The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1852-09-21
The American L,,g,v.,xc

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Perhaps the most surprising philo-
logical fact Of the present time is the
wonderful spread Of the English
speech, not merely by the extension
OF tho power Of Great Britain aud Of
the United States, by which the En-
glish is carried to every quarter Of the
globe, and made the legal, scholastic
and polite Language of vast territories,
hut hy the impulse which tho labors
OF Il few eminent scholars in France,
Germany and the northern European
nations have given to the study OF Ell
glish classical authors in their own
tongue. Throughout Germany an i'm
mcnsc impulse has also been given to
this study by the emigration to the
United States. One may lraTcl thou
sands of miles and find no market
town, however small, i'll which are not
tcmptingly displayed at the windows
OF the little book shops all sorts Of cle-
mcntary works 10 assist the emigrant
i'll the requirement Of some few nCces-
sary phrases of the 1mcricnn Language.
In every wcll-cducatcd family, too, it
is beginning to be as necessary to pos
scss such y knowledge Of the English,
at least, as our boarding-schoo misses
acquire Of the French, aud the number
who can read Shakspcrc, Byron, Scott
and Cooper with pleasure, in the orig
NAL, is far greater than the number
with lis who can read Molicrc. Gil
Bias, and Paul and Virginia. Perhaps
the three men who, in Germany, have
produced the G ca.cSt influence in rcn.
derinS our speech popular and neccsSa-
ry to u complete education, arc n. w.
Schlegel, (deccased,) Ceryiuus, and
Jacob Grimm; the two former rs ad-
A!ztors and critics of Sluk-
spcrc, the latter as philologist.-
The latter, i'll a recent treatise, SAYS:
1T possesses, through its abundance
of free medal tones, which may be
learned indeed, but which no rules can
teach, the power oicxprcssion such as
never: perhaps, was attained by any
human tongue. It's altogether intcllcc-
tual and sinyularly happy foundation,
and dcvelopmcnt--has arisen from a
surprising alliance between the two
noblcst languages OF antiouitv-thc
German and the Romanesquc-thc re-
latlon OF which to each other is we'll
known to be such that the former sup
plies the material foundation, the latter
the abstract notions. Yes, truly, the
English language may with good rca-
son call itself universal language,
and seems chosen, like the people, to
rule III future times in still greater
degree i'll all the corners Of the earth.
In richness, sound reason, aud inflcxi-
blllty, no modern tongue can be com
pared with it-not even the German,
which must shake off many a weakness
before it can enter the lists with the
English.'
We have always had an affection
lor our native tongue if the French,
Spanish, German or Italian each sur
pass 1t III some particular quality, it is.
perhaps, true that none of them pos
sesscs such combination Of cxcclIen-
cies as to which point, the testimony
OF driinm, the irsl plllologist of the
Continent: has great weight Whcth-
cr this speech is destined in our coun-
try, through the want of homugcncity
i'll the population, to be changed to
confusion OF tongues, SO that hereafter
an American will, like the fool in
Shakespeare, be thought have Z" been
1T a great feast of languages and hive
stolen the scrap" is q question for time
TO determine. we know Of no safe
guard against this but the adoption Of
some method OF writing English as it
is spoken and the spread of schools,
until, as in New Eng land, he who can
not read and write shall bc looked
upon by every child rs curiosity and
4 wondcr.--\ew York Tribune.
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