlet on Phonology. he supposes, with him, that all sudden1 reformation of our orthography is as desperate as it would be inconvenient. he presumes the slow process of amendment will continue, which has been going on for ages; that this may in time reduce the power of the letters to greater uniformity, as has taken place in the Italian language, & may approximate by degrees the orthography to the sound of the words. Voltaire did something, by his example, in the French language; and whenever the public seem disposed to countenance the dropping a single useless letter in any word, he thinks it well that individuals should readily adopt it. he salutes Mr Duponceau with friendship & respect
PoC (DLC); dateline at foot of text; endorsed by TJ.
Du Ponceau’s pamphlet was English Phonology; or, An Essay Towards an Analysis and Description of the Component Sounds of the English Language (Philadelphia, 1817; , 5 [no. 211]; TJ’s copy in DLC: Rare Book and Special Collections, inscribed by Du Ponceau [edge trimmed]: “Presented to Thomas Jefferson, Esqr as a token of high respect & venerat[ion] by The Author”), which was also printed in , Transactions, new ser., 1 (1818): 228–64.
For the influence of voltaire on French orthography, see his Questions sur l’Encyclopédie, par des amateurs ([Geneva], 1770–72), 8:161–2; TJ to William Pelham, 12 July 1808 (ViU: TJP); and Pierre Marie Sébastien Catineau-Laroche, Nouveau Dictionnaire de Poche de la Langue Française, avec la prononciation, composé sur le système orthographique de Voltaire (Paris, 1802; no. 4830).
1. Manuscript: “suden.”
Index Entries
- books; on phonology search
- Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen; English Phonology; or, An Essay Towards an Analysis and Description of the Component Sounds of the English Language search
- Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen; letters to search
- English language; orthography of search
- English language; phonology of search
- English Phonology; or, An Essay Towards an Analysis and Description of the Component Sounds of the English Language (P. S. Du Ponceau) search
- French language; evolution of search
- Italian language; orthography of search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books & Library; receives works search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Opinions on; English orthography, reformation of search
- Voltaire (François Marie Arouet); and French language search