The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1865-03-25
An Analysis of the English Lam
gUage.

The teacher Of the High School has handed
US series of compositions on this subject
with the request that we select one for publ
cation. From among quite number, all o
which are very crctitabe to the pupils o
that rising institution, we select the following
The analysis is taken from the history of the
English Language by Quackenbos. Its nea
condensation. classical arrangement, anc
general excellence cntitle its author to this
scholastic distinctions:
SAxoN--Of the forty thousand words con,
tanned in our fullest dictionaries, twenty
three thousand arc from this source, as are
also, our chief pcculiarites Of construction
and idiom. 1t may be interesting to partic
ularizc :. few of these. The infection of oul
pronouns the termination of the posses i've
case; the plural number, as well as the see
ond and third person singular of verbs; the
syllablcs er and est, the sufiiix Ly-al
being derived from the Saxon.
NORMAN FRENCH-E'rom the time of the
Conquest till the days of Chaucer, period
Of three hundred years, this element played
an important part in the formation of oul
language. We find words from this language
particularly useful when we wish to express
| diSapprobation without wounding the feel
ings of another The natural courtesy Of
| the Normans. led to the creation of a fund
of words for which the rough and energetic
expressions of the SaXons were totally I'M.
suited.
MonERS FEEycH-This is an offspring
from the ancient Norman and our authors
have. at different periods. taken many use.
iul words with very slight. if any moditica-
! ton at all, and by common consent "ftcr a
| timc. have become incorporated into the
language. Many fabrics which owe Their
invention to the artists of France. have
come into general use and retained their
foreign names.
LATIN-The earliest additions from this
source were introduced with the exception
of a few proper names and military terms
during the period of Roman supremacy
Next follow the Latinisms introduced in the
thirteenth century. Thcnceforth as ncces.
sity required. additions were made from the
same source and toward the close of the
| eighteenth century. Johnson and his imita-
tors succeeded in making their high-sound-
ing dcvia,ons fashionable at the expense OF
the less pretending Saxon.
CElriC-Ihe next in importance, the Gel
tic mas be arranged in two divisions. First,
those elements which came directly from the
Celtic itself Second, such as were received
into English, not directly from the Celtic
tongue. but through the medium of Latin o.
Norman French.
GRrEK-Wc are indebted to this language
for our scientific terms. New discoveries of
science having rendered an enlargement of
our technical terms, recourse was had to
Greek. as it afforded the greatest advantages
for this purpose.
MISCELLANEOUS ELEMENTS Under this
head fall the few isolated words added from
Eastern and North American dialects or
the modern tongues of Europe. TO deter
mine what part Of our language is really
Saxon. various works and passages from
SCRIPTURE have been analyzcd. and more
than iour.htihs of the whole found to be
Saxon. The purest Saxon was written by
the translators of the Bible.