McGuffey's Eclectic Spelling Book/Preface
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In revising this book, care has been taken to preserve all the excellences
that have so long and so favorably distinguished McGUFFEY'S ECLECTIC
SPELLING-BOOK: and the chief changes that have been made, have been
suggested by the evident plan of the original work.
The old system of indicating the pronunciation by numerals, called
"superiors," has been abandoned, and the diacritical marks used by Webster
have been adopted. The Revised Speller conforms in orthography,
pronunciation, and syllabication to the latest edition of Webster's
Unabridged Dictionary. Exercises have been given on each of the
distinctive marks used in the book, as will be seen by reference to
Lessons 36-57.
A number of lessons have been added in the department of prefixes and
suffixes, and now nearly all the more common of these etymological
principles have been explained. (See Lessons 136-167.) In arranging the
text of the several lessons, the object has been not to appeal merely to
arbitrary memory, but to associate each lesson with some principle of
sound, meaning, or accent, which would tend to aid the pupil in acquiring
a knowledge of our language. Several distinct lessons on pronunciation are
given, and towards the close of the book numerous lessons of difficult
words in orthography have been introduced.
Instead of indicating silent letters by italics, as has hitherto been
done, a new type has been made in which such letters are canceled, thus
enabling the pupil to discover their status at a glance.
The pages have been enlivened, as in the other books of this Series, by
attractive engravings.
The publishers take pleasure in acknowledging the valuable services of
W. B. Watkins, D. D., who planned and executed this revision.
DECEMBER, 1879.
16
Copyright, 1879, by Van Antwerp, Bragg & Co.