New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-02-06
A UNIYERSIL LING TIGE.

There is 10 surer sign of intellectual laziness
than the common yearnlng for universal
language. 1t is on par with the short
sightcdness of the sentimental reformer who
laments that all men are not OF his way OF
thinking. Human speech is developed through
its differences, just as higher truth is reached
through diversity of opinion. The attainment
of n general unanimity, whether in regard to
a higher or lowest interest, would be step
backward toward barbarism. The better in
tellgence, of course, always perceivcs the
necessity of contrast, difference, and antagOnism.
1t is safe to say that no man who knows two
languages desires that all races should speak
but single tongue.
OF late, we have been presented with plans
for universal alphabet, applicable to all Ian
guagcs and this is a matter well worth con-
sideraton 1t would probably require us to
learn 20 or 50 letters instead OF our 3d.
which. however, would be the least practical
difficulty. A far greater would be the neces-
sary changes in the spelling of nearly all Ian
gllaees, striking at the very roofs OF popular
tradition habit and feeling. However desr-
able it would require a century to make such
a reform successful. But Herr Martin Lothian
Schufroh {" School glad "a most significant
nameD of Zweibriicken, in Alsatia, already
comes forward with proposition for at once
establishing what he considers to be the final
result of civilizatiOn-a universal language.
The pamphlet which he sends us is en-
titled, "The Language of the Future" an
cpithct borrowed from Wagner's battles, and
confronts the subject with courage worthy
of some possible undertaking. Herr SchullrOh,
to begin with, accepts the theory of Evolution
with all its consequences. lie finds the first
vocal sound in the siblant S-S-S of the snake:
the Jrekekcr koar of the frog delights him
with several additional letters, and thcn-the
regular series fails Here he becomes logical.
if not strictly scientific. He creates number
Of missing links" in the shape Of anthrOpcid
frogs, who live on dry land, learn to climb
trees, cling to a flesh diet (while the anthrOpOid
monkeys, becoming vegetarians, lose the chance
of getting articulatc speedy, and so improve
their vocabulary. This reasoning backward is
DELIGHTFULLY."- convcnicnt and Of course Herr
Schulfr0h easily makes out his case.
In his scheme of a universal language, how
ever he is not SO logical. Overlooking the
fact that pOysyllabic words come with higher
human development he insists upon mono
syllable language, compounded of the principal
tongues now in use. lie would have the
months named Jar, Feb Pril, Sep, etc, and
the days of the week S0nd, Mond, Dind, etc.
His numerals are On, do, trO, for, fW, and so on
to nil, thousand. Thus his eighteen hun
"dred and seventy (nine syllables) is
shortened into the lovely and melliflu0us word,
" orandsisckoaS." He would simply indi-
cate Ordinal numbers by the use OF
the letter t. so that TUESDAY, Deem
"ber DIST" would glide from the lips
of all races as &" bind, Gnddpt Dee:." Let any
one repeat these words gently, and he will
discover that they have Il serene and cOmp0s-
ing effect upon the mind, and give a placid
expression to the lips. In fact they might be
used by ii young lady before entering room
full Of company, instead of "papa, poultry,
"prnes and prism" TO designate our Centen-
NAL wear as ox,lndsischans" would, We fear,
require some sacrifice of national pride; but,
on the other hand such a change would ena-
bic al mankind to say ont Prl for the " First
" of April
Ii is nevertheless desirable, and even possible,
that some one existing language should be
adopted as a general medium Of communication
between all the principal races of the world.
If this should ever come to pass, the choice
must inevitably fail upon our own English
tongue, and for two plain reasons-its unusual
simplicity of construction, and its great geo
graphical diffusion. 1t is now spoken by so
millions of human beings. 1t has planted itself
over nearly the whole OF North America, all
Australia and Ncw-Zealand, South Africa and
scores of islands scattered in all seas and is
slowly imprcsSinS itself upon the populations
of India China. and Japan. In Europe and
the Orient it has cmphaticaly become
the language of travel. 1t is now more
generally studied than French in the
schools of Germany, and equally so
in Russia and the scandinavian countries. The
French, themselves, have at last consented to
learn it, and the Italians and Spaniards are
following their example. No other tongue so
unitcs the clements of the two pathological
groups which represent the foremost civilized
races-the Germanic and the Romantic. The
course of the worlds development rapidly tends
to make English the common medium OF com
muncaton for other races, Asiatic as well as
European This result seems so certain, that
we cannot encourage Herr Schulfroh to hope
that his new universal language will ever be
sDoken. But, if it will comfort him, we may
express sentimental regret at losing such
trippingly delicate combination OF sounds as
" DiRd 0RddM Dcc.."