Of Scanning.

To scan a verse is to divide it into its constituent feet. The principal difficulty attending the measuring of Spanish verses is experienced in words containing a combination of two vowels: this difficulty may, however, be diminished by attending to the following remarks.

When the prosodial accent does not fall on either of the two vowels, they are reckoned a diphthong :

Dichō sos vosotros ă quien | los cuĭdā dos.

When two vowels come together, and the prosodial accent falls on the second, they are then also generally counted a diphthong: but if the accent is on the first, each vowel is generally reckoned.

Los ā nìmos ār|den en Diōs | ăbrăsā|dos.
Mărilă Virgen bēɣllă mā\drě ĕspõ|sa.

If the first of two adjoining vowels is a ore, they are generally counted separately:

Que en vilda os quemales en fuego amoroso.

N. B. U being the first, and preceded by g or q, is never counted unless marked with the diæresis: see the last example.

Ue is also generally reckoned a diphthong in derivatives from a primitive, the first syllable of which contains one vowel; as, ruego from rogar; suelto from soltar; muero from morir; nuevo from novedad, &c.

Dě Santos Vărō¦něs ăl mūn|dŏ yă muertos. When one word ends with a vowel, and the following begins also with a vowel, the first vowel is elided:

Entro con ella aquel que tantos daños.

If the accent falls on the final vowel of a word, it is in general not elided:

Entro en un jărdîn | hĕrī|do de | ămōr.

When the first word ends in a vowel, and the second begins with an h, the elision is optional:

Ni al terror de horren dă guē\rra.

Su ămor, | mies no | sẽ hãn | hăbla do,

Y ver se han podido apenas.

A vowel, in general, is not elided when it is followed

by y, used as a consonant :

Do estando los cuerpos căÿ dos ĕ yērtos.

When y is preceded by a vowel, it is counted separately, if the accent falls on it. See the third foot in

the last example, and

Y quan to ěl mār | ĕl āy|re el suē lo encierra.

The Spanish and Portuguese epic, or heroic, verse, differs not from the English and Italian. But the dramatic verse of the Spanish poets, whose dramatic works are abundant, is greatly different. It is the truncated,

four-footed iambic verse, i. e. an acephalous or headless iambic, which is in reality what is termed a three-footed trochaic, called by the Spaniards Versos de pié quebrado or of a broken foot, a favourite lyric measure of the Italian poets, but never used by them for dramatic dialogue:

The Spanish poets use it also commonly as a lyric measure, generally in stanzas of four verses, with imperfect or asonante rhymes; of which Bishop Percy has the following specimen towards the end of his Relics of Ancient English Poetry :

Rio ver dě, rio verde,

Quanto cuerpo en ti | sẽ bà¦ña ;

De Cristianos y de Moros,
Muertos por la dura espalda.

The imperfection of the rhymes common among the Spanish poets should apparently be attributed neither to negligence nor unskilfulness in the poet, nor to a defect in the language: indeed, so far perhaps from implying imperfection, it may rather imply perfection, as it indicates that the Spanish lyrical poetry wants less assistance from the adventitious ornament of rhyme than other modern European languages.

ON DERIVATION.

THE Spanish is a language which owes its origin to the Latin, with some mixture, however, of other languages, left either by the first settlers in the country, or by subsequent invaders. That the Latin has principally contributed to its formation is manifest from the analogy between both languages, which is so close that it has enabled some Spanish authors to compose, in verse as well as prose, works which may justly be styled bilingues.

As the knowledge of a language which claims so close an affinity to the Latin may be a desideratum with the classical scholar; and since, therefore, whatever may tend to accelerate its acquisition to him, will not prove wholly unacceptable, the following remarks are submitted to his consideration.

In attempting to trace Spanish derivations to the Latin origin, such words will be first noticed as have their terminations still preserved in its primitive form, next, the changes which the Latin vowels are apt to undergo; and lastly, the consonants which are esteemed equivalent and commutable. But as several of these deviations have been indispensably requisite, conformably to the pronunciation of the Spanish language, the following preliminary remarks seem to be not altogether unnecessary.

First, t is always exchanged for c or z when the sound of either is equivalent; as, gratia, gracia; ratio, razon. Secondly, ch before a or o is exchanged for c, and before e or i for qu; as, charus, caro; chorus, coro; cherubim, querubin; chirurgicus, quirurgico.

Thirdly, Latin words beginning with s followed by another consonant have the s preceded by e; but the s only is suppressed when it precedes a soft c; as, spiritus, espiritu; scientia, ciencia.

Fourthly, No other consonants than d, l, n, r, s, X, Z, can end a Spanish word.

Fifthly, No word can end with a double consonant. Sixthly, No consonants are duplicated except c, l, n, r.

Of Words preserving the Latin termination.

Spanish substantives and adjectives are frequently Latin ablatives in the singular, and in the plural Latin accusatives: as, missa, misa, misas; modus, modo, modos; ars, arte, artes; caro, carne, carnes; spiritus, espiritu, espiritus; species, especie, especies; molestus, molesto, molesta, molestos, molestas; prudens, prudente, prudentes.

N.B. If the noun is neuter, the Spanish plural takes the general inflection, or terminating consonant, of the declension to which the neuter noun belongs; as, templum, templo, templos; auxilium, auxilio, auxilios; crimine, crimen, crímenes.

Exceptions.

Nouns of the fourth declension change the u into o in both numbers; as, manu, mano, manos; except spiritu and tribu.

Adjectives of two terminations exchange the i for e in the singular; as, tristi, triste, tristes; levi, leve, leves. Adjectives in bilis drop the first i in both numbers; as, amabili, amable, amables ; terribili, terrible, terribles.

The last e ori of an ablative is often suppressed in the singular, when preceded by a single consonant which can end a word; as, sale, sal, sales; pane, pan, panes; amore, amor, amores; vili, vil, viles; docili, dócil, dóciles. If the remaining final consonant is r, it is sometimes exchanged for l, especially when the accent does not fall on the last syllable; as, arbore, árbol, árboles; carcere, cárcel, cárceles; marmore, mármol, mármoles.

If, after the suppression of the final e, the consonant is inadmissible as final, it is necessarily changed; hence ce is exchanged for z; as, pace, paz, paces; cervice, cerviz, cervices ; ge for y, in both numbers; as, rege, rey, reyes; lege, ley, leyes; and te, when it is preceded by ta or tu, into d, in both numbers; as, potestate, potestad, potestades; virtute, virtud, virtudes; and if the antepenultimate syllable of a noun ends in a vowel, the penultimate t is often likewise exchanged for d; as, pietate, piedad, piedades; caritate, caridad, caridades ; humilitate, humildad, humildades.

Latin infinitives, particularly those of the first conjugation, often become Spanish infinitives, by only dropping the last vowel; as, amare, amar; dare, dar; stare, estar; ponere, poner; dormire, dormir.

Of the occasional Changes of the Vowels

The following are the changes in the vowels most frequently observable:

Of a for e; as, tracto, trecho; lac, leche.

Of au for o; as, auro, oro; tauro, toro; mauro,

moro.

Of e for a, for i, or for ie; as, fremere, bramar; equalis, igual; scribere, escribir; terra, tierra; dente, diente; meto, miedo.

Of i for e; as, infirmo, enfermo; timor, temor; illa, ella.

Of o for e, or for ue; as, fronte, frente; forte, fuerte ; nostro, nuestro; absolvo, absuelvo.

N. B. When an initial o is thus changed, the word must be preceded by an h; as, os, hueso; ovo, huevo. Of u for o; as, musca, mosca; unda, onda; dicto, dicho; lecto, lecho.

When one of the vowels of a diphthong is retained, it is generally the second; as, ætate, edad; tædio, tedio; æterno, eterno; cœlo, cielo.

Of the Convertibility of Consonants.

With respect to the changes which consonants undergo in derivation, the following general remarks are not undeserving of notice:

(1.) b, v, f, p, are considered as equivalent; as, nabo, napo; abierto, aperto; abril, aprili; bramido, fremitu; vibora, vipera; robar, rapere; sabor, sapere; saber, sapere; soplar, sufflare; trebol, trifolio,

(2.) c, ch, g, j, q, y, are considered equivalent and commutable. Amigo, amico; arcilla, argilla; lago,

The other parts of a verb may be seen in the Table of regular inflections at page 142; or in the Paradigms of the irregular verbs.