Page:A simplified grammar of the Polish language.djvu/8

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PREFACE.



The following short Grammar is the first attempt of the kind in English. It is to be hoped that it may be instrumental in furthering the study of Polish, a noble language, which is still spoken by about ten millions of people. I have consulted with advantage previous works on the subject, written in Polish, German and French. I have found the "Comparative Grammar" of Miklosich, the "Historico-Comparative Grammar" of Małecki (2 vols., Lemberg, 1879), and the works of Orda (Paris, 1856) and Rykaczewski (Berlin, 1861) very useful. Following the plan of the "Simplified Grammars," I have only given an outline of the language, but this outline will be found to contain all the chief rules, which I have endeavoured to make as plain as possible. The student of comparative philology will thus be able to form a correct idea of the structure of the language, and it may serve as a rudimentary handbook to any one who is anxious to read the works of such authors as Mickiewicz and Krasinski in the original.

W. R. MORFILL.

Oxford.