German Grammar, Past and Present, an Inaugural Lecture

German Grammar, Past And Present, An Inaugural Lecture by Charles Adolphus Buchheim. This inaugural lecture, delivered on October 6, 1863 at King’s College London, provides a concise history of German grammar and argues against applying Latin grammar as a universal model for German. It traces the development of the discipline in three periods: empirical (from the Reformation to 1819), historical (1819–1827), and chiefly philosophical after 1827. Buchheim critiques the early empiricist grammars for importing Latin frameworks, discusses the influence of Christianity on language and the critical role of Luther in shaping German, and surveys the contributions of major grammarians from Ickelsamer to Adelung, Gottsched, Bodmer, and especially Jacob Grimm. The lecture highlights Grimm’s discovery of two inflectional families (strong and weak) and their impact on noun, adjective, and verb forms, including the notion of only two declensions and the simplification of adjective inflection. It then describes Becker’s philosophical system and the Syntactical Trilogy (Predicative, Attributive, Objective), which anchors modern German grammar. Buchheim argues that the modern system, combining historical and philosophical insights, offers a simpler, more accurate foundation for teaching German, and underscores its practical value for accessing German literature. He acknowledges the transformative work of Grimm and Becker and stresses the importance of adopting the modern approach in education, while paying homage to his predecessor Bernays and the College’s mission.