The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-03-26
Llngual DifficuIties of French and English

LlnguaI Difficulties Of French and English
In the high class schools. the colleges
and lycees attached to the University OF
Paris, and which correspond to the pub
lie schools in England. to Eton, Harrow,
Rugby, Winchester and the rest, English
is taught exactly as if it were dead Ian
guage, and by exactly the same methods
as are applied to the teaching OF Latin
and Greek. The pupils spend years and
years over their grammar and over pain
full translations of the best English
authors. The sharp boys learn to read
English with the same faculty that they
read Greek and Latin, that is to say, not
very easily, and they naturally do not
enter into the genius of the English Ian
guage and literature any more than they
enter into that of the languages OF
Greece and Rome. The literature, to
them, seems as dead as the language.
How many of my readers will recognize
that this was the system on which they
were taught French at school,. The re-
suits may be excellent, but they are not
practical and an Englishman who has
learned French in this manner finds HIM
self bewildered when he comes to France,
just as French boy who has learned En-
glish in Lycee finds himself bewildered
when he has to tell London "cabby"
an address, and stlll more so when the
'scabby" asks him some simple questions
in return. The knowledge is not practi-
cal. You can barely make yourself un-
derstood, and you certainly cannot un-
derstand a word yourself. As for the
errible question of pronunciation, ap-
proximate correctness can only be ac-
quired in the country itself where the
language is spoken. It is quite true
that in French every letter has its value,
but is absurd to say that French words
are pronounced as they are written. The
French accuse us of swallowing four
ffths of our words; we may accuse them,
| in return, of abbreviating their spoken
language very much in ordinary con-
versation. In common conversation,
both in English and in French, the nom
accentuated syllables of words have a
tendency to disappear, more so perhaps
in the English than in the French Ian
| guage. This is the reason why we can
not understand each others spoken Ian
guage, although we may be perfectly
able to read it. It is the old story of the
railway porter and the name of the sta
ton, and we have as good cause to COM
plain of the French as they have to COM
plain of us. AS for merely practical
knowledge of French, there is no doubt
that by the aid of a good method you
may acquire very serviceable knowl
edge of the language in comparatively
short time, particularly if you can come
and spend some time in the country, but
between this command of small vocab-
ulary of the French words and practical
phrases, and scientific knowledge of
! hn crro md q
chasm which it requires lifetime to
bridge over.-The Partisan.
BAYoNErs AT ALMA.-Cne of the char
acteristics alluded to was the manner in
which the Russians used the bayonet.
They stood firm, shoulder to shoulder,
and held their weapons tight at the
"charge," with the point raised toward the
faces of their opponents, never moving
| the while, unless struct at, when they
would rouse up and strike back in return
slowly but strongly. Our fellows, upon
closing, finding them immovaole and un-
finching, commenced fercely thrusting at
them, and owing to the lack of guarding"
| on the part of the Russians, the thrust
would often teli-but still not enough to
break their ranks Then commence our
characteristics; where We could not break
through in front, We would try one side;
then the other; now shifting, now turning,
ever on the move; drawing back, for con-
centration, and then rushing forward,
officers using their swords and Colts re-
volvers meanwhile. 1t was in one of
these concentrated gushes that We succeed
ed in penetrating this "phalanx ;" but our
previously "blown" men were now tirid
| and exhausted after the march and the
scrambling, upward nature of the conflict,
| and their bayonet thrusts, though constant
| and fierce, were not so rapidly given as
before; however, like the peculiar dog
whose name is frequently used to charac
terize the Briton, they "hung on, "thrusting
slowly but deadly, in silence; perspiration
streaming down their faces, blood from
their wounds, and their weapons reeking,
they struggle on, upward and onward,
winning their way step by step over the
falling bodies of friends and foe, till finally
victory perched upon their banners.