Le Louisianais. [volume] (Convent, La.) 1865-1883, 1868-04-25
The Beauties Of the English Language

49, '''' 'y ta&
the majority will not be surprised at our resolve TO
entertain them with a continuation of this maenif-
cent theme. Indeed, our principal apprehensions
now, are prospective, in relation TO the shock to oir
native modcsty, when it shall be spread far and
wide that, in dcdicatir" Il portion Of our columns to
the dissemination of this indispensable tongue. our
initiatory step has been its absolute apotheosis We
feel a natural dclicacy in abiding to this subject;
because we know that people will wonder how it
has happened that we struck upon a theme so UNI
exainpled but WI feel also a pride 1--WE trust a par.
donable one) in being the humble instrument of
placing before the whole world the Just claims Of a
language which "lies" far beyond all others
When. in our sciool-hoy days, we listened to our
worthy old Professor Illustrating his lectures on elo-
cntion, by examples from some Anglo-Saxon book
made to sell, and assuring his wondering pupils
that the glorious Anglo-Saxon dialect was destined
TO oveyspread the earth, we thought the old gentle
man was joking ("for many a Joke had heH) when,
many time since, VT. listened to similar assurances
from the political rostrum, we set the whole thing
down as an electioneering manGuvrc; but 1--WE
have lived and learned and are now satisfied that
orr informants were enunciating a grand trutl, sin
r W. hii'N' 1S -AhS'-hr'Ao'I AiI5uiS
''ies" at the bottom of all others and is empla-
tically the smother tongue from which all the
others flow (not 'hec", mark) it follows that it will.
not only eventually be the universal medium Of
giving expression to human thought; but is already
in discharge Of that important function. Nor can
this be deemed open to dispute or doubt, when we
reflect that the 1864 dialects assigned, by staticians,
to the human voice. arc exclusively Anglo-Saxon
progeny!
This world is proverbiarly an incredulous one
were it not so, the Just claims of our s.mother
tongue. would, after what has been already stated,
require no further advocacy at our hands but, as
we are extremely anxious to set all caviling at rest,
and to establish the legitimate parentage of our
cherished Anglo-Saxon, beyond the possibility Of
controversy, we will now take an example or two,
from the most ancient and least mutahle dialects e-
tant.
From the original Ethiopic, which, on close exa.
mination, we find characterized by evident features
of the more ancient Punic, we extract the sugges.
tive phraseology :-"Laii! KAT yaman TAFT vaw, PISA!
mul zzop', which, literally interpreted, reads thus:
-"Laud! the ship, a great man (brings), worth a
tajassn, pshaw much better (than) a zoopllyte.''-
S>S'aAn ~ ~" S'Aiiu VI tHS AllIlpplS "utSll 10
kindred to that of the Anglo Saxon, the words in
paren:heses are understood, something like the Latin
Ablative without the proposition. Lal is a contrac-
ton of the original English 'laud' signifying praise,
as used by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and other
masters OF, the ancient English. KAT is derived from
"ko6f" a small Dutch sailing vessel-the Dutch
having adopted the word from the pure English
coffin, on account of its resemblance to the only
earthly inheritance which the Anglo SaXons leave
those who come between them and their manifest
destiny. iaman is a compound from the Anglo
Saxon emphatic yea and the Anglo-Saxon phleg-
matte ''man" the derivation is selfevilent. TAFT is
the original English of the Spanish "tajassu'', a hog.
1t is now more especially applied to the Mexican
hog, called by the natives, ''peccary'', and COIL
structed by that initiative people, according to the
well-known laws If plilology, from the Anglo
Saxon explanatory phrase, "a pig nary This
happened when the Puritan Fathers-a true branch
of the Anglo-SaNon race-in order to do penance
for prosecuting Roger Williams, for whipping and
hanging Quasers and Catholics, and for burning
witches, sent missionaries to convert Montezuma-
the native Mexicans, unmindful Of the credibility of
the New England otfshoot of Anglo.Saxonism but
yet adopting the missionaries phraseology, and obsti-
nately determined to oppose an affirmation to the
strangers negative expressive, mary, exclaimed "a
pig ary', which, from the Spanish repugnance to
discordant phonetics, was ultimately merged into
the more %euphonic ''peccary".
From the Mexican, it was taken and quickly ma
turalized, in its Castilian dress, into the brazilian
idiom, slightly changed however in its elementary
conformation, in order to fit better to the peculiar
Portuguese photography, which, like its parent An.
glo-Saxon, inclines much to liquids. Accordingly
we were pleased to find, during or Brazilian
travels, a few years ago, on visiting a "mixed"
school on the summit of the Geral Mountains.
where the population is very dense, in a Portu-
guese spelling made easy, the identical word sta
yacu', with the Anglo-saxon roots from which it
was derived, placed in iuxtaposition! We thought
that an admirable arrangement, which, on interro-
eating the Brazilian Dominic, we were informed.
was the work Of a board of sagacious mountain
school directors, contrived with the express object
of securing to the venerable Anglo.Saxon mother
tongue, the admiration of unborn generations
When Vasco de CANA was doubling the Cane of
Good Hope, he made a middle-latitude course to the
coast of Brazil, for the purpose of obtaining a sup.
ply OF coal ana provision. Included in the latter,
was an abundant stock Of the flesh of the peccary
cut up into long strips. dried, and coiled like a rope.
Dc Cana naturally inquired the local cognomina-
ton Of SO remarkable an article Of food, which,
when heard, he Instantly recognized as a true An
glo-Saxon derivative Having refreshed his crew,
reftted his ship and so forth, the Portuguese navi-
gator made an obliqne course for the Gulf of
Guinea, thus retrograding somewhat from his voyage
to India, in order to place in the possession of king
Dahomy-one Of the most muniGcent patrons of
the literature of that age-what he deemed an I'M
portant proof of Anglo-saxon antiquity!
The navigator was well received by che king,
who together with the grandees of his court over
whelmed him and his crew with aattering compli-
ments for their enterprise, and the solicitude they
manifested in the interest of the Auulo. Saxan naxan4