The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-14 00:00:00

ROYAL INSTITUTION, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

On Friday evening last a very interesting and
admirable lecture was delivered by the Rev. A.
S. D. D'Orsey, 8.D., Corpus Christi College, Cam-
bridge, " On the Study of the English Language
as an essential part of a University course." After
some general observations vindicating. the claims
of language on the attention of men of science, not
simply as the vehicle of thought, but as the very
loom in which thought is woven, he entered on a
rapid sketch of the origin of the English lan-
guage, illustrating his subject by large maps of
Europe and the British islands, coloured (as he
termed it) "glosso graphically" so as to exhibit the
seats of the various languages and dialects. Ho
showed also by coloured charts and tables the pro-
portion of the Teutonic and Romanic elements in
the spoken language, and in the writings of our
great authors. Thus out of 100,000 words in Eng-
lish, 60,000 were Teutonic, 30,000 Romanic, and
10,000 from all other sources. Having thus
proved the great preponderance of Anglo-Saxon
words in English, the lecturer entered on an
inquiry as to the present modes of teaching
our native language. He censured the employment
of uneducated nursery governesses, quoting Quin-
telean in support of his strictures. Extracts were
then read from the reports of H.M. Inspectors of
Schools, to prove the want of attention to the
proper teaching of English in schools for the
people—the indistinct articulation—the mono-
tonous sing-song—the total want of, reading, so
as to understand or be understood. Schools for
the middle and upper classg were next reviewed,
and their means of teacking -English by trans-
lations from the classics, occasional themes
and declamations on speech, were fully con-
sidered. The City of London School, King
Edward's at Birmingham, and the Grammar School
of Bury St. Edmund's were about the only ones
where direct English teaching existed. The first
English department worthy of the name was insti-
tuted in the High School of Glasgow in 1834, and
since then English masterships and professorships
had been founded in King's College and University
College, London, and in the Queen's Colleges in
Ireland. But in the universities little had
been done. Professor Aytoun, in Edin-
burgh, and Professor Ingram, in Dublin,
had met with considerable success for many years.
Mr. C. J. Plumptre (a barrister of the Temple)
an eminent elocutionist, had broken ground at
Oxford, and an English lectureship had been
founded at Cambridge, but both were of origin too
recent for their results to be at present adequately
estimated. The authorities in our great universities
seemed to rely on previous training. They assumed
that men were masters of their own language when
coming into residence, and that a few prizes for
essays, poems, declamations, and reading in chapel
were sufficient encouragements. So while there
was ample disciplining of the mind, and
every effort to store it with knowledge, there
was no training in the mode of communicating
thought; men were not taught, not even clergy-
' men, to read and speak in public.

The lecturer then sketched the results of this
neglect of the mother tong'ie. The mass of oar
population, in spite of all that has been done, must
be considered densely ignorant ; millions never
opened a book ; nearly fifteen millions never entered
a church or chapel. Other causes might operate,
but the want of a knowledge of language was
a potent one. People, whose vocabulary was
limited to about 300 words, could not follow
a sermon, and clergymen who had never been
taught the value of plain Saxon-English could not
preach one. Then amongst the middle and upper
classes, how superficial was the knowledge of Eng-
lish. How few could write a common letter With-
out faults in grammar, choice of words or spelling.
Punctuation was absolutely ignored by many.
What were the speeches at public meetings, or
rather how would they appear in print, but for the
talent of the reporters, who could bring order out
of chaos. The results of the civil service
examinations abundantly proved the justice
of these strictures ; and the fruits of univer-
sity trainin g,or rather non.training, were too patent
to require illustration. Our clergy too often carriedinto the reading desk and pulpit all the defects of
early life, the provincial accent, the sing-song
tone,
the nasal twang, the lisp or burr or stammer, min-
distinct utterance, inaudible reading,vociferation,er
wrong emphasis,uudue stress on particular words,and
many other faults. Good sermons were the excel).
for if sound in doctrine •
and full of zeal, the stion rather then the rule,t
i
l
e
was often obscure or pe.
dantic or inflated, and the delivery monotonous ,
and soporific. In the Senate, though most
of the members were University men, there
were but few really effective speakers. Were
our senators trained to speak well, that is, to the
point, much time would be saved and public busi-
ness dispatched more rapidly. The remedies Mig_
gested were-Ist, Training schools for nursery
governesses, who, without knowing or pretending
to know French and Italian, should speak English
without vulgarisms. 2nd, Greater attention in our
present training colleges for schoolmasters to due
instruction in English, especially in correct and.
fluent speaking. 3rd, More encouragement to MCA
of talent and education to become and to remain
schoolmasters by holding out the prospect of hon-
ourable offices to distinguished teachers. Why
should Inspectorships of Schools be always
given to clergymen and barristers, to the exclusion
of the schoolmaster. 4. The appointment of a.
thoroughly accomplished scholar as English master
in every great public school, of equal rank with.
' the other masters. 5. The endowment of at least.,
one professorship in every University. 6. The.
recognition of English as a subject, in every ex—
amination not strictly scientific, and rewarding
distinction in composition or oratory in the same
substantial manner as eminence in classics or
mathematics.
Were these suggestions carried into effect, thin
lecturer believed the greatest benefits wov:id result,s
not merely literary, but moral and rerigious, aasnos;
not simply to the educated, but to the great
theni
of the community. The lecture oftheatreuni
erou
Royal Institution was filled witb a Er
land distinguished audience, an "cl thevel-t.ey.v
was frequently and loudly applaud d 13Lecture